It’s time to pull out the crystal ball and gaze into the future. This meeting is part team building, part planning, part identifying the results from the past. This is an event that will need some planning, where to stay, what to do, how do you feed the team, what is an opportunity for the entire team to learn? Oh, by the way, what do we need to set as a goal for the next year!?! There is a lot going on in the YSP. Plan ahead. Take ideas. Delegate pieces.
An annual SWOT analysis to allow your team to see how your organization is operating, and possible threats, is a great component of the YSP. Because your different departments, operations, training, human resources, marketing, legal, IT, etc., should have a voice at this meeting, having each team perform a SWOT prior to the event might be a useful thought exercise. Especially if your different teams don’t often have to work together or see the business the way other departments do.
TIME: 2 - 3 days.
The ratio of talking should be 10% leader and 90% team in this meeting. As the leader, you tee the conversation up. Do not kill an idea or dismiss an angle. Allow the team to work through the issue.
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You can next level your YSP by treating this as a retreat. Take the team away from their day to day and immerse them in the business. I would strongly suggest no spouses or children and if you choose a “house”. No one beds together. Treat your leaders like they are leaders.
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To determine what goal or target should be set for the upcoming year.
CEO / VP / Director to multi-unit manager and department leaders.
Keep this meeting small. If it cannot be done around a conference table, you may have too many “strategic leaders”. It is OK to rotate through team members that attend this.
Although the QSR is built into the YSP, the bigger issue is the true strategic nature of this meeting.