Consulting · Strategy & Change
Strategy workshops with senior consultants: preparing your organisation for what comes next
Many groups facing strategic tasks founder on the challenge of bringing together their different perspectives, the competences they have and the valuable experience in the room.
Strategy workshops and what goes with them
The challenges in strategy workshops
The following questions shape a strategy workshop without ever being asked openly:
Which strategic direction has the best fit?
Do we have different perspectives on the same things, or are we operating in entirely different worlds?
How do we turn our differences into a driving force that creates tangible business value?
How do we turn our different perspectives into a shared strategy?
Relevant questions
Some of the questions we address in our strategy workshops:
- Which coming developments will affect our organisation? And which factors will we have to face and respond to? Which strategies have resolved comparable challenges in the past? And which of those can be carried forward?
- Which fields of action derive from all of this?
- Which goals and sub-goals do we need to achieve?
- What needs to be taken into account when implementing the strategy?
Risk of failure
Groups given a strategic task frequently struggle with the same problem: consolidating the differing perspectives, the competencies and the experience of their staff into a lean but effective strategy process.
"Second-best solutions"
The consequences:
- The "solutions" that result then rest on the lowest common denominator the group could agree on. No genuine commitment to implementation develops. The joint action plan is delivered half-heartedly, or not at all — a common pitfall of strategy processes.
- The people who are specialists in their area of expertise are barely consulted, if at all. This produces high organisational cost:
- Valuable experience remains unused
- The outcome of the strategy workshop falls short of what the organisation is actually capable of
- Those involved lose motivation
The next strategy process then faces even greater resistance.
Multiple perspectives as a key factor
The key is to bring the differing perspectives and experience of all relevant stakeholders into the strategy process, and to develop tailored, durable solutions from them.
Our approach
The best strategies emerge when the people who hold the relevant knowledge and experience work on them together.
As consultants and strategy facilitators, we therefore begin by establishing:
What is the context and history?
Which previous experience do you have with strategy workshops?
Which knowledge is already available and where do we need additional external resources?
Which experienced stakeholders need to be involved?
Are further internal perspectives needed to derive the best possible solutions?
Who else needs to be on board for implementation to succeed later on?
What this requires
Experienced strategy facilitators bring:
- a proven set of methods
- the right method for the situation
- extensive consulting and facilitation experience in strategy workshops
- a sense of group dynamics and of when to move a group towards consensus, even where interests diverge sharply.
Planning a strategy workshop and looking for support? We have 21 years of experience.
A free initial consultation on your specific situation.
Methods
In our consulting and facilitation work we draw on a proven set of methods that enable groups to:
- build a solid basis for joint action in a comparatively short time
- use the differences within the group as a resource
- treat differing experience and perspectives not as an obstacle but as part of the solution, and integrate them into a joint action plan the group will support
Established formats include:
- workshop methods with which we work out strategic success factors and tailored solutions step by step
- strategy methods from the St. Gallen school
- a proven large-group strategy format in which large groups develop strategic objectives and action plans in a single day
- established large-group processes such as Real Time Strategic Change or Future Search
- leadership workshops in which we identify strategic fields of action with the top management team and develop a hierarchy of objectives, an action plan and firm commitments for implementation
- conventional strategy methods
- or elements of our comprehensive strategy framework.
Strategy workshops online and in person
We run all strategy workshops and strategy processes online as well as in person. Our online formats are equally well established and equally fast. Ask us for a free initial consultation.
Our strategy approach: built to fit
Our strategy work is always tailor-made. That matters all the more in VUCA conditions, in dynamic markets and where the environment is changing disruptively.
These established strategy designs and procedures, or our own strategy model, provide the navigation.
Here is a brief overview:
We set out the thinking behind our strategy model in detail here.
Durable results in a short time
As you can see, we work with a wide range of strategy methods and approaches. We propose a suitable and effective approach based on your starting point and objectives, the depth of work required and the time available.
You talk to one of our strategy specialists, and we then sketch out how we would proceed in the consulting project.
And we always produce an agreed action plan with specific actions and next steps.
Involving the right people
It matters that the right people with the necessary know-how are involved. During preparation we therefore ask:
- Who needs to be in the room so that
- the problem is actually solved
- the genuinely relevant questions are identified
- solutions are thought through in depth
- critics and sceptics are heard
- and valuable results are still achieved in a short time
- Do the participants have the authority, the resources, the knowledge and the genuine interest to work on this?
- What further information and perspectives are needed?
This approach also allows us to involve critics and sceptics in the strategy process. Doubts and reservations very often conceal information that is essential to a viable, durable solution.
Benefits and effects
The full picture
All relevant perspectives in the organisation feed into strategic decisions
Tailored solutions
Valuable knowledge and experience are put to strategic use
Time saved
Later discussions, corrections and delays in implementation are avoided
Smooth implementation
Implementation is faster and more decisive, because all key decision-makers and part of the delivery level were involved
Lasting effects
The organisation practises participation on strategic questions and becomes better equipped for future change and future strategy processes
Strategy designs built to fit
In our strategy workshops we adapt the approach to the objectives agreed beforehand and to the situation itself. The group of participants matters too: with management teams the pace can be faster than with staff from operational roles.
Our strategy workshops are therefore always tailored to your situation.
Our experienced strategy facilitators
- always have a Plan B to hand
- respond professionally when something unforeseen arises
- and deliver the agreed objectives.
Some of our strategy facilitators
What we offer: strategy consulting and facilitation
initio provides tailored strategy workshops led by experienced strategy facilitators for developing joint action plans, and consulting support throughout strategy processes.
Further reading
Change Management Beratung: Was nützt sie wirklich?
Was leistet Change Management Beratung – und wo sind ihre Grenzen? 10 Dinge, die Sie in jedem Fall beachten sollten.
Read the article →Real Time Strategic Change (RTSC) Konferenz-Methode – Der ultimative Überblick
Mit der Real Time Strategic Change / RTSC Konferenz Methode Strategien entwickeln, verfeinern & schneller umsetzen. Hier die ausführlichste Anleitung!
Read the article →Organisationsentwicklung
Organisationsentwicklung fördert Lösungen in Köpfen von Führungskräften, Vorständen und Mitarbeitern. Hier die wirksamsten Methoden und Konzepte.
Read the article →Vision, Mission, Werte, Leitbild, Strategie, Purpose - alles einfach erklärt!
Vision, Mission, Leitbild, Werte, Strategie, Purpose ✓ Definition ✓ Unterschiede ✓ Zusammenhänge ✓ Einfache Erklärung - kompetente Beratung ✓
Read the article →What our clients say
Clients on working with us
A very helpful, well-run workshop. The results served us well through the restructuring phase too.
The strategy workshop was exceptionally productive. You kept the group focused on what mattered throughout. We recommend your facilitation without reservation.
It was striking how much came out of our workshop. That was outstanding.
You prepared our workshop thoroughly and precisely. Both the method and the facilitation fitted our objectives very well. We were able to carry on working very successfully with the results. Many thanks.
Thanks again for the excellent workshop — we have already started putting the first ideas into practice, and enjoying it.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with you, personally and professionally, and it was a great pleasure to run this workshop with you.
You facilitated our two-day strategy workshop very professionally. It was a demanding brief and the result is very good. Thank you for that.
A big thank you for facilitating the workshop. We came out of the day as a team, with a good sense of togetherness and a clearer picture of the way ahead. The workshop was well worth it.
Thanks again for the excellent workshop — we are very happy with the outcome.
That was a really great workshop, thank you.
Thank you for two genuinely good, efficient days. The workshop was received positively throughout. Many thanks for your support.
The workshop was well prepared and professionally guided, and it gave us valuable ideas and insights. We are now putting them into practice together, step by step. Thank you.
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