4 Crucial Parts to a Successful Strategic Planning Session

Chances are you’ve been involved in some form of strategic planning during the course of your career. After all, businesses are more successful when they have established priorities and focus their energy and resources toward clearly defined goals.

We can all agree that strategic planning is necessary. We know it is beneficial. But can we say it is enjoyable?

Under the lens of Emergenetics, strategic planning embraces the traditional planning approach while addressing all thinking preferences and challenging the brain to think outside the box. The result is a strategic planning meeting where all participants are engaged and contributing at a high level.

Seven years ago, Sharon Sperry, Emergenetics Associate and owner of Alpenglow HR Consulting, was first exposed to Emergenetics and found it to be illuminating about her own thinking preferences. It was the first time she felt understood and realized how important it was to bring all opinions to the table.

Recently, Sharon used Emergenetics with an Education Consulting firm, leading them through their first strategic planning meeting as a group. She led the consultants through a Meeting of the Minds workshop on day one, and then got into strategic planning on day two. The Meeting of the Minds workshop provided the group with a language in which to interact and helped to remove any barriers surrounding team dynamics during the strategic planning session.

Sharon structured the strategic planning day based on thinking attributes and made sure to include activities that honored the behaviors (collaboration, silent brainstorming, etc.).

• The day kicked off on a conceptual note asking about their vision for the future. Sharon had the group draw actual pictures of what the future of the organization looked like.
• They then applied an analytical lens to their vision. The group completed a matrix based on the cost and effort needed to complete their vision to determine key focus areas.
• From there, they looked at their plan from a structural point of view. They developed a concrete action plan on how to move their ideas forward.
• And finally they reviewed their plan with a social perspective. Sharon facilitated a “Compelling Why” exercise where the group was asked what motivated them to do the work they do.

The strategic planning session not only was effective in coming up with a vision and plan for moving forward, but also resulted in a powerful bonding experience and brought a whole new appreciation to the group.

Sharon has been in corporate talent management for 15 years, and two years ago she started Alpenglow HR Consulting based in Incline Village, NV. Sharon is actively working on applying a social media approach to her work with Emergenetics by creating custom hashtags for each workshop, planting questions ahead of time, and keeping the interaction going post-workshop. She strives to create a conversation and movement to support business development. Sharon would love to connect with you on social media and is active on LinkedIn and Facebook. To contact Sharon directly, please email her at sharon@alpenglowhr.com or call (775) 233-8825.