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By
Noeline Thomson-Bee |
Off-site meetings are a fact of corporate life. Over
the course of a year, most of us are asked to attend
events (and sometimes travel great distances to get
there) to work on agendas like team building, better
alignment, or strategic focus, etc. And if you have
ever sponsored or been asked to help plan an important
off-site, you know that significant amounts of time
and money will probably be invested in making your event
successful.
What's the secret to a great event: a compelling agenda,
a great location, and fun activities? They all help,
but the real keys are clarity about the specific outcomes
you want to achieve combined with a laser-like focus
on other aspects of your meeting.
Team building, alignment, strategic planning are all
great ideas. But they aren't outcomes. You need to ask
yourself: What will be different/better if this off-site
accomplishes its purpose and teamwork and/or alignment
really takes place?
A quick way to do this is to write down the "Communication
Points" that you would ideally like to have at
the end of your meeting. Try to picture what the attendees
would be saying as they wrapped up the meeting. What
would you want them to tell other employees about what
was accomplished? And how would they be looking and
sounding as they told them?
Then try to picture what the participants would actually
be doing after the meeting is over. What new possibilities
will be created in your meeting and what new behaviors
will they lead to?
Finally, ask yourself what this result is worth to
you, as well as your Company? Be tough on yourself.
Just as you would with any other investment you need
to ask yourself: Is the ROI equal to the costs, time
and energy you're planning to spend? If you can't answer
"yes" to this question, STOP, go back and
ask yourself: What results would have to occur to make
your answer a resounding 'yes'.
Once you know exactly what you want to accomplish,
then it's time to develop the agenda and design the
experiences that will get you great results. Focus your
agenda on the few key things that really matter. Then
determine the purpose of each topic. Is it: Discussion
& Debate? Brainstorming? Venting? Making a decision?
Finally, think about the linkages between the topics
on your agenda. Is there a logical connection between
topics? Do they comfortably yet consistently move the
participants from the current state to the outcomes
you want?
Once you know what you want to accomplish, and how
you are going to get there, you need to consider a number
of other arrangements: budgets, location, tone of meeting,
informal/fun activities, etc. These "details"
are often the most expensive items in your off-site
budget. Thoughtfully planned, they can add value by
reinforcing your objectives.
If you are delegating any arrangements of your off-site
it's important to communicate the "intent"
of your agenda to everyone involved. Then check back
to make sure that the arrangements for your meeting
reinforce you're your off-site's purpose
Stories about company's that overlooked these "small
details" are legend. Here are a few true examples
that would make Dilbert proud:
- A large insurance company hired the Queen Mary 2
- flew people in for a week, had lavish dinners for
the participants etc. to focus on cost cutting!
- A pharmaceutical company that wanted to flatten
their organization and identify cost-saving opportunities
delegated the event to several subcommittees. While
one group designed the agenda another committee organized
the logistics. The latter made the decision to book
rooms based on titles. All senior managers were upgraded
to the most expensive rooms complete with expensive
fruit baskets.
Noeline Thomson-Bee is President of CAPP Consulting
Partners, Inc, a management consulting firm based in
North Kingstown, RI that focuses on executive coaching,
leadership development and organization alignment strategies.
She frequently designs and facilitates management retreats
and off-site meetings as a part of her practice. You
can reach her at noelinetb@cox.net.
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