a facilitator: Always utilize a skilled meeting facilitator for strategic meetings. An external facilitator who commands respect, enforces the rules, and has the ability to move the group to consensus is essential. Facilitating is a full-time job that doesn’t leave someone with the time to be a full participant in the strategy discussions. Thus, the CEO should never be the facilitator.
Clarify roles: Clarify the roles of participants and the CEO. The role of the participants is to look at every issue as if they are the CEO; i.e., to focus on what’s best for the organization as a whole rather than themselves, their people, or their function. The CEO’s role is to shut up and first listen to all the members before stepping in to dot the I’s and cross the T’s.
Follow rules: Demand that members follow this set of rules for productive meetings:
1.Listen actively.
2.Speak up and say what needs to be said – there are no sacred cows.
3.Focus on solving problems rather than placing blame or being defensive.
4.Respect differences of opinion.
5.Avoid cheap shots.
6.Stay focused.
7.Add only new information to the discussion. Don’t flog a dead horse.
8.Permit only one discussion at a time.
9.Silence implies understanding and agreement.
10.Finish with consensus and commit to action.
Let’s look at each of these ten rules in a little more detail.
Rule 1: Listen actively
George Bernard Shaw is quoted as having said, “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” This is an even more dramatic condition between the various professionals in a company. For example, accountants attach a different meaning to the word “revenue” than salespeople do. (In fact, I’ve heard at least six different definitions in planning meetings.) Computer programmers use the phrase “finished” differently than anyone else.
I once said, “I believe in participatory management. I think we all should manage that way.” My colleague’s quick response was, “You’re wrong! I don’t believe in making a decision by voting, that is an abrogation of leadership.” I had to clarify that I meant that I believed everyone affected by a decision should have the opportunity to provide their thoughts and insights before I made a decision. I still had the responsibility to make the decision, just one that was better informed and more likely to be supported by people who were respected enough to have their opinions solicited ahead of time.
Listening requires an interactive dialogue to make sure that people actually understand what is being said. Active listening generates questions such as “What do you mean when you say quality is poor? Give me some examples.” “Why do you think we need an office in London? Who would be the customer?”
Rule 2: Speak up and say what needs to be said – there are no sacred cows
“Why do we pay a premium for being the first to purchase the newest piece of hardware?” Sally asked in the first strategic planning meeting she was invited to attend at Scientific Processing. The predominantly technical executive team was appalled by her question. One of the engineers’ responses was representative: “We are a technology-driven company. Our customers expect us to have the latest hardware. Why even ask the question?”
Sally persisted. “But we don’t seem to have time to utilize any of the new features for at least two years. Wouldn’t it be better to purchase a used machine two years later when it sells for a much, much lower price?” Putting that “sacred cow” issue on the table ended up helping the company move from losing money every month to making money every month. Shortly after the meeting ended, they replaced their spanking-new hardware with used equipment that cost thousands of dollars less, without negatively affecting their customers. All because Sally, a non-engineer, had asked “why?”
Rule 3: Focus on solving problems rather than placing blame or being defensive
Sales knows exactly what the problem is: “If Bob and his crew in production would get off their butts and deliver what we sold, everything would be fine.” Bob’s response was just as simple and nonproductive. “If the damn salespeople would focus on selling what we can produce instead of making stuff up, everything would be fine.” Wasting time with the two departments blaming each other didn’t get the company any closer to solving the problem of a poorly defined product line. Of course there are problems. The only time a company doesn’t have challenges is when it’s in a stagnant market or not growing. One of the signs of a healthy executive team is how little time is wasted on placing blame and being defensive.
Rule 4: Respect differences of opinion
Each team member brings a different perspective to the table, which is important because strategic issues usually touch multiple functions of the company. An optimal strategy benefits from a 360-degree view of each strategic issue. Bert, the controller, was bragging a bit about how he had improved the company’s cash flow by shifting payment of vendors from 30 days to 60 days. “You’d be amazed how much that’s added to our bottom line.” Carol, the head of production, responded: “Oh? Can that be the reason our vendors no longer give us priority treatment when we need a rush shipment of raw materials? Do you have any idea how much it costs us to priority ship because we had to wait for raw materials?”
The ideal team is a diverse team with members of different ages, with different life and business experiences, different affinities with customers and vendors, and different passions. You must respect the differences of opinion to release the value of that diversity. (You show respect when you solicit, understand, and consider the opinions of people affected by your decisions before you make them.)
Rule 5: Avoid cheap shots
Beyond the obvious negative effects, cheap shots in a meeting can be used to short-circuit decision making. Often, as the team discusses a long-standing issue, a consensus begins to emerge on the action to take. A decision to act, however, will generate additional work and requires personal accountability. It’s fun to discuss a problem as long as you never commit to a solution. When it appears that this time the team is actually converging on taking action, a cheap shot is an effective way to derail the discussion and save everyone from the necessary extra work that a decision would create. The cheap shot-taker can then sit back and think: “Dodged a bullet! I can go back to work as usual and not worry about adding that task to my already burdened work day.”
If you chase two rabbits, both will escape. Strategic planning meetings are about deciding which are the right things to do.
Rule 6: Stay focused
An ancient proverb warns: “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” Strategic planning meetings are about deciding which are the right things to do. The team needs to focus on what’s most important or the things that will show greater return. Joe Mancuso, founder of the CEO Clubs, retells the story of how one of his CEO members decided to save money and facilitate the strategic planning meeting himself. “He and the team spent half the time talking about the lack of toilet paper in the women’s bathrooms and never did get to discuss their
