The most effective company leaders are using the strategic review process to jumpstart performance and attain breakthrough results.

Why are some organizations able to use this format successfully while others struggle?

There are three steps you can take to significantly improve the effectiveness of your Strategic Review:

1. Preparation

All of your managers are busy with their day to day work, and more than 70% of them cite “meeting overload” as a barrier to their success.

What I recommend is that you make the Strategic Review something different than a “status update” meeting where people are passive and often frustrated. Let us break that mold.

 To prepare effectively for the Strategic Review, have each of your key managers prepare a (maximum) one page written update on an initiative they are investing in that is central to the future strategy of the business. The initiative can have surprises both positive and unexpected, and the expectation is that everyone will read this in preparation for the time together.

2. Format

Bring in an outside facilitator to keep everyone focused. Challenge your team with questions. Set ground rules and stick to them regarding timing, expectations, and the possibilities of what can be achieved.

“I didn’t realize just how much we could accomplish in six hours” was the response of a well seasoned CEO.

Reframe this time together as a structured process to make decisions about the future and understand where the business can be tomorrow.

3. Make the Thinking Visible and interactive

Utilize visual aids, flip-charts, and work to make sure the thinking of people is visible. You want at this stage to get the best quality information from your team. This is not the time for big reports or long powerpoint decks. Work in a way that your leadership team understands how the future is unfolding, what it means to your businesses, and what are new ways the company can take advantage of the future.

Even the largest and most successful firms are rethinking their business models. As an example:

IKEA is investing €1.4 Billion in China to develop new services for customers such as interior design consultation.

The Strategic Review can be built into a process your company really uses to break out of current paradigms and exploit new trends and technologies. The information within your team plays a major role in how you can best accomplish this.

My recommendation is to start with 3 simple steps and prepare your team for a new methodology of value creation that enhances what you have already accomplished.