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How to facilitate a business strategy workshop?

date: 5 September 2024
reading time: 14 min

Workshops are often associated with time-consuming discussions or playing fun games, but the reality proves different. A well-designed strategic planning meeting is the quickest way to work out the best ideas.

If you are a manager responsible for crucial projects, new strategic initiatives, and your team’s work, you need efficient solutions to go forward. And efficient solutions are what good workshops are all about.


What is the main objective of business strategy workshops?

We all know how tricky it is to fit frequent meetings and in-depth discussions into busy schedules. But your expertise and conscious decisions are essential for every business process.

Business strategy workshops give you the time and space to ask yourself numerous questions, so important in the rapidly changing environment we live in. Such questions include:

  • How to make the best decisions?
  • How to shorten the decision-making process?
  • Is there a quicker way to collect the necessary data and knowledge?
  • Which method should I use to generate ideas?
  • How to evaluate my decisions?
  • Should I make that particular choice?
  • How to make my decision-making process more efficient?
  • How to gain confidence in my choices?
  • Are there any risks that I should identify?
  • Are there any uncertainties that may pose risks to my business?

During workshops designed to meet the managers’ needs you can find answers to these, and many more questions. They will help you in every strategic planning process and in deciding on your strategic direction.


The importance of a business strategy for your business


Direction and scope

A business strategy defines the direction and scope of a company’s actions in the long term to achieve its business goals and ultimately gain a competitive edge.


Adapting to competition and new technologies

Strategic planning is crucial due to constantly evolving competition and technological advancements. Thanks to a well-prepared plan, your business will stay up-to-date with the latest trends and answer the changing market’s requirements appropriately.


Periodic review

Mature companies periodically review and adjust their strategies to remain relevant and capitalise on new opportunities. It is best to forecast and prepare for changes beforehand – this way you will be able to react and adjust your business strategy in time.


Key questions to address when preparing a business strategy

  • What is the company’s long-term mission?
  • What are the company’s long-term goals?
  • What actions are necessary to achieve these goals?


When are workshops sessions helpful?

You probably wonder when to use a workshop to benefit from it instead of wasting your time. Consider putting a strategic planning workshop in your schedule when you:

  • Have a vision of a product and don’t know what to do next,
  • Get to a discovery phase,
  • Need fresh perspective on your strategic objectives,
  • Have many decisions to make in a short time,
  • Are full of new ideas and want to validate and evaluate them ASAP,
  • Need to gather insights from many stakeholders,
  • Want to work out crucial elements like mission, vision and strategy,
  • Have many other challenges that require support.

In all those situations having a collaborative session to think about business growth, strategic initiatives and strategic priorities will help you take your business to the next level.

pill money chart 3

Base your product decisions on facts, not hypotheses

Proper strategy serves a similar role to a GPS device in your vehicle.
Why would you want to start your long journey without having it planned first?


What materials are needed to prepare for a business strategy planning workshop?

Although business strategy planning workshops are so essential, you don’t need too many materials to get ready for them. Most of the things you need can be found in every office environment, such as whiteboards, laptops, and sticky notes, so you shouldn’t have any problems gathering them!

Here’s a list of more specific tools you might need to make your business strategy workshop as effective as possible:

  • Strategic tools: choose relevant strategic tools such as the Business Model Canvas, SWOT analysis, and others based on the workshop objectives. Ensure participants are familiar with these tools beforehand
  • Templates and worksheets: prepare templates and worksheets for the chosen tools to facilitate structured input and analysis during the workshop
  • Pre-workshop surveys and interviews:  conduct surveys or interviews with key stakeholders to gather their perspectives, expectations, and insights. This ensures their concerns and ideas are considered during the workshop. If applicable, collect customer feedback to understand their needs and preferences, which can inform strategic decisions.
  • Training sessions: if necessary, conduct brief training sessions on how to use specific strategic tools and frameworks to ensure participants are comfortable and effective during the workshop
  • Relevant data: gather and organise relevant company data such as financial reports, market analysis, customer feedback, and operational metrics. This data will provide a factual basis for discussions and decision-making
  • Industry analysis: compile industry reports, competitor analysis, and market trends to provide context and support strategic insights SWOT analysis templates for conducting SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis
  • Case studies to analyse during the workshop: real-life examples can stimulate discussion and provide insights.
  • Feedback forms for all participants to hand out after completing the workshop
Business strategy workshop - tools and methods
Business strategy workshop – tools and methods

Remember, the specific materials you’ll need can vary based on the nature of your business, the objectives of your strategy workshop, and the preferences of the participants. Adjust the list accordingly to suit your needs.


How to run a strategy workshop effectively?

Workshops are the essence of group work, especially when it comes to high-end professionals’ cooperation. High motivation, open mind and willingness to learn are fundamental, but you will also need a few other, more tangible elements.

So how to go about running a strategy workshop effectively?

Firstly, you should set your goals. Before you start the workshop, you should try to gather relevant available data and information and plan satisfactory results. You should know why you do it and what you expect to get out of it. If you need help to answer all your questions, don’t worry, you can work them out during the workshop.

The effect will serve you and your team for the future, so it’s essential to know what you want to achieve, be aware of your desired outcome.

If you decide to work with external experts, they will help you identify specialists that should take part in the workshop making it most effective. They will also support you in acquiring any data that would be identified as valuable for the workshop preparation. Working with a well identified group of stakeholders is the key to success.

Secondly, you will need a facilitator – someone who helps participants do something more easily or find the answer to a problem by discussing things and suggesting ways of doing things. A facilitator will help you understand and set workshop goals and plan the meetings in the best way. That person will also enable all participants to work in a way that suit them best so that the whole process will be convenient. An experienced facilitator can manage discussions, keep the agenda on track, and handle conflicts effectively.

Thirdly, you need the workshop plan. If you work with external partners, you do not have to know everything about the methods, exercises, canvas, and models used. Why? It will be prepared for you to ensure that every part of the workshop is tailored to fit the problem and find the best solution in a set time.

Finally, you need to choose the place of work. There are two options available:

  • Face to face meeting
    Previously collected data should be ordered and visualised so the whole group can easily see and read them. The place should be bright, well-lit and spacious enough so that everyone feels comfortable. Phones are turned off as focus is crucial.
  • Online meeting
    Workspace needs to be prepared (e.g. in a chosen online tool) and adjusted to the technical needs of all participants. A clear, well-designed framework to present exercises and tasks is also a must but you don’t have to worry – it’ll be prepared by the specialists. We all deserve a nice online space.


Practical implementation

  • After a clearly defined business strategy is ready, organisations should communicate it effectively to all stakeholders and employees to ensure everyone understands its overarching goals.
  • To check if you are on the right track, your unique strategy can be used as a foundation for defining OKRs and KPIs. They should be then verified on a regular basis and adjusted to new circumstances and the market.
  • What’s more, if you are working on a specific product, a robust business strategy may serve as a basis for your product development roadmap, prioritising actions and aligning them with the company’s goals.

Read more about different aspects of workshops:


Business strategy workshop: ideas and exercises for successful session

There is a wide range of workshop methods to achieve what you want. When you set your goals and desired result, the experts will choose the best way to work. These are just a few of the successful workshop methods:

Successful workshop methods
Successful workshop methods

All of those tools promote innovative thinking and efficient resource use, leading to cost-effective and impactful insights as quick as possible. Furthermore, they foster team alignment and communication.

An expert selecting the best tools should focus one those ensuring delivery of the expected outcomes, including:

  • Simplification of complex concepts: tools to be able to break down complex business elements into manageable components, providing a clear and structured approach to strategy development. Such clarity helps in understanding and communicating the business model effectively​ to everyone involved.
  • Comprehensive analysis: methods that offer a thorough examination of internal and external factors, helping businesses to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • Common language and understanding: tools that provide a visual representation of the business strategy, ensuring all stakeholders have a common understanding and are aligned with the organisational goals​.
  • Engagement and buy-in: strategy tools that facilitate involvement and buy-in from all participants by encouraging open discussion and collaboration during workshops.
  • Encouragement of creative thinking: methods that promote innovative problem-solving and rapid prototyping, which can lead to the development of unique and effective business solutions​.
  • Understanding customer needs: tools that help businesses to deeply understand customer needs, behaviors, and pain points, leading to more targeted and effective actions.
  • Identification and mitigation of risks: tools that identify potential risks and external threats, helping businesses to develop strategies to mitigate them and adapt to changing environments.
  • Strategic flexibility: tools that ensure businesses remain adaptable and resilient by considering a wide range of possible outcomes and their future implications​.


How do you handle conflicts or disagreements during the workshop?

During a business strategy workshop, managing conflicts or disagreements is vital for maintaining a positive and productive environment. It may seem tricky to achieve it, but it becomes a bit more manageable with some tips.

Remember about establishing ground rules at the outset to encourage respectful communication, active listening, and a focus on issues rather than individuals. Acknowledge diverse perspectives and seek common ground by emphasising shared objectives.

When conflicts arise, facilitate structured discussions, encourage compromise, and redirect the conversation back to the workshop’s goals. If tensions escalate, take breaks to diffuse emotions and consider bringing in a neutral mediator if necessary. Document agreements reached, and follow up to ensure resolution and commitment from all participants. By addressing conflicts constructively, they can become opportunities for learning, collaboration, and innovation.


What are the benefits of a strategic planning meeting?

As workshop methods are viral in teams, they also gain more and more attention among high-profile employees, stakeholders and managers.

Planned workshops are an efficient and successful method of solving problems, creating plans, developing products and specific solutions.

These are the most significant benefits of workshops, appreciated by managers worldwide:

  • Optimising time: a well prepared workshop (or a series of workshops) can help you save time and money as it helps to work out an idea, a complex strategy or reach a consensus faster.
  • Predictable outcome: usually you know what outcome you expect from the workshop but you don’t know how to do it. Sometimes all you have is an idea that needs to be specified. If you like to plan and push things forward, it is the sure-fire solution to the pitching problems.
  • Professional support: during workshops designed to help managers you work with experts who created their offer following real-life management problems and challenges.
  • Collective experience: workshops gather diverse insights from different teams and divisions, enriching the strategy development process.
  • Alignment: ensures all employees and stakeholders have the same understanding and are aligned with the company’s strategic goals.
  • Engagement and buy-in: facilitates employee engagement and buy-in, as they are involved in the strategy formulation process.
  • Enhanced understanding by visualisations and clearance: it is easier to understand things when you can visualise them and see the bigger picture. By using graphics, diagrams, and mind maps, workshops help participants understand complex concepts more easily. This visualisation aids in seeing the bigger picture, organising knowledge, and clearly presenting findings, which is crucial for making informed business decisions.
  • Efficient problem-solving: when you seek answers to the most critical questions, you need to know how to ask about them. Using specific canvas and models enables participants to ask critical questions effectively, understand different perspectives, and effectively search for answers. During the workshop you can also work out a prototype of a solution.
  • Informed decision-making: for managers, the decision-making process is everything. Due to different models, you can learn how to evaluate available options, make decisions and gain confidence.
  • Finding the gaps: workshops are also a great way to trace all flaws or inaccuracies of the products. They can also expose conflicts that need to be solved.
  • Proactive risk management: workshops help in identifying potential risks early in the strategy development process. By discussing various scenarios and external factors, managers can anticipate and prepare for potential challenges well in advance.
  • Developing contingency plans: through scenario planning and SWOT analysis, workshops enable the creation of contingency plans that can be quickly activated in response to unforeseen events.
Benefits of a business strategy workshop
Benefits of a business strategy workshop


What follow-up actions should be taken after the workshop?

After a business strategy workshop, it’s important to follow up to ensure that the ideas and plans discussed are effectively implemented and integrated into the organisation’s operations. Remember about the following:

  • Ensure that all action items identified during the workshop are assigned to specific individuals or teams. Clearly define responsibilities, deadlines, and any necessary resources.
  • Schedule regular check-ins or progress meetings to monitor the implementation of the strategies discussed.
  • Document the key insights, decisions, and action plans generated during the workshop. Share these documents with relevant stakeholders to ensure transparency and alignment.
  • Gather feedback from participants about their experience in the workshop and the effectiveness of the strategies discussed. Use this feedback to improve future workshops and strategic planning processes.
  • Identify and address any challenges or obstacles that arise during the implementation process. Work collaboratively to find solutions and adjust strategies if necessary.
  • Ensure that the necessary resources, whether financial, human, or technological, are allocated to support the implementation of the strategies.
  • Develop a communication plan to keep stakeholders informed about the progress of the strategy implementation. Regular updates via email, meetings, or newsletters help maintain engagement and alignment.
  • Celebrate milestones and successes achieved as a result of the implemented strategies. Recognising and rewarding achievements boosts morale and motivation.
  • Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of the strategies on the organisation’s goals. Monitor these KPIs regularly to assess progress and make adjustments as needed.
  • Periodically review the implemented strategies to ensure they remain relevant and effective. Be prepared to adapt and refine the strategies based on changing internal or external factors.


A strategy planning session organised with experts

Workshop methods and techniques constantly evolve to meet the challenges of many different professionals. If organising them seems like a lot to do, think of collaborating with external partners that will help you throughout the process.

Thanks to trained facilitators and experts with extensive experience working with various professionals, you can achieve the best that there is for you and your team.

Strategic planning experts will:

  • help you understand your business situation,
  • identify a problem you want to solve,
  • facilitate your strategy meeting and workshop,
  • and draw important conclusions and recommendations, taking you closer to your desired outcomes.

Plus, workshops can be fun, especially when you feel comfortable achieving your goals. Keen to go for it? Get in touch with our team and we will take it forward for you!

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