One of the benefits of an offsite planning meeting is that you get to see all of your company’s talent (or lack there of) in the same room. Facilitated properly, no one can hide and as such, your real players will rise to the top while the posers get totally exposed.
During one recent offsite, when getting down to the real nuts and bolts of the plan, it became obvious that the recently hired Director of Operations was struggling. Where we needed concrete details, he spouted theory. Where we needed real life experience, he quoted from a business book.
The farther it went along the more the body language of the room changed when he began to speak. When launching into one of his shallow, long winded answers everyone shut him out by either doodling or getting a cup of coffee.
At the end of the day, the CEO walked up to me and asked a question that really wasn’t a question. “He’s (the D.O.) not going to make it is he?” To which I replied, “Nope.” He then asked what he should do and I responded, “Follow your gut instinct and if it’s telling you that he needs to go, then the question isn’t if, it’s when.” He nodded his head and walked off.
They replaced the Director of Operations a month later and based on the needs outlined during the offsite meeting, found the right person for the job and haven’t stopped growing since.
So, remember, a successful plan is simply about the work to be done and who best fits the role. Mismatch those two and you’re doomed to either mediocrity or failure.
Ride On...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Offsite Meetings
As I said in an earlier blog, I love offsite meetings. I lead my clients through them at least twice a year because of the magic that takes place. Sure, most of us have horror stories about the offsite-from-hell that went on for days and left us all wondering why we were there in the first place. But with the right environment, a well executed offsite leads to epiphanies and understandings that one-off conversations cannot.
A great example of this is a recent offsite meeting I navigated where the boss dropped a bombshell of bad news on the group. Revenue and profitability bad news. It immediately sent the entire group into a semi state of shock. Like the proverbial ripping off of the bandage, the brutal facts of their situation smacked them in the head and forced an immediate attitude adjustment.
What happened next was 45 minutes of the most intense and valuable conversation this group will experience all year. It dropped all defenses. The entire group released their pent up fears, challenges and frustrations. After all, on the heels of the news they received, how bad could it get?
It turned a group with a ‘what the company needs to do for me’ mindset into one of ‘what can I now do for the company to be successful’ and did so in a split second! It forced many in the room to grow up in a business sense and brought beautifully into perspective their individual responsibilities to the whole.
In the end, they discovered that if each of them increased their revenues by just FIVE PERCENT, the entire issue would be corrected… FIVE PERCENT!!!!
Talk about getting a group to ride together and in the same direction…
A great example of this is a recent offsite meeting I navigated where the boss dropped a bombshell of bad news on the group. Revenue and profitability bad news. It immediately sent the entire group into a semi state of shock. Like the proverbial ripping off of the bandage, the brutal facts of their situation smacked them in the head and forced an immediate attitude adjustment.
What happened next was 45 minutes of the most intense and valuable conversation this group will experience all year. It dropped all defenses. The entire group released their pent up fears, challenges and frustrations. After all, on the heels of the news they received, how bad could it get?
It turned a group with a ‘what the company needs to do for me’ mindset into one of ‘what can I now do for the company to be successful’ and did so in a split second! It forced many in the room to grow up in a business sense and brought beautifully into perspective their individual responsibilities to the whole.
In the end, they discovered that if each of them increased their revenues by just FIVE PERCENT, the entire issue would be corrected… FIVE PERCENT!!!!
Talk about getting a group to ride together and in the same direction…
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Starting with a bang...
I’ve spent most of the past year working on my much anticipated book – The Biker’s Guide to Business. But it’s a New Year and time to get my head out of my tailpipe and begin blogging on a regular basis.
You can expect at least one per week from me on a business topic that’s relevant to my world and yours. For January I’m going to focus on the value of offsite meetings. I love offsite meetings as it’s a great way to get everyone on the same page quickly - especially when starting a new year.
Four of my clients have rocketed out of the shoot with offsite meetings this month spending a day or two focusing on how to reach their goals this year. The thing I don’t understand is why more companies don’t do it.
It could be that most business people associate off site meetings as taking too much time, too expensive or complicated. None of which could be farther from the truth.
Heck, all it takes is your management team, a hotel conference room, coffee and lunch to hold an offsite. As for it being complicated, simply focus on where the company needs to be at the end of the year and how to get there. Document your discussion and you’ve got the makings of a plan. And when has building a path to success ever been a waste of time?
I’ll write more on this topic during January and share with you some key insights that may convince you to use this incredible tool to grow your business.
BG
You can expect at least one per week from me on a business topic that’s relevant to my world and yours. For January I’m going to focus on the value of offsite meetings. I love offsite meetings as it’s a great way to get everyone on the same page quickly - especially when starting a new year.
Four of my clients have rocketed out of the shoot with offsite meetings this month spending a day or two focusing on how to reach their goals this year. The thing I don’t understand is why more companies don’t do it.
It could be that most business people associate off site meetings as taking too much time, too expensive or complicated. None of which could be farther from the truth.
Heck, all it takes is your management team, a hotel conference room, coffee and lunch to hold an offsite. As for it being complicated, simply focus on where the company needs to be at the end of the year and how to get there. Document your discussion and you’ve got the makings of a plan. And when has building a path to success ever been a waste of time?
I’ll write more on this topic during January and share with you some key insights that may convince you to use this incredible tool to grow your business.
BG
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