The 10 Dos and Don’ts for a successful 2024 planning workshop
In agencies everywhere November is the month of ‘The Planning Meeting’ as budgets are set for next year. And with reports this autumn of tightening agency profit margins due to cost inflation and revenue pressure, this year’s planning season is extra critical.
It can be hard to give strategic planning proper focus at this time of year, given it coincides with diaries (and heads) being full of year end client reviews and pitches ahead of Q1 starts.
But if done well, putting time into planning is sure to set an agency (or team or practice) up for success in the next 12 months, providing for formal reflection on progress, producing a thought through forward strategy and energising the team to deliver it.
I’ve found there are some Dos and Don’ts to making a planning workshop an efficient and upbeat process, rather than one which achieves little that is taken forward, or worse, sows seeds of argument and discontent among the team. Here are my 10 Ps for what to do and what not to do:
5 Dos:
1. Process
develop objectives for your planning session ensuring that they are logical in relation to your budget and wider company business plan and share with those taking part well ahead of time
be clear with attendees about expectations of contributions before, during and after the workshop
set a timeframe that provides adequate time for preparation, consolidation of outputs, sharing back to attendees, and further refinement, before launching an agreed final plan
2. Preparation
is key – gather detailed facts and info to provide accurate insight and context to the session’s discussions
this should include such things as financial performance data, client base trends, marketplace themes and insight
task your attendees to bring ideas to the session relevant to their areas of responsibility to kickstart discussion
3. Presence
it’s vital to have all of the relevant senior team involved so that everyone contributes and feels ownership of the direction you take in the next year – so it’s best to set a date well in advance to ensure everyone attends
4. Participation
design a structured session which covers your objectives and allows time for everyone present to contribute fully
consider using a third party facilitator to keep the session on track, ensure everyone contributes, and outputs are generated
5. Post action
set a timeline for building on the session by collating outputs and producing a final plan, then scheduling regular check-ins on its implementation
5 Don’ts:
1. Prejudgement
avoid creating strategy or making decisions without using facts and data to produce grounded insights, and be open minded about new thinking and ideas
2. Pooh-poohs
keep discussion open and ideas flowing by banning participants from dismissing ideas that they don’t like or agree with – this is precious time to maximise the collective contribution of the team – review and refinement comes later
3. Pontificating
don’t allow views to be forced on the group in a dogmatic way, ensure that opinions and ideas are expressed constructively and connect to relevant insights and data brought to the session
4. Pressure
even if you or the team are feeling stressed by business targets, workload or anything else, try to leave this at the door of the session – you will get most from gathering people together if you set and maintain a calm and positive atmosphere
5. Procrastination
ensure you get on with follow up actions immediately to capitalise on the energy and fresh thinking - the session is not an end in itself and all of the good raw ideas generated will benefit from review and development into a firmed up plan as soon as possible
Interested to find out more about how I can help you and your business thrive? For a free chat please get in touch.