“Meetings should have as few people as possible, but all the right people.”
– Charles W. Scharf (b. 1965), CEO Bank of New York Mellon
Strategic planning season is upon us. And, once we have our truth-based foundation, consideration #2 is getting the right people in the room talking about the right things.
Let’s start with the “Who?”
These are important questions to ask / answer before we even send out the meeting notices:
As Scharf says, “as few people as possible, but all the right people.”
In other words, who should be in the room, who should not be in the room and who MUST be in the room?
How many perspectives and roles do we need represented? What will each person’s role be? Is each person aware of their role and the expectations on them well before they come into the room?
Adding much more than these puts us at risk of over-complicating a straightforward matter. The cool thing about having the right people in the room is that you’ll collectively “get it,” and face fewer distractions, sidebars and shiny objects to derail the important conversation you’re seeking to have.
Also part of this second phase (and before we get to “How?” tomorrow) is understanding well our “What?”
The “what” consideration sets some boundaries while also describing our aspirations. What would we never change, even if we could? What must we change, even if it will be difficult and maybe even painful? How has our market changed, and what opportunity / risk has that created for us? Perhaps most importantly, what problem(s) are we seeking to solve? Who do we want to be, and who do our clients / members want us to be?
Fundamentals win, and keeping our strategic planning fundamentally sound and simplistic will serve us well.
Leave a Reply