Effective Planning Retreats

A strategic planning retreat's success is largely determined by what happens before it convenes. Sometimes referred to as an "off-site," the strategic planning retreat is an opportunity to get away from the office and do important "step-back" thinking.

To make sure the meeting generates tangible results, its designer must do three things. First, answer the most basic questions:

1. Who should be there? Talking about what, when, and why?
2. Compile and distribute relevant data.
3. Create a structure for the meeting that will compel progress.

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(Excerpted with permission from "Off-Sites That Work," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, No. 6, June 2006.)