
What It Takes to Run a Great Virtual Meeting
Under the best of circumstances, virtual meetings tend to be less productive than in-person, or than they should be. Read our guidance for best practices to lead engaging and productive virtual meetings.
Values & Approach
Outcomes-focused conversations
Success is measured by the ability of conversations to generate meaningful results for clients. Time is invested up front to understand the problems they face, then the necessary conversations are carefully designed and facilitated to align executives around impactful, actionable solutions. Every strategy conversation ends with clear next steps and accountabilities.
Structured, fact-based decision-making
Many conversations lack the right data, while others suffer from data-overload. Productive strategy meetings balance content, process and conversation in a way that enables attendees to use relevant insight to make decisions. This balance can only be achieved if the right people are engaged and the right content is developed before the meeting convenes.
Client-driven solutions
Unlike traditional “study and recommend” strategy consulting firms who tell clients what they should do, Strategic Offsites Group custom tailors the process and conversations to help clients develop their own solutions, which they know can be implemented. Under this approach, clients’ internal capabilities and subject-matter expertise are complemented, not replaced, ensuring buy-in to solutions from the start.
Trust-based relationships
Clients should look to consultants as valued partners and trusted advisors. No matter the extent of the engagement, they must always feel that their best interests come first.
Traditional “Study and Recommend” Strategy Consulting Firms have strong subject-matter expertise and advanced analytical capabilities, BUT their recommendations often lack client ownership/buy-in or cannot be executed.
Strategic Offsites Group drives client ownership of outcomes and buy-in by managing the process, content and conversations needed for effective strategic decision-making. We’re also unbiased – unlike traditional strategy consulting firms we do not deliver recommendations or have a stake in the outcome.
Standalone Facilitators lead executives in insightful conversation using established frameworks and methodologies, BUT they typically do not have rigorous strategy expertise or a tailored approach that fits the client’s objectives. Additionally, their focus tends to be on the meetings themselves, not on what happens before or after.
Strategic Offsites Group partners with clients to develop the right content, follow the right process, and have the right conversations to achieve desired outcomes. Our deep corporate strategy expertise allows us to push executives’ thinking in ways that typical standalone facilitators cannot.
Internal Strategy Teams have strong knowledge of the issues, BUT often do not have adequate resources or the process/facilitation expertise to manage critical strategy conversations. Also, they are rarely in a position to challenge the senior team’s thinking.
Strategic Offsites Group leverages its knowledge of best practices and its experience working with hundreds of companies across industries to drive toward effective solutions. However, we almost always partner with internal strategy teams to design and facilitate an approach that works for their organizations.
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Under the best of circumstances, virtual meetings tend to be less productive than in-person, or than they should be. Read our guidance for best practices to lead engaging and productive virtual meetings.
Social distancing and travel restrictions have made it difficult, if not impossible, for organizations convene in person. Some controversial conversations need to be had now more than ever, so we need to learn how to do them virtually.
Doing business on Zoom, WebEx, Teams and the like presents many challenges, but what’s been overlooked is that these virtual platforms also give managers an extraordinary set of “superpowers”: the ability to do things in meetings that were either unthinkable or enormously challenging in the old days of conference tables and flip charts.