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In My Workshops, We Roll Up Our Sleeves and Get Real Work Done
by
Gary Gagliardi
Like our seminars, workshop get up close and personal, but they are a much longer format that trains the attendees by getting real work done. I design my workshops for a minimum of 20 attendees and a maximum of 40. While seminars last from 3 to 4 hours, workshops run at least one day and often for several days. Each day consists of at least 5 to 6 hours of work.
In these workshops, we not only teach the rules of strategy but use them to clarify mission, compare competitive positions, and evaluate leadership and methods. These workshops start with a discussion of strategic analysis, and, through interaction with the workshop participants, create an in-depth analysis of the organization, the marketplace, and competing organizations.
In a workshop, most of the discussion comes from the attendees. I guide the discussion to meet two specific goals:
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The first goal is to educate the attendees on how to develop a strategic position using the tools from Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
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The second goal is to clarify the organization's current strategic position and prioritize the best ways to advance that position over the coming year.
For example, in a two-day session, the first day is spent on analysis, which means going through the key elements that define the organization's position in the marketplace, especially relative to the competition. We start with mission and then evaluate all other aspects of the organization in terms of how well they unite the organization around its mission.
Typically, the second day of a workshop is spent discussing the rules of strategy that shape how a position is most easily advanced. During this part of the workshop, we try to identify the dangers and common mistakes that organizations make in trying to advance a position, and train attendees on how to avoid them.
My style in these workshops is Socratic. I asks questions of the workshop participants about their organization and its strategic positions, and use everyone's answers to explain which aspects of a strategic position are critical and why. This questioning starts painlessly by offering multiple-choice answers that attendees anonymously vote on. I then call upon individuals to explain why they prefer one answer over another. I then explain how Sun Tzu answers that specific question and why, leading the group as a whole to understand why some approaches work as well as they do and the inherent flaws in other approaches.
During the workshop, this large group will be broken down into smaller work teams assigned specific tasks.
For example, during the first day, competing 5-person teams might draw up competing descriptions of the organization's unifying mission. Other teams might be assigned to relate that mission to the business climate, market, individual leadership, and organizational methods. During this time, I visit the work teams to answer any questions they might have.
After the work teams are finished, the resulting work products are read, critiqued, and defended by the whole group and usually combined to create a formal strategic analysis document.
In the end, the session should achieve the following:
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Produce a useful strategic analysis and direction for progress
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Provide a powerful, shared vocabulary for executives to discuss changing strategic issues on an ongoing basis
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Educate attendees so that they can analyze the specific strategic positions of their own departments or divisions
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Instill in attendees the desire to continually improve their understanding of strategy using written and on-line training material provided
Workshops cost $495 per attendee per day. The event planner is expected to cover the cost of lodging and food for the travel day before, the day of, and the travel day after the session. For overseas presentations, those arranging the workshop must pay for business-class travel for two and for food and lodging during the workshop and for the days immediately before and after.