Annual Strategy Days
About this workshop
Annual Strategy Days give a leadership team protected time to reconnect the priorities for the year ahead with the company’s longer-term direction. The workshop tests whether the strategic choices still hold, resolves competing priorities and converts the conclusions into a specific execution plan. Every workshop is prepared and led by Dr Frank Heyd.
Who will benefit most from this workshop?
CEOs and senior leadership teams setting next year’s priorities.
Why choose an Annual Strategy Days workshop?
Annual planning often becomes updates, budget negotiations and an expanding initiative list. This format returns the discussion to direction, trade-offs and commitment. It produces decisions, not aspirations or team-building activities.
What will participants achieve?
Strategic performance review
A shared view of what changed, what worked and which assumptions no longer hold.
Reconfirmed direction
Agreement on whether the longer-term position remains right or requires adjustment.
Explicit priorities and trade-offs
A small number of priorities, including what receives less attention or stops.
Aligned initiative portfolio
A clear connection between priorities, initiatives and the resources required.
Twelve-month execution plan
Specific outcomes, first moves, owners and milestones.
Review cadence
Agreement on how progress, assumptions and open decisions will be reviewed.
Typical Content
- Review performance against the previous year’s strategic priorities.
- Examine changes in markets, customers, competition and the wider environment.
- Revisit the longer-term direction and its underlying assumptions.
- Identify the few choices requiring leadership agreement.
- Define priorities and make the necessary trade-offs explicit.
- Review the initiative portfolio against importance and available capacity.
- Translate priorities into outcomes, owners, milestones and first moves.
- Establish the decisions, assumptions and indicators requiring continued review.
Tailored strategy sessions
The agenda is prepared around the decisions the team must make. We review relevant evidence and identify differences before the workshop. If the question requires substantial diagnosis or option development, we recommend an advisory mandate.
