We’ve all been there, I promise, every entrepreneur has found their business in a state of stagnancy. It’s that moment when you are either in total business chaos, you know what you want but not how to get it or your business is in a market slump. Some familiar symptoms would be doing things over and over with no progress, a never-ending to-do list or (fill in the blank). Don’t worry. It could be something as simple as improving your day-to-day operations, repairing a failed customer relationship, and all other things that scream organize, automate and follow up. It is so easy to just give up and stop—but no! As business gurus who have seemingly already experienced the worst continually say, there are no failures, just really good lessons.
One does not need a perfectly crafted schedule to reclaim the time that is dwindling away. The idea is to act fast and, by that, to act now, right now! Successful entrepreneurs know the impact and the value of strategy sessions. When strategizing, smart decisions must be done minute by minute with one key takeaway: outthinking your competition, revitalizing obsolete thoughts and creating an optimum performance plan. To give you an idea, Allison Todd came up with a sound 12-minute strategy session that can help you leap over your professional or entrepreneurial plateau. Here’s what you can do to take action in your business success:
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First things first—be at your best, self-care is essential. Whether its meditation, a few sit ups or a good night’s rest you must be at your best. After all you are building a business. Be mentally and physically prepared. A clear state of mind (and a stomach that can last till the session is over) is a must.
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Always be open to ideas and debate. Do not stifle creativity because, frankly, there’s no monopoly to brilliance. Let others have their say and see that as opportunities for growth. Strategy sessions, no matter how short, is still a way to accept new ideas, challenge them and find ones that can work to the advantage of the business.
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ALWAYS set big goals that are segmented into clear, specific goals. It is important to keep achievable and detailed goals while planning out the big ones. Example—enhancing an online shop’s checkout process can be a hefty goal. Cut and take each segment of the process to achieve measurable results. Focus on specific elements like individual pages extraction, content strategy, layout structure, and user interaction. To achieve your big goal, connect all these mini-goals. And don’t forget to celebrate the small wins.
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Maintain focus and follow your agenda. Establish leads, roles and responsibilities and keep strategy sessions as small and focused as possible. These point persons can act as good cop-bad cop titillating the discussion until sound decisions are made. Too many leads will only put decision-making in a quagmire.
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Create a timetable complete with deadlines. Remember, you are on a tight schedule. The idea is to set productivity into motion as fast as you can. When planning for brainstorming, for example, a 5-minute session will do.
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Organize leads and support group. Using an app or business process to bridge and monitor collective progress is a must.
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Eliminate distractions. Keep the door shut. Phones must be off the table. Background noise must be kept minimal. Write in big bold letters the main goal in mind. As much as possible, keep everyone’s focus on it and not on their social media statuses. You may also want to ban shelled nuts and candies with plastic wrappers, too. (Ok you don’t have to go that far, but you get the picture).
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Turn on everyone’s objectivity. Do not wallow in the “groupthink” theory. One best way is to bring a client or a brand champion to a strategy session. It’s going to be crazy creative and highly passionate but that’s ok. This session will put creative pressure on all your leads.
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Encourage clash of opinions—but keep it short and productive. This is the time for you to listen. There is always a tug of war in a boardroom with only one sure winner—the business.
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Motivate everyone to pitch criticisms. Even when ideas seem to be the clearest cut to answer the current dilemma, another lead may have something much simpler and more productive. The idea is to make it as constructive as possible.
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Time is up! Make sure to put on record specific actions to be taken. Have one of the members write it down. Some companies tend to do video recording sessions should there is a need to review later on.
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Take action. Observe. Have a follow-up strategy session in place to address possible issues.
All in all, Allison’s 12-minute strategy session motivates creative thinking that produces high impact solutions. Breakthrough decisions can be productive when you complete consistent, specific actions while focusing on the big picture.