Framework Consulting's LeapOut system walks executive teams through a four-step process (Assign, Plan, Execute, Deploy) to build strategy with staff input instead of relying on a single leader. Creator Francis Wade, who has run strategic retreats for two decades, argues that inclusive planning reduces employee anxiety and produces strategies people actually implement.
Most executive teams know that they need to have a breakthrough strategy in order to survive these turbulent times, but most have no idea how to go about doing so. They do what they've always done. Either they leave all the thinking up to one person or they merely follow the process that they used last year. When you take this approach, you end up missing out on having a team that is 100% aligned behind a breakthrough strategy, the kind that would vault your company to another level and prevent it from becoming a Blackberry, a Blockbuster Video, a Nokia, a BlackBerry, one of those companies that lost the script.
Thankfully, there are better ways. There are processes that involve all your staff, get the best ideas out, and maximize the involvement so so critical to effective implementation. You can produce a breakthrough strategy that assures your company's future without leaving employees thinking that they're being led by leaders who are out of touch with the challenges of a fast-changing world. So today, I want to share a simple system with you that will make your next strategic planning retreat easy, getting the best ideas from every member of staff so that you get a breakthrough plan that doesn't sacrifice their buy-in. A real game changer. It will also reduce their anxiety. When the future is assured, they don't have to worry that their leaders are taking them in the wrong direction, thereby threatening their job security. The system I'm about to introduce you to has changed the way executive teams do their strategic planning because they're finally able to follow a structure that brings them together as a group but pushes them to think differently.
As individuals, they each have their area of expertise, their individual area, and we use a number of methods to get each of them to think outside the box, but then choose from the best ideas in a structured fashion. The result is a breakthrough strategy that builds on their best thinking. So the system I'm gonna share with you today is called LeapOut Strategic Planning System. It's a simple 4-step process that helps you design each step of your next strategic planning retreat. And you know, we've used the system for businesses ranging from micro to Fortune 50 companies. All you need is a commitment to bring the important leaders in your company to a single place to decide on a breakthrough strategy, which they all must turn around and implement. This works as long as you sincerely want to produce a game-changing strategy that must be implemented by all concerned. LeapOut gives you a number of detailed videos to watch at each step of the way, breaking down the specific challenges you'll face and preparing to face each one. We'll help you pre-plan key steps using custom templates so that you can feel confident about facing the unexpected. And it's all part of the 4-step APED process. APED: assign the right people, plan the event with a custom design, execute the retreat, and deploy the projects to individuals who would be accountable for making them happen. By now you may be wondering, who, who am I and why am I making this offer? I'm Francis Wade, and I've spent the past 2 decades facilitating strategic planning retreats around the world. Ever since the Kaplan and Norton article on strategy mapping using the Balanced Scorecard came out, I've been offering my clients in several Caribbean countries private retreats to build breakthrough strategies that take them past the noise and to the next level. And after spending some time with executives, I noticed that they struggled with balancing the need to come up with a breakthrough strategy with a challenge of engaging their staff in the process. Some tried huge all-employee meetings with massive breakout rooms, both online and offline. Others relied on the thinking of just one or two smart people. A wealthy and fortunate few, maybe, even hired expensive outside consulting firms from abroad to do their thinking for them. Their results told me that something had to change. This is why I created the Leap Out Strategy System, a way for your company to define and execute its own breakthrough planning process that draws on expertise of your staff members. In this process, there's no over-reliance on outsiders, and you aren't using a generic set of ideas or frameworks. It's also not an academic exercise, but a practical activity intended to produce real-life outcomes in core parts of your business.
Because these are the same people who will be doing all the implementation, I've found that this approach works. But don't take my word for it. Read through this page. You'll find testimonials from other people who have used this same approach to create breakthrough strategies in their businesses. They are now busy implementing them and doing things for their customers that delight and excite them, which makes them winners. So if you are ready to produce a breakthrough, game-changing, strategic planning retreat that takes your company to the next level, the Leapold Strategy System will help you do that. You don't have to rely on stale processes that no longer work or approaches that exclude those who will be doing the implementing. Call me with some information about what you're trying to accomplish, and we can explore ways in which perhaps we can be helpful. Use the contact information on this page, the contact tab, or you can find me on LinkedIn. This is Francis Wade signing out, and I hope to hear from you soon. Bye now.
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