SATURDAY EXECUTIVE RETREAT
If you are familiar with M. D. Watkin's celebrated bestseller, you'll love Dr. Z's masterful adaptation to your specific company situation. You can just read the book, of course, but Dr. Z makes it come alive and precisely adapts its principles, so that they are specific to your company and to your unique business organization!
A minimum of 3 executives or owners from your company or organization are invited to attend. A free digital copy of the textbook is provided to each participant.
The retreat runs from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a 30' working lunch and two breaks. Lunch is provided, as well as coffee, soft beverages. Smoking inside is not permitted.
The topics highlighted here follow the textbook outline. Each topic will be evaluated beforehand to ensure that it is applicable to your situation. Learn more
Why transitions are critical times for your company. How you can take charge more effectively. Building business transition competence. Assessing transition risk.
Make the mental break needed for growth. Take charge in a new role. Understand the challenges of change management. Assess your preferences and vulnerabilities. Accelerate your learning. See it as an investment process. Plan to learn. Figure out the best sources of insight. Use structured methods to accelerate learning.
Match your business strategy to your company's specific situation. The dangers of “one-best-way” thinking. Diagnose the situation to develop the right strategy. Learn and apply the STARS model of analyzing where your company is now in its business cycle. Use the model to analyze portfolios, people, and structure. Learn how to lead change.
Build a productive working relationship with your people. The five-conversations framework. Define expectations. Agree on a diagnosis of your situation. Figure out how to work together. Negotiate for resources. Put together your 90-day growth plan.
Avoid common traps. Own a compelling vision. Secure early wins, and win some more.
Your are the organizational architect. Identify the root causes of poor performance. Align strategy, structure, systems, skills, and culture. Assess a team and change it. Manage the tension between short-term and long-term goals. Work team restructuring and organizational architecture issues in parallel. Put in place new team processes.
Escape the trap of thinking that authority is enough. Identifying whose support is critical to the success of your organization. Map networks of influence and patterns of deference. Alter your perceptions of interests and alternatives.
Learn how leaders get caught in vicious cycles. The three pillars of self-efficacy. Creating and enforcing personal disciplines. Building an advice-and-counsel network internal or external to your company or organization.
Why so few companies focus on transition and growth acceleration. The opportunity to institutionalize a common framework. Use the framework to accelerate team development and integrate new acquisitions.
Not all topics will be covered with the same level of detail. Emphasis on specific topics will be determine by the questionnaire which each participant is required to fill out prior to the retreat. You can just read the book, of course, but Dr. Z makes it come alive for your organization!