How to make strategy retreats worthwhile

Another three-day strategy retreat in some ritzy hotel surrounded by a wrap-around golf course or with a breath-taking ocean view. This is the usual setting of a top management meeting where we discuss, usually with support from a consultant, how the business will grow in the next five years.

This five-year ritual is punctuated by a mid-strategy review where a post-mortem is undertaken to discuss what was done and what was not done, point fingers and agree to do better next time. Research shows that only about 10 percent of strategies ever get implemented as envisioned.