A Refreshing Change: Vision Statements That Make Sense
(Fortune, September 1996)
Visions are Big, Important Stuff that everyone's supposed to subscribe to. Most visions boil down to a predictable and meaningless "Go team, go!" It doesn't have to be that way, according to consultant Bob Frisch. He sees vision as capturing what's happening to the world you compete in and what you want to do about it. It should guide decisions, up, down and across the organization. Frisch's process for vision creation is "orderly, sensible and intellectually engaging." request a copy

Keeping Off-sites on Target
(CFO, April 2007)
Off-site strategy meetings can be expensive, but if done right, they can generate significant returns.  To maximize the ROI of off-site strategy meetings four days of preparation are needed for every day of the meeting. Attendence should be limited to 12 and the agenda should be focused. Keep your company's culture in mind when choosing the activities, but don't be afraid of a little "constructive conflict." read this article online or request a copy

A Pragmatic Approach to Vision
(Journal of Business Strategy, July/August 1998)
The vision thing…it's not as easy as it sounds. Vision should be concrete, not abstract. It should be based on facts, not speculation. And to have any impact it must be widely understood and enthusiastically embraced throughout the organization. But a workable, winning vision doesn't just happen. The process through which vision is developed is critical, difficult, and rarely done well. There are ten principles, many of them counterintuitive, that should act as the starting point for vision development. request a copy

Strategic Planning Finds Its Way Back
(Electric Perspectives, July/August 2007)
Off-site strategy retreats promise enriching collaboration, but they frequently come up short of their potential. Executives who gather in woodsy conference centers to brainstorm on the future direction of their companies typically discuss too many topics, with the wrong people, in the wrong way, with inappropriate data, resulting in no clear conclusion. See page 15 of this article for "Making Off-Sites Work." Visit the Electric Perspectives website to read the PDF article online.

Advisor-Client Perceptions on Strategy Offsites
(Consulting Information Services, LLC)
Companies conduct offsite sessions with senior management to define and refine corporate strategy. Advisors actively participate in these sessions as facilitators and planners to help companies “unlock” management’s strategic thinking. To gain maximum value from these sessions, and align strategic vision with execution of ideas, clients must understand the motivation and capabilities of strategy offsite advisors. download the article PDF

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