164: How to Prepare for a Deep Dive Strategy Session
with Michele Williams
There comes a time for every business owner where they know a cursory glance over their business is not enough. They must do a deep dive into the company to check for workflows, profitability, products, services and more. And this deep dive can be overwhelming if not done methodically – because there are rabbit trails that quickly show up! On today’s podcast I am going to share with you my recent deep dive strategies, how they worked, and what could be improved. Enjoy!
Topics Mentioned:
Strategy session
Agenda
Document
Prioritize
Listen to the Episode
Recently my Director of Operations and I met in Chattanooga, TN,which is halfway between where we both live. Our plan was to spend a couple of days talking about the business, walking through processes, looking for inefficiencies or ways to elevate my programs with the idea of constant improvement.
But our planning started way before we met. We had a date on the calendar at least two months in advance, and during our weekly strategy calls, we would talk about areas of the company where we might want to really do awalkthroughof thecurrentprocess.
So,step onein preparing for a deep dive session is to create an agenda. Our agenda mentioned processes and documents that were in need of review, attention, or updating. As soon as we startedthe deep dive, we wrote the agenda on the whiteboard in the conference room we were using so that we could stay focused. We also knew, though, that as we went through the work that other items would appear that needed to be addressed. This led to steptwo.
Step twowas to leave room on the agenda for new items to emerge and for the scope to morph. And yes, mine morphed. What we quickly realized was that as we were going through one section of my business – say a welcome email series,wasthat there were sections that could be confusing or at a minimum, not as clear as we would like. So not only were we changing the process or order of emails,but wealsoneeded to change some of the wording of theexistingemails.
In AIM with Intent™,my signature scaling methodology,we are always making mention of the fact that the foundation and processes built to get you where you are might not be the same ones to get you where you want to go. We need to modify them sometimes, so they grow with us.This is exactly what wefound in my processes and documents as well.
When weidentifiedthese additional items needing review, we added them to the agenda so we would not miss them. It is easy to chase the rabbit trail of correcting every piece of the process while you are in it, but that can also bog you down in the details. We immediately started to identify what we were capable of updating during our time together and what we could capture notes about and correct when we returned to the office.
And this leads us tostep three. Create a plan to take notes and capture outcomes. Internally, we use Asana for project management and task management. Since we had our agenda in Asana, we kept notes there along with details and assignments. We had already created our next meeting agenda and it was easy to go directly to that open project and add information when it was decided. This kept us fromtransferring data all over the place. I had areMarkable2, as did Kelcee, and we were also taking some notes by hand when necessary. The great thing about using areMarkableis that those notes can be saved and sent as a PDF or JPG so we could easily attach them to any task in Asana. As we wrote and strategized on the whiteboard, we used our phones to take pictures of everything. And I cannot tell you how many times I have reviewed those pictures to see exactly what we decided along the way. A picture really is worth 1000 words.
Lastly, we had a recap at the end of our time together. We reviewed our agenda to make sure we had spent time on each item. We made certain we had captured each action item, we assigned each task appropriately, we set priority for each task,and we set delivery dates.
Approaching a deep dive can feel overwhelming – even when done well. There are lots of ideas, challenges to thoughts,as well ascreation and deletion decisions. It almost seems like information is flying by your head physically. I can tell you this – it is a very energizing experience.
While we both left feeling exhausted and spent, we left excited for what was to be and what was coming. We came back to the office and met immediately the next week to talk it over after the decisions has settled to make any changes necessary. We then started doing the work of making the changes we identified.
Now, I can tell you what we would both do differently next time: We would give more time to the process. We did a brief2-hoursession the night before our meeting, then a full day of 8 am – 6 pm. Next time we will give ourselves 2 full days.
Another thing we will do next time is pre-create a note section in our Asana so that we are not creating on the fly. Because we were moving so quickly, and trying to capture as we went, it sometimes felt overwhelming. It might be nice to have someone just capturing info while we strategize. We were offsite for both of us, and we rented space in a tech center. I liked this – because we felt away from the day-to-day and had a large conference table, wi-fi, whiteboards, and everything we needed to be comfortable. We did have a yummy breakfast and a fantastic lunch break. But we did not have a lot of time for more of a rest and our brains were struggling by the end of the day.As a matter of fact, I went back to my hotel room where my husband was working, we went todinner,and I went straight to sleep when we returned. My mental energy waszapped,and it zapped my physical energy.
Creating time to step back from the day to day and to revisit workflows, processes and documents can be difficult – but the investment is amazing. We all feel so much better with the decisions and changes we have made to my coaching program. The same can hold true for your business. Look for ways to constantly improve what you are doing- evenif it is just a small step at a time.
In AIM with Intent™the five systems thateverybusiness needs are foundation, intention, people, process, and profits. We don’t just look at each of theseindividuallybut also where they intersect.Spendingtime in the deep dive process allows you to consider the interdependencies that might be missed in the day-to-day. Ifyouwant to know more about this entire methodology, check out my AIM Masterclass. You can find it atwww.scarletthreadconsulting.comunder the resources tab. Choose to create profitable exercises in your business, because profit doesn’t happen by accident.
Key Thoughts:
Step onein preparing for a deep dive session is to create an agenda. Michele(2:11)
Step twowas to leave room on the agenda for new items to emerge and for the scope to morph. Michele(2:54)
Step three is to create a plan to take notes and capture outcomes.Michele(5:05)
Creating time to step back from the day to day and to revisit workflows, processes and documents can be difficult – but the investment is amazing. Michele (10:29)
Contact Michele:
Email: Team@ScarletThreadConsulting.com
Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting
Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL
Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com
LinkedIn: Michele Williams
References and Resources:
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