Ritualizing strategic thinking: the effectiveness of the strategic away day

Abstract

Purpose

The paper fives the author's view on the effectiveness of strategy workshops and away days.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the author's experience in the field, and insights from anthropology are also used.

Findings

Managers need to think carefully how to align the design of a workshop with its purpose. There should be no great expectation that insights and conclusions arrived at in the event will necessarily transfer to what the organization does. If the aim is to get people to challenge and question the strategy significantly but there is a need to transfer the insights from that event into what the organization will actually do, then it makes sense to consider a nested series of events.

Originality/value

The paper presents a viewpoint of strategy workshop and away days from an anthropological perspective.

Citation

Johnson, G. (2008), "Ritualizing strategic thinking: the effectiveness of the strategic away day", Strategic Direction, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 3-5. https://doi.org/10.1108/02580540810839250