Stryke Consulting · Strategy workshop for leadership teams

The strategy workshop that ends with 3–5 must-win battles and OKRs

Two days with your leadership team. Day one builds a shared view of where you are and where you want to be, and chooses the few battles that close the gap. Day two turns them into company OKRs with owners, first actions and a review rhythm.

Hamburg-based, on site wherever your team meetsOne or two senior partners, as your team needs6 to 15 leaders, two days, English or German

What your team leaves with

A shared picture of todayYour journey so far, your market and your CEO’s ambition, seen by the whole team
Success in one, two and three yearsThree Horizons, written by the team and agreed in the room
3–5 must-win battlesEach with a what, a why and a how, chosen by leadership decision
Company OKRs for the next quarterOwners, first actions and the check-ins already in the calendar

The workshop logic

From a shared view of today to a path of 3–5 must-win battles

Three questions carry the first day: where are we, where do we want to be, and what closes the gap. Everything the team writes, pitches and votes on serves one of them.

DAY 1
Develop a shared view of where we are, where we want to go and how to get thereLife line, Three Horizons and a path of 3–5 must-win battles
1. Where we are

Create a common perspective of today

The team draws the company’s life line: milestones, highs and lows. Then the market: key drivers, competitors, customers. Facts first, opinions later.

Life lineToday
3. How to get there
A path of 3–5 must-win battles

Compare today with the future. Which topics have the highest leverage in closing the gap? Impact/effort, dot voting, leadership decision. Each battle gets a what, a why and a how.

TodayHorizon 3
2. Where we want to be

Define future success

Brainwriting, sharing and a gallery walk. The team agrees on what success looks like in one, two and three years, from the core business to the new.

Horizon 1Core business, 1 year
Horizon 2Success in 2 years
Horizon 3Success in 3 years
DAY 2
Develop company OKRs for the next quarter from the 3–5 must-win battlesA 90-minute OKR training first, then the workshop: company OKRs with clear owners for the quarter

Day 1 defines the direction and the strategic priorities. Day 2 turns them into actionable company OKRs.

The activities

What happens in the room, hour by hour

Every block has one job and one method. Everyone writes before anyone speaks, options are pitched and voted on, and each discussion closes with a decision.

Day 1
How we work
Opening and success criteria
Welcome, and what must these two days achieve? The criteria go on the wall and stay there.
Market vision keynote
A short keynote on where the market is heading, clarifying questions and individual notes.
CEO ambitions
The CEO’s perspective, questions and a shared discussion.
Life line: your company’s journey
Silent notes on milestones, highs and lows. Share and discuss. The team builds one common perspective of today.
The market environment
Which key drivers influence our business? What are competitors doing? The answers become a gallery.
Three Horizons: success
Brainwriting, sharing and a gallery walk. The team agrees on what success looks like in one, two and three years.
Gap analysis
Compare today with the future. Which topics have the highest leverage in closing the gap?
3–5 must-win battles
Impact/effort chart, dot voting and leadership decision. A what, a why and a how for each priority.
Day 2
How we work
Quick warm-up
Reflection on where we got on day one and an outlook for day two.
OKR training, 90 minutes
Everybody develops a common understanding and a shared language on Objectives and Key Results.
Company Objectives
Groups draft the quarter’s Objectives from the must-win battles. Share, combine and select.
Measurable Key Results
Draft two to four Key Results per Objective. Define baselines, targets and data sources.
Feedback and refinement
Gallery walk and peer feedback. Check focus, clarity and measurability.
Risks and dependencies
Pre-mortem, dependency mapping and a confidence vote. Agree the responses.
Ownership and first actions
One owner per Objective, first actions, and deadlines for missing data or decisions.
Check-ins and reviews
Agree regular check-ins, a mid-quarter review and an end-of-quarter review, in the calendar before we leave.

The activities are our proposal. In a one-hour prep session we tailor them to your team, your numbers and the decisions the workshop must make.

Is this the right format?

The strategy workshop and its two siblings

Three formats, one standard: senior people in the room, a clear process, and decisions by the end of the day.

Strategy workshop

Two days. You want a shared view of today, 3–5 must-win battles and company OKRs for the next quarter. This page.

Strategy offsite

Two days with more room for the future: Three Horizons, deliberate provocations, a stop list and a strategy on one page. Strategy offsite facilitation in six steps →

Leadership workshop

One day. The strategy is set and execution is not: alignment, decision rights and a steering rhythm. The one-day leadership workshop →

Who you work with

Senior partners, one in the lead and one challenging

One of us runs the process, the other works the content with your team. Both have sat on the client side of strategy and on the facilitator side of more than a thousand workshops.

Joern Steinz, partner at Stryke Consulting

Joern Steinz

Partner · Strategy execution and OKRs

Facilitating leadership teams since 2014, more than 60 OKR engagements and over 1.000 workshops. Formerly a consultant at Accenture and in corporate development at XING. MBA, EADA Business School Barcelona.

Oliver Pasdzior, partner at Stryke Consulting

Oliver Pasdzior

Partner · Strategy and leadership

Over 15 years in corporate development and strategy execution, formerly an executive at major corporations. Leads growth, efficiency and change initiatives with analytical clarity and a pragmatic feel for the people side.

Strategy workshops and offsites we have facilitated for the leadership teams of

Domino’s PizzaESAHarvey NormanStevanato GroupZertus Group

Further clients

AllianzBayerBrown-FormanDHLeBayLufthansaMcKinseySiemensVolkswagen

Questions

Questions about the strategy workshop

How is the strategy workshop different from the strategy offsite?

The strategy workshop is the compact format: a shared view of today, 3–5 must-win battles and company OKRs for the next quarter, in two days. The strategy offsite gives the future more room, adds a stop list and ends with a strategy on one page. In the prep session we tell you which one fits, or that neither does.

Who is in the room?

Your leadership team, typically 6 to 15 people, and one or two of us, as your team needs: one leads the process, the other challenges the content. Both are senior.

What do we need to prepare?

A one-hour prep session with structured questions on your strategy, your numbers and the decisions the workshop must make. A short market keynote and the CEO’s ambition open day one; we help you shape both. We sign an NDA on request.

Do we need OKR experience?

No. Day two starts with a 90-minute OKR training so that everybody shares one language before the team writes its first Objectives and Key Results.

Where does the workshop take place?

At a venue of your choice. We are based in Hamburg and come to wherever your team meets, in English or German.

What happens after the two days?

The check-ins, the mid-quarter review and the end-of-quarter review are in the calendar before you leave. On request we facilitate them and the planning of the following quarter.

Three Horizons is the framework by Baghai, Coley and White (McKinsey & Company, 1999). Stryke Consulting is not affiliated with McKinsey & Company or the authors. OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results.

Next step

Let’s plan your strategy workshop

In 30 minutes we find out whether the format fits your team, and which dates work.

Write to us

hello@stryke-consulting.com · 0049 175 566 4329 · Hamburg


Strategy development and execution · Hamburg