Top 3 Initiatives to Make 2020 Your Year of Change
Besides nailing down this key aspect, you also need to get the practical aspects right in order to have a successful retreat.
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- Block off a full day for planning. Impress on your team members how important it is to get participation and buy-in from everyone to be successful.
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- Move off-site if you can. If not, find a conference room in your building (without floor-to-ceiling windows to avoid distractions from passing co-workers) and a few places that can serve as break-out rooms, where people can discuss specific ideas without being disturbed.
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- Invite anyone with a stake in email success. That includes everybody from your CMO and the specialists, to your newest team members. They all belong at the table. Also, come with a set of ground rules that will set the tone and process for the meeting.
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- Foster open, focused conversation. Talk about what worked in the past, what's not working (stay out of tactics), and what ideas are worth trying. Conduct a Blue Sky Brainstorm! Leave the titles in the office. At your planning retreat, everybody gets a say (but keep the conversation on the strategic level).
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- Document everything. As soon as the planning session is over, gather up all the paperwork, and distill it into a workable plan. Distribute it to some key employees for their editing and input. Then, present it to your CMO. And, finally, execute on it the rest of the year. You might have to pivot at some point, but base all of your tactical and campaign planning on your new email strategic plan.
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