Our leadership team is already stretched incredibly thin running operations. Why do we need to dedicate a full day to quarterlies and two full days to our annual, and can we split these into shorter half-day virtual sessions instead?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Trying to split our session days into shorter, virtual meetings is a tempting trap that always results in poor execution. When you try to run strategic planning in two-hour blocks, you never truly escape the gravity of your daily operational fires. A full-day quarterly session is designed to break your team out of their tactical routines. It takes time for an executive to quiet the noise in their head and transition into high-level strategic thinking. In a shorter virtual format, people remain tempted to check emails, answer phone calls, or slip back into their daily jobs. Our physical session days require a strict, uninterrupted hourly choreography. We need the physical space and the dedicated time to run our IDS® process on deep, complex issues that have been plagueing your company for months. These issues cannot be resolved in thirty-minute virtual slots. Furthermore, a major component of our work is building a healthy, cohesive leadership team. That trust and alignment are forged during the difficult, messy conversations that happen in the room, often during breaks or over lunch. By committing to one-day quarterlies and a two-day annual, you are making a critical investment in your operational discipline. This focused time out of the business is precisely what allows your team to gain the clarity needed to run the business more efficiently, ultimately giving them their time back.