At Bulletproof, we’ve found that running offsites has been tremendously beneficial for the c-level team and for Bulletproof in general. A noted in my first post – Why we did it – we researched and worked out how we would run our offsite and what we’d aim to get from it. We came up with the items covered in previous posts in this series: Setting Ground Rules, Reviewing the Vision, Reviewing the Values, and Setting the Goals.

Our experience of the process at Bulletproof has meant that we have revised Vision. By its very wording, it will help us drive our product evolution and keep us focused on what we do (and want to continue to do) well. On reflection, we were happy with the Values, but the master stroke was in adding ‘The Bulletproof Way’ to the list; and now we have a list of attributes we value, look for and nurture in our people. Finally, we also have a list of attainable goals.

Now, our Vision is shared equally among our C-level team, everyone is clear about the shared goals, and there is good understanding of who will do what to help us get there. Each goal has a champion and owner that help drive it forward.

After we ran the process, we then brought team across the vision and goals. This is because they need to believe that the vision, as defined by its composite goals, is attainable. They can now understand how what they do fits into the big picture. The resulting excitement and drive from the team has been amazing.

We now report back to our C-level meetings monthly, to see how we’re going on the road to attaining our goals and making the company vision come true.

Suffice to say, this is the best thing we’ve ever done at a management level.

Every company is going to have a different experience with this process. The most important point is that you go through the process and then come away with a documented plan. Then review your progress frequently.

This is the final post in the Running and effective offsite series. I hope you have found it of value, and will check back for my next series.