Strategy Shaping Sprint
Choose what matters most.
Turn direction into action.
A focused half-day workshop to turn broad direction into shared priorities and practical next steps.
Working from your existing strategy or strategic challenge, we help you examine the choices, work through competing demands and agree where to concentrate effort.
You leave with two or three priorities and a realistic 90-day plan, including what needs to stop, wait or change to make room.
Best for
Leadership, functional or programme teams with a broad direction but unclear priorities, competing commitments or a need to refocus after circumstances have changed.
Duration
A 4-hour workshop, with preparation and written outputs. Two 2-hour sessions can be arranged where a break to check assumptions or consult colleagues would help.
Participants
Typically five to ten people, including those authorised to set priorities and colleagues who understand the resources, dependencies and practical implications.
Delivery
In person or online. Hybrid delivery can be agreed around the participants and setting.
What you’ll get
A shared direction and clear priorities
A concise account of what you are working towards and the two or three priorities that deserve attention now.
A practical 90-day plan
Initial actions, named owners, milestones and dependencies, with any outstanding approvals or resource decisions made clear.
Explicit choices about effort
Agreement on what to pursue, stop, defer or reduce, with the reasoning and important trade-offs recorded.
Useful signs of progress
A few measures and review dates to help you assess whether the work is contributing to the intended outcomes and where adjustments are needed.
Ready to Connect?
Our approach
Choosing priorities involves expectations about what the organisation should achieve, loyalties to existing work and pressure to show ambition.
We explore how these influences shape the choices people feel able to make, helping the team agree a direction whose implications it understands and commitments it can realistically take on.
We check whether agreement on the direction means the same thing to everyone.
A team may support an ambition such as growth or better service while imagining different outcomes and demands on resources. Broad wording can allow those differences to remain unnoticed.
We help participants explain what the ambition means in their area and examine where those interpretations pull apart, so shared priorities rest on choices people have actually discussed.
How it works
1. Establish the focus
A short scoping call confirms the area of work, the planning horizon and who needs to participate. You share the relevant strategy, current commitments, available evidence and known constraints.
We prepare a concise brief so participants arrive ready to work through the choices.
2. Choose the priorities
In the workshop, we clarify the intended outcomes and examine the possible priorities. We test their contribution, assumptions and trade-offs, including where departmental interests or competing commitments pull in different directions.
Together, we identify where to concentrate effort and what should receive less attention.
3. Shape the first 90 days
We translate the priorities into manageable actions and milestones. We check capacity, identify dependencies and distinguish what the team can commit to from what needs approval or further evidence.
We agree owners, useful signs of progress and when the plan should be reviewed.
4. Record and carry forward
Within two working days of the final session, we send the sponsor a one-page direction and priorities summary and a concise 90-day action plan for confirmation.
The handover records the key choices, outstanding decisions and what needs communicating to those involved in delivery.
What’s included
-
A scoping call with the sponsor.
-
A focused review of agreed strategy and planning material.
-
A concise preparation brief for participants.
-
Four hours of facilitated workshop time.
-
A one-page direction and priorities summary, including the main trade-offs.
-
A 90-day action plan covering owners, milestones, dependencies, progress measures and review dates.
-
A short summary suitable for explaining the priorities to colleagues.
-
Written outputs issued within two working days for sponsor confirmation.
-
The scope covers one agreed organisational, functional or programme focus.
Any additional research, wider consultation or detailed business-case development is scoped separately.
Your Effort
People authorised to set priorities
The sponsor brings together participants who can make the necessary choices and identify where further approval is required.
Relevant information in advance
You provide the existing direction, current commitments, available resources and evidence that should inform the discussion.
Preparation and honest choices
Participants read the short brief and come ready to discuss competing demands, practical constraints and what may need to stop or wait.
Ownership after the session
Your team confirms the plan, communicates the priorities and takes responsibility for implementation and review.
Optional follow-up
Progress review
A 30-minute conversation two to three weeks later to review initial actions, outstanding decisions and any adjustments needed.
Additional communication support
A short presentation or manager briefing that explains the priorities, the choices behind them and what they mean for the people involved.
These additions are scoped and priced separately.
Explore more Quick Moves
When an unresolved decision is holding up progress and you need the right people to work through it.
When meetings and approval routes need clearer purposes, responsibilities and connections.
When you need space to think through a difficult situation and choose your next step.