How do we make it real?
A 30-minute version of Strategy Rollout, used in the Strategic Thinking workshop. Participants shape their strategic story, plan who needs to hear it, and set personal commitments. For the full 60-minute version, see Strategy Rollout.
Strategy Rollout (short) is the closing module of the Strategic Thinking workshop. It runs for 30 minutes across three parts.
Part 1: Strategic Storytelling (15 min). Most strategies are communicated as information, and information rarely changes behaviour. The Strategic Storytelling framework gives a four-part structure for telling the strategic story so it lands with the people who were not in the room: Situation (what is true about the organisation and environment right now), Tension (what is at stake, and what changes if the organisation does not act), Choice (what has been decided, and what has been stepped back from), and Call to Action (what this means for the specific audience, and what you need from them). Participants draft a short version of their narrative for their most important audience in pairs, then share back to sharpen it.
Part 2: Communication planning (8 min). Working individually, participants identify their two or three most important audiences. For each, they note the key message, the format that fits (team meeting, one to one, written update), and when the conversation will happen.
Part 3: Commitments and close (7 min). Each person names one or two specific personal commitments connected to the strategic choices, each with an owner and a timeline, and the group agrees a review date. The facilitator closes with a short summary of the direction, the decisions and the commitments.
Participants leave with a strategic narrative they can tell consistently to their most important audiences. They have a clear communication plan for the weeks ahead. They have made specific, named commitments connected to the strategic choices made during the workshop, with a shared review date agreed before they leave the room.
This closing module combines three things: learning to tell the strategic story compellingly, planning who needs to hear it and how, and turning the day's decisions into specific personal commitments that each leader will carry forward.
Introduce the four-part Strategic Storytelling structure: Situation, Tension, Choice and Call to Action. Working in pairs, participants draft a short version of their strategic narrative for their most important audience, then share back so the group can sharpen where the tension and call to action need work.
Working individually, each person identifies their two or three most important audiences and, for each, the key message, the format that fits (team meeting, one to one, written update), and when the conversation will happen.
Each person names one or two specific personal commitments connected to the strategic choices, with an owner and a timeline, and the group agrees a review date. Close with a short summary of the direction, the decisions and the commitments.
Use Strategy Rollout (short) to close the Strategic Thinking workshop. In 30 minutes participants shape their strategic story into a clear narrative, plan who needs to hear it, and leave with named personal commitments.
Using this tool with a skilled facilitator means that discussions are focused, time is used efficiently, and the group moves toward consensus, making the session productive and impactful.
