When Do You Strategize?

Guest post by Social Wordsmith Robbi Hess

Many business owners look at the half way point or January 1 as the time to look at business goals and strategies. Since the half way point of the year is quickly approaching, is it time for you to strategize?

Whether you operate a large #manufacturing company or are a solopreneur, there are "correct" ways to set up a strategy session with your teammates and/or vendors or clients.

How can you ensure your time spent in a strategy session is as fruitful as it can be? Here are some tips:

• Involve the team in the sessions. This means the entire team -- not simply upper management. To gain buy-in you need to have everyone on board. If necessary, and if you're virtual, there are many free tools you can use (including Skype and Google Hangouts) to gather the team in one place. 
• Have your information ready on what you hope to accomplish, where the company is going and what role your employees and staff will play in that role. Set an agenda and stick to the topics. 
• Ask the members of the team, upper management and even your vendors for their input and their perspective on how they think things have been going and how they think operations may be changed to reap a better reward. 
• Invest in yourself and your continual learning -- as a business owner you need to be informed and at the top of the information stack in your industry. Be known as the "go-to" person for top notch industry expertise. 
• Write it down and revisit your strategy session feedback. It doesn't do any good to have a session, then forget about the comments and feedback. Use the session as a living guideline moving forward. 

When did you last perform a social media strategy session? If you feel your business needs one, contact me.