As I start to ramp up my own business around helping people escape so they can focus, I go back and forth on using the term, ‘Offsite’.  Why, you ask?  Mainly because of the negative connotations this word may have to the group I’m targeting (start-ups, tech people, small to mid-size companies).  Almost everyone has had a bad offsite experience, and wonders if they are really worth it.  The thing is, if not planned well by the leader, they are NOT worth it.  That is the truth.

I’m here to tell you that when planned well, they can have a positive and meaningful impact on your company, team and product.  When a group is able to get out of the everyday routine, AND they are led by a person or persons who have truly thought about the end goal of an offsite, it is amazing what can be accomplished.

I read this article about planning an offsite,  and thought I would post the great list they came up with.  If you want more detail around each item, take a look at the article where there is great information.

Step 1: Identify Your Purpose

Step 2: Identify the Participants

Step 3: Pick a Location

Step 4: Plan Your Activities

Step 5: Inform Your Team

Step 6: Find a Facilitator

Step 7: Write a Complete Agenda

Step 8: Measure Your Success

I think the key to a good offsite is starting with the end.  What do I mean… I mean, what do you want to walk away with?  A business plan, a product, a list of long term goals for the company or team, a completed budget?  Once you define the end goal, you will have a much easier time creating your path to get there.

Have fun planning an offsite, and know that it can be a good experience that creates real results.

I got a tweet from Guy Kawasaki that took me to this article.  The article provides a great list of online resources to plan your next event.  If you need to plan a meeting, a party, or just need to find a date that works for everyone… there is a tool to help you.  The great thing is that most of the online tools you find to plan an event are free.

This isn’t on the list, but I find that for our family, keeping a central Google calendar is extremely useful for planning our schedules and marking events.  You can color code the calendar, give access to multiple users and set-up e-mail reminders for all parties.  Using this along with other tools (like those on the list in the article I posted) you will be able get all of your event planning done, quickly and efficiently.  This will in turn give you more time to enjoy the process and the event itself.

So… let’s get planning!