Strategic thinking in the desert
Daniel Duigou, journalist, former editor-in-chief of France 2 and ombudsman at France 5 has created a retreat in the Skoura palm grove, 40 km from Ouarzazate in the south of Morocco. We are invited to his private retreat for a 6-day strategic thinking programme.
OBJECTIVES
- Redefine the company’s vision and strategy:
- Use the silence to listen to each other and have discussions,
- Immerse yourself in this intercultural context.
PRINCIPALS OF THE PROGRAMME
Establish the connection between the experiences lived in the palm grove and that experienced in the workplace. The peacefulness of the palm grove and the desert allows us to take a step back from the emergencies faced by the company.
- Face to face with the beauty and silence of the palm grove and the desert
- Face to face with the company’s current situation
- Leaving behind the stress of life
- Taking a step back from the company’s daily situation
- A meeting with yourself and others
- Strengthen identity, team unity and performance
- Clear your mind, read, consider and discuss
- Mobilise the team in terms of the corporate plan
- Each day: A different activity, followed by a debriefing then a workshop, allowing participants to draw the parallel between the experience and the company’s situation.
COACHES
- Paul Hervé Vintrou, founder of Media Coaching Group
- Daniel Duigou, recluse, journalist, psychotherapist and host of the palm grove
PROGRAMME
- Day 1 (Saturday)
- Depart Paris at midday
- Arrive at Ouarzazate in early afternoon
- Transfer to Skoura (40 kilometres)
- Installation, visit to retreat, garden and orchard
- Briefing on the different stages of strategic analysis
- Description of a typical day
- 8: 00: Breakfast facing the mountains
- 9: 00: Experience – Live a situation that will allow you to memorise the work of the day
- 11: 00: Debriefing session – integration of experience in the context of the company
- 13: 00: Lunch
- 14: 30: Leisure
- 16: 00: Strategic workshop – work on the construction of the joint project
- 18: 00: Briefing and decision for implementation
- 20: 00: Drinks and dinner
- 22: 00: Evening under the stars; discussions; questions/answers regarding each person’s experience
- 23: 00: Long silence
- Day 2 (Sunday):
- Experience 1: Guided walk in the palm grove and orchards; mausoleum of the marabout
- Workshop 1: Strategic diagnosis: The identity of the business
- Reflection on the positioning and image of the business,
- Reflection on the brand.
- Day 3 (Monday):
- Experience 2: Souk visit: Day of weekly walk and meeting with an artisan
- Workshop 2: Strategic diagnosis: Strategic segmentation and external analysis
- Areas of activity and strategic segmentation,
- General and competitive environment (thanks to different models),
- analyse according to tools relevant to the business (value chain, Porter forces, segment life cycle, Océan Bleu, etc.).
- Day 4 (Tuesday):
- Experience 3: Walk in the desert
- Workshop 3: Strategic diagnosis: Internal analysis
- Identify resources (roots, values, abilities, etc.).
- Day 5 (Wednesday):
- Experience 4: Visit to Kasbah and a local business
- Workshop 4: Define a strategic vision for the business
- Day 6 (Thursday)
- Experience 5: Transfer the entire group to the bivouac and night in tents
- Workshop 5: Define objectives and policies
- Day 7 (Friday)
- Experience 6: To be specified according to the state of progress of works by the group
- Workshop 6: Thematic workshop: According to the issue faced by the company
- Day 8 (Saturday)
- Workshop 7: Debriefing of the week
- Assessment and implementation of plan of action
- Return to Paris in early afternoon
