One of the hardest parts of any strategic planning exercise isn’t deciding what you’re going to do. It’s deciding where you’re trying to get to and what you success actually looks like.  

I often find leadership teams become constrained by the business they’re running today. They’re thinking about current challenges, current resources and current limitations instead of what’s actually possible. 

That’s why one of the exercises I use in almost every strategic planning workshop is something we call the Magic Wand, an idea I was first introduced to through Mindshop.

Watch the video below or, if reading’s more your thing, keep scrolling.

 

 

what is the magic wand? 

 

The Magic Wand is exactly what it sounds like. 

Imagine you could wave a magic wand and design your business however you wanted. No constraints. No limitations. If you could build anything, where would you want the business to go? What would you want it to look like? 

The purpose of the exercise isn’t to create an unrealistic business plan. It’s simply to get people thinking differently. 

When you remove the barriers people naturally place on their thinking, you often uncover ideas that would never have surfaced otherwise. 

 

there are no rules 

 

One of the things I like most about this exercise is that there isn’t a right or wrong way to do it. 

In fact, I deliberately keep the instructions very broad. 

Some teams grab a sheet of butcher’s paper and draw what they think the future business could look like. Others write a story. I’ve even had people write a poem describing where they think the business should go. 

The format doesn’t matter. 

What matters is giving people permission to think creatively, without immediately worrying about budgets, staffing, time or whether something seems realistic. 

 

start with possibility 

 

Too often, strategic planning starts with everything that’s standing in the way. 

We don’t have the budget. 

We don’t have enough people. 

That’ll never work. 

Those conversations are important, but they shouldn’t happen first. 

The Magic Wand exercise encourages your team to think about what’s possible before reality starts putting limits on the conversation. 

Once you’ve captured those ideas, you can then step back and ask the practical questions. 

Which ideas could we pursue? 

What would it take to get there? 

What’s the first step? 

 

thinking differently leads to better strategy 

 

Not every idea that comes out of the Magic Wand exercise will make it into your strategic plan. 

But that’s not really the point. 

The value comes from helping your team think beyond the day-to-day and imagine what the business could become. 

Sometimes all people need is permission to think differently. 

And that’s often where the best strategic conversations begin. 

Simple but effective. 

 

we’re here to help 

If you’re running a strategic workshop or want to get more out of it, we can help guide you through the process. 

Reach out to me at j.knight@businessdepot.com.au or give us a buzz on 1300 BDEPOT. 

 

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