Your company has had a good (no, make that great!) couple of years and you and your team of executives agree its time for a planning meeting. You’ll want to discuss a Five Year Plan and a possible foray into foreign markets. This is important stuff and you don’t want the usual distractions taking your eye off the ball. You agree that meeting outside the office is essential.

Because your group is small, options for places to meet can be as varied as your imagination and budget will allow. So why not think outside the usual four-walls-and-a door meeting cube at the local chain hotel across town and make your critical planning session a memorable one on every level?

With advance planning you can:

1. Find a site that’s perfect for meeting your goals.
2. Connect with planners who specialize in executive meetings.
3. Tap the resources of local visitor’s bureaus.
4. Bring in coaches and facilitators.
5. Have a little fun when the day’s works is done.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find a meeting site that reflects your company culture

If you’re a casual bunch, think mountain lodge, dude ranch, or multi-bedroom private home on the beach. If you want a little luxury, consider a small hotel with exquisite amenities. And there’s nothing that says you can’t meet on a cruise ship or at a spa or golf resort or on a catamaran sailing the Caribbean.

I recommend: Check out Colorado lodges, dude ranches, beachfront homes, little luxury hotels, golf resorts, cruise ships, spas with meeting facilities, sailboats.

Find experts to help you plan the details

As they say, the devil is in the details, and attention to detail is critical with a small executive meeting. This is probably not the time to turn over the planning to your part-time receptionist unless he/she is a competent meeting planner.

I recommend: Find a company that specializes in facilitating all aspects of a meeting. Members of organizations like Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE) carry the credentials that ensure quality services. Local convention bureaus often have meeting planners on staff or look for a qualified Destination Management Company (DMC) at your chosen destination.

Jazz up your agenda with an outside facilitator

Sure it’s your company and you know better than anyone where you want it to be in five years. But you might not be the best person to lead the discussions and create the Big Plan. Sometimes, bringing in outside help smoothes the way to a polished end product.

I recommend: Find a qualified facilitator here

Don’t forget to have a good time

Corporate meetings are serious business but you know what they say about all work and no play. So plan a golf outing, a lobster bake on the beach, a sunset cruise. Hire a private chef and indulge in some interactive cooking. Go high-tech with high-energy team-building.

I recommend: a company that specializes in corporate events and let your imagination run. Plan a golf outing. Play games.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Include special touches like limos at the airport, room gifts and flowers on the tables.
• •  Forget about meeting in a meeting room. Set up tables on the beach instead.
• •  If your session will be a long one, bring in an exercise expert during a break to perk up the team.
• •  Don’t neglect the tax issues that can come with holding a meeting. Ask your tax advisor for information on potential tax consequences for your company and attendees.
• •  There can be legal and insurance issues too. Be sure to seek appropriate advice.
• •  Pacing can be a make-or-break element of a meeting. Don’t try to cram too much into a day. Free time can pay big dividends.
• •  Read all vendor contracts carefully. Attrition clauses (applicable if you have to cancel part or all of any component) can be costly.
• •  Consider the issue of including or not including spouses or significant others.