---
title: "The first strategic planning meeting"
description: "A whole-team session to define what the organisation wants to embody."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/unreasonable-hospitality/the-first-strategic-planning-meeting/
updated: 2026-11-03
---

# The first strategic planning meeting

> A whole-team session to define what the organisation wants to embody.

Will Guidara's framework, from Unreasonable Hospitality, pp. 90 to 99.

Framework 4 of 15 from [Unreasonable Hospitality](https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/unreasonable-hospitality/index.md) by Will Guidara. Category: Hiring and teams.

## The steps

1. **Close the business for the day.** Make the time unreasonable enough to signal it matters.
2. **Invite everyone.** Include dishwashers, prep cooks and assistant servers as well as managers.
3. **Pose one question.** Ask what do we want to embody, then step out of the way.
4. **Break into small groups.** Give each group a notebook and have the managers keep out of it, doing a role swap with sandwiches.
5. **Present and converge.** Each group presents and the common words become the list, such as education, passion, excellence and hospitality.

## Where it comes from

From chapter: Chapter 9: Working with Purpose, on Purpose, pp. 90–99

## The animation

24 seconds, 4:5, no sound.

- MP4: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/unreasonable-hospitality/the-first-strategic-planning-meeting.mp4
- MP4, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/unreasonable-hospitality/the-first-strategic-planning-meeting-dark.mp4
- Still: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/unreasonable-hospitality/the-first-strategic-planning-meeting.png
- Still, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/unreasonable-hospitality/the-first-strategic-planning-meeting-dark.png