Some of my favorite (and most impactful) moments during sessions with clients happen when the work takes us someplace NOT on the agenda. Linda and I were in a working session with a top team recently, building their organization’s strategic plan. The firm is healthy, with a variety of choices about what to do next and a corresponding variety of opinions. Good debates happened in several places:

• How much growth is right for us?
• Do we have the right people in the right places for where we’re headed?
• Will what worked to get us here be as helpful for our success going forward?
• Do customers value the diversity of our lines of business?
• How will we come to agreement about what’s next?