Seminars and collective intelligence
Executive seminars: leadership team offsites that end with decisions
An executive seminar takes the leadership team out of the day-to-day to settle what regular meetings cannot. Flow Design designs, facilitates and documents it, so that ideas become decisions and decisions become actions.
When to call us
- Your executive committee has to choose a strategy or set priorities, and monthly meetings are no longer enough.
- A leadership team is taking shape after an appointment, a merger or a reorganisation.
- You want to write a three to five year vision and make it something people beyond the committee can share.
- Your last offsite produced good conversations and little follow-through.
- The CEO wants to take part fully instead of running the session.
How do you prepare an executive seminar?
We start from the decision you need, not from an agenda. We interview the CEO and a few committee members, then write a first draft of the run of show and refine it with you. Every session has a defined output. The venue, logistics and materials follow that thread, not the other way round.
- Scoping interviews with the sponsor and two or three team members
- A minute-by-minute run of show, revised up to the day before
- Working materials designed for each session
- Choice of venue and room layout
How long should a leadership team offsite last?
One day is enough to settle two or three well-prepared topics. Two days give room to work on a vision or a strategy, with a night between exploring and deciding. Beyond that, the seminar becomes a journey in several stages. We set the length from what the team must have decided by the time it leaves.
Why bring in an outside facilitator for an executive seminar?
Because a CEO cannot hold the frame and give an opinion at the same time. An outside facilitator keeps time, shares the floor, brings disagreements into the open and protects the decisions. She has no stake in the outcome. The CEO becomes one more member of a team that debates, and the room notices.
How do you make sure seminar decisions are acted on?
We write decisions down in the room, each with an owner and a deadline, before the group breaks up. flowAI captures the outputs and discussions, then drafts a report that the Flow Design team reviews and edits. The committee receives it quickly. A follow-up session a few weeks later can be planned from the start.
Where should you hold an executive seminar?
Somewhere that breaks with the routine without wearing people out: close enough for a single day, further away for two. You need a plenary room where everyone can see each other, breakout spaces and walls to put work up on. We can suggest venues, or work in the one you have already booked.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an executive seminar cost?
It depends on the length, the number of participants and what you ask us to cover: design only, facilitation, logistics, reporting. We send a quote after a first scoping conversation. We do not publish a price list, because no two leadership offsites are alike.
How far ahead should we contact you?
Allow a few weeks for a one-day session, and closer to two or three months for a two-day seminar with a venue to book. The earlier we are involved, the better the scoping. If it is urgent, call us and we will tell you honestly what is possible.
How many participants can you work with?
An executive committee usually has eight to twenty people. We also run extended committees that include the next management layer, and senior manager seminars of several hundred. The set-up changes with size; the method does not.
Do the topics we discuss stay confidential?
Yes. We never name a client or the subject of a seminar without written consent, and the stories on this site are anonymised. We agree with you in advance on what flowAI captures and who receives the report.
Should the CEO speak during the seminar?
Usually the CEO opens and closes. In between, they take part like everyone else. We prepare those moments with them: what they expect from the group and what they are leaving open.
Can you facilitate in English?
Yes. We facilitate in French and in English, and the report can be delivered in either language.