# How to Run an Amazing Strategy Workshop (Free Miro Template)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vIMwLqDsow
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/2vIMwLqDsow
Generated: 2025-11-11T02:10:13.455+00:00

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## Quick Overview

The video provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to run an amazing Strategy Workshop using a free Miro template called "Strategy Signal," detailing exercises for defining goals, creating a roadmap, generating concepts, and finalizing decisions through structured activities like solo ideation, heat mapping, and decider sign-off.

**Key Points:**
- The Strategy Workshop utilizes a custom framework called "Strategy Signal," which is flexible for one-day or two-day sessions and is documented in a published book.
- Day 1 focuses on defining a long-term goal (12-24 months) via a 'Work Alone Together' exercise (15 min) followed by a 'Straw Poll vote' (5 min) to select the best goal concept.
- The roadmap planning stage involves placing concepts onto a timeline (Next 30 Days, 30-90 Days, 6-9 Months, 9-12 Months, 12+ Months) after assigning owners and check-in dates.
- Day 2 begins with 'Lightning Demos' (25 min) where participants share inspiring solutions from other industries, followed by 'Concept Creation' where detailed solutions are drafted based on the chosen goal.
- The process emphasizes structured, time-boxed activities like 'Heat Map' voting (10 min) to prioritize concepts based on team interest, and 'Decider Sign-Off' (5 min) for final commitment.
- A key guideline is to 'work alone together' during ideation phases to ensure individual focus and prevent groupthink, with words being the most important part of each concept.

![Screenshot at 0:06: Jonathan Courtney, CEO of AJ&Smart, introduces the step-by-step process for running an amazing strategy workshop using their 'Strategy Signal' framework.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-00-06.png)

**Context:** The video is a tutorial presented by Jonathan Courtney, CEO of AJ&Smart, demonstrating how to structure and facilitate an effective strategy workshop designed to align teams on long-term goals and create actionable roadmaps. The process is modular, allowing adaptation for different timeframes (one-day vs. two-day workshops), and relies heavily on structured exercises using a digital whiteboard like Miro, for which a template is offered.

## Detailed Analysis

The video provides a comprehensive tutorial on executing a Strategy Workshop using the 'Strategy Signal' framework, which is designed to establish clear, actionable roadmaps for achieving long-term goals (12-24 months). The workshop structure is flexible, accommodating one-day or two-day sessions. Jonathan Courtney emphasizes that the primary goal is to define a North Star and a strategic action plan, not to immediately jump into granular details or debate solutions. The process is broken down into key phases: Day 1 focuses on goal setting and concept generation, while Day 2 focuses on concept refinement and roadmap creation. Key exercises include 'Work Alone Together' for initial ideation (30 min for concept creation, 15 min for goal setting), followed by a 'Straw Poll vote' (5 min) to democratically select foundational ideas, and a 'Heat Map' activity (10 min) to visually prioritize concepts based on team interest without deep discussion. Crucially, the workshop establishes clear rules: anonymity during voting, self-explanation of concepts, time-boxing all activities, and prioritizing progress over perfection ('Move first, polish later'). Once concepts are chosen by the Decider (Step 4), they move to the Roadmap planning stage (Day 2), where concepts are placed on a timeline (Next 30 Days, 30-90 Days, 6-9 Months, 9-12 Months, 12+ Months), assigned owners, and given initial check-in dates (Step 3: Owners & Dates). The final step is a 'Decider Sign-Off' (5 min) to ensure alignment before proceeding.

### Day 1 Goal Setting

- Involves 15 minutes of 'Work Alone Together' to define success in 12-24 months (being bold and idealistic, avoiding metrics), followed by a 5-minute 'Straw Poll vote' where participants secretly pitch and vote on the best goal concept.

### Day 1 Concept Generation

- Uses 'Lightning Demos' (25 min) where participants share inspiring solutions from other industries related to the goal, focusing on Big Idea, Why it's Interesting, and Takeaway, not overly detailed solutions.

### Day 2 Concept Creation

- Participants develop detailed solutions for the chosen goal using hypothesis-driven concept cards (If we [key idea/action] then [ideal outcome]) with a 6-Week Action Plan template for each concept.

### Day 2 Concept Prioritization (Heat Map)

- Participants silently read all concepts and use unlimited dots to vote on ideas they like (10 min), followed by a Group Readout (5 min) where the facilitator highlights the most popular concepts.

### Day 2 Decision Making (Decider Decides)

- The Decider chooses 3-4 concepts to move forward into planning, emphasizing concepts that feel exciting, doable, and aligned with the long-term goal.

### Roadmap Planning

- The chosen concepts are placed onto a timeline (Next 30 Days, 30-90 Days, 6-9 Months, 9-12 Months, 12+ Months), assigning Owners and check-in Dates to ensure accountability and momentum.

### Workshop Rules & Tips

- Key rules include anonymity during voting, self-explanatory concepts, time-boxing, and prioritizing progress ('Move first, polish later'). Tip #1 advises addressing the goal moment in the solution.

![Screenshot at 0:01: Jonathan Courtney, CEO of AJ&Smart, introduces the tutorial on running an amazing strategy workshop.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-00-01.png)
![Screenshot at 0:17: The title card appears, stating the video teaches 'How to Run an Amazing Strategy Workshop' and mentions the 'Strategy Signal' concept.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-00-17.png)
![Screenshot at 0:43: The first reason for the workshop is shown: 'TO HAVE A CLEAR WAY TO KICK OFF PROJECTS WITH OUR CLIENTS'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-00-43.png)
![Screenshot at 0:59: The second reason for the workshop is displayed: 'STRATEGY WORKSHOPS CREATE THE WORK THAT WE WANT TO DO FOR THE CLIENTS'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-00-59.png)
![Screenshot at 1:32: The third reason is shown: 'WE DEVELOPED IT AS A WAY TO SHORTEN THE SALES CYCLE WHEN SELLING WORKSHOPS TO CLIENTS'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-01-32.png)
![Screenshot at 2:26: Jonathan reminds viewers to like, subscribe, and check the description for the free Miro template.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-02-26.png)
![Screenshot at 3:22: Amr Khalifeh, Senior Consultant at AJ&Smart, takes over to detail the step-by-step process using the Miro template.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-03-22.png)
![Screenshot at 3:44: The Day 1 structure of the workshop is displayed, covering 'Align & Ideate' \(Day 1\) and 'Decide & Plan' \(Day 2\) activities.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-03-44.png)
![Screenshot at 4:03: The 'Goal' exercise instructions are shown, emphasizing defining success in 12-24 months.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-04-03.png)
![Screenshot at 4:47: The 'Team' section of the Goal exercise, showing placeholders for up to 7 team members, their roles, the Decider/Tie Breaker, and the Facilitator's name and role are established prior to exercises.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/2vIMwLqDsow/00-04-47.png)