Thanks for the feedback on the initial high-level agenda. Here's a more detailed view of how we could potentially spend each day. If you've done something that has worked particularly well in the past please throw it into the mix and we can evaluate it as a group. Below are the suggested activities that have been discussed. We may not do all of them (we may not have time!)

What I'd like to do is get a sense of where your interests and priorities lie. Which seem like the highest value or most important activities to you? There are obviously infinite variations and many ways to go about what we're trying to accomplish, so please keep the end in mind as you evaluate. Which of these will best help us get to the desired end result?

Before you read on, I'd like to point out that there's an alternative approach to this entire project. Rather than plan a detailed agenda in advance, we could all agree to do some deep thinking on the key questions before we arrive, and then just show up and see what emerges naturally. This is far simpler. It is also what my friends who work in applied improv would advise, and they're some of the most brilliant and successful people I know.

Of course, there's also a middle path. We could simply be very, very clear about our objectives and what we are trying to accomplish together in these three days, and then loosely hold a structure without being attached to it, allowing our activities to bend and flex in the moment as circumstances dictate.

More than the specific details, I think it's a good idea for us to agree on our basic approach to how (and whether) we plan to stick to the plan. This is actually probably the most important thing to decide, since it sets expectations and groundrules for how we'll work together.


Daily
morning walk or yoga
morning meditation
downtime, rest, and play
food food food!
check-ins (to help us course correct along the way)

• On a scale of 1-10, how are we doing at meeting your conditions of satisfaction for the retreat?
• What concerns need to be addressed to make it a 10 for you?
• On a scale of 1-10, how ready are you to join forces with Begumpura?
• What concerns need to be addressed to make it a 10 for you?

(I'm imagining this to be a 5 to 15 minute task - something we each write & then hang on the wall)


Day 1
Focus on our "inner game." Get to know one another. Aim to arrive at a collective set of values or principles that will guide our actions.

Kickoff - conditions of satisfaction
Preparation: Define the critical few things (2-5) that would make this three days a success for you. Someone compiles the results prior to the retreat.
Action at the retreat: Share the collected results and use that to frame our time together. Determine what agreements or groundrules we need in place in order to work together for these 3 days.

Share spiritual autobiographies
Preparation: write or outline the story of your spiritual development. What are your sources of spiritual inspiration? What does "spirituality" (too often an empty term) mean to you? How has this evolved over time & life circumstances?
Action: each individual shares their story with the group. (You don't need to read what you've written; just come having thought it through so you're prepared to speak about it.) About 10-15 minutes per individual, depending on how many people we have. Discuss and summarize the common themes that arise among us as a group. If necessary we could break into smaller groups to share and find common themes, then come back to the whole group and report.

Values assessment
Preparation: take an online values assessment (about 15 minutes). Cost is $50 per participant. www.valuescenter.com
Action: Cliff, who recommended this option and has used this tool before, has offered to lead us through a 90 minute facilitation based on the data from the results. Cliff says "This piece deals with the "inner" element and would be an excellent "grounding" element for the group."

Begumpura principles
Preparation: all the conversations on day 1
Action: summarize the high-level principles, values, or themes that are common among us and that we can use as a compass for our work with each other and in the world. (Remember, this is not going to be the final word - just the first pass!)



Day 2
Focus on our "outer game." Who are our clients and how do we help them? What services will we offer?
Sartaj knows a facilitator that he has suggested for this day.

Hedgehog concept
Preparation: read the Hedgehog chapter in Good to Great. Answer these questions: what are you deeply passionate about? What can you - and we together - be best in the world at? Someone can collect the results and summarize.
Action: Discuss the collected results. What does that say about what we ought to do together as a collective? If we take passion and excellence as our driving factors, what wants to emerge from this group?

Customer/market focus
Preparation: Who are your clients today? (Demographics) What are the top 3 problems they're trying to solve by coming to you? What clients do you want to serve with Begumpura? What are their top 3 problems? Someone collects & summarizes this information prior to the retreat.
Action: Discuss the results of the summary. What is the world calling for? Who is the target market for Begumpura? What are the unsolved or poorly solved needs in that market?

Offering categories
Preparation: Day 2 discussions
Action: Arrive at the first pass of 3-5 offering categories or buckets with some possible options in each one. (For example, Category: Executive Coaching. Possible offerings: family business, C-level execs, emerging managers.


Day 3
Focus on community/organization and next steps. How will we work together? Who's doing what?

Begumpura Vision
Preparation: previous 2 days
Action: Each individual answers the two questions below, for themselves, including their own hopes, dreams, visions, and lives. Could possibly do a future state visualization as a group. Share answers and identify common themes.

• If Begumpura was hugely successful (a 10, on a 1-10 scale), what would that look like to you? What would be your ideal role in that success? (Possible future state visualization?)
• If Begumpura ends up a spectacular failure in your eyes, what would that look like? What caused it to fail? What is the impact to you of that failure?

Community
Preparation: gives and gets. What are you prepared to give to this organization? What do you want to get from it?
Action: Talk about our individual gives and gets. How shall we function together as a group from this point forward? Who wants to be involved, and in what manner? What skills do we need, but currently lack?

Next steps
Preparation: previous 2 days
Action: Identify the shortlist of next steps - the critical few things that will keep us moving forward. Assign small teams to tackle follow up on specific questions and action items.