The strategy development timeline plays a key role in making the process effective and truly actionable. When companies try to shorten the strategy design phase—for example, by limiting it to a two-day session—they often face issues with the quality and depth of analysis. Creating a detailed plan that accounts for person-hours and proper time allocation helps avoid these pitfalls.

1. Why a two-day strategy session doesn’t work? Strategy development requires time for preparation and in-depth analysis. Even if participants quickly agree on a direction, without thorough elaboration of details and alignment of perspectives, a high-quality strategy cannot emerge. Moreover, short timelines leave no room for hypothesis testing and data analysis.
2. How to create a timeline and account for person-hours? Strategy development should be divided into stages with clear time planning:
   • Preparation (2–4 weeks): data collection, market and competitor analysis.
   • Main stage (1–2 weeks): strategic sessions and goal formulation.
   • Finalization (1–2 weeks): hypothesis testing and document preparation. It is important to accurately account for the time required from each participant to avoid overloading key team members.
3. How to balance strategic work with operational activities? To ensure strategic work doesn’t interfere with daily tasks, it’s important to delegate operational duties to other team members, create an environment conducive to focus (for example, by turning off phones and laptops during sessions), and distribute the workload so that strategic work doesn’t consume all the team’s time.
4. Why is it important to account for time and resources? Improper time allocation can result in the strategy remaining at the level of abstract ideas without moving into actual implementation. Practical experience shows that insufficient time for strategy development leads to vague outcomes, requiring additional effort to refine it.

For successful strategy development, it is important to plan each stage, balance strategic work with operational activities, and account for team resources to ensure the result becomes a truly effective tool for the company.