Strategic Reset Workshops for Scaleups
- Laura Derbyshire
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Why high-growth businesses need clarity and not another planning day.
There’s a moment in a scaleup’s life where everyone agrees something needs to change, but no one is quite sure what.
Growth has slowed, or at least feels heavier. The leadership team is busy, but momentum feels diluted. There are too many initiatives, too many priorities, too many “we should probably…” conversations.
This is usually when someone suggests a strategy day.
Which can be useful. Or just a complete waste of everyone's time.
The difference isn’t effort or intent. It’s whether the business is actually ready for a strategic reset - not another planning exercise.
The problem with most strategy workshops
Many scaleups lack alignment, with typical symptoms looking something like this:
Different leaders have different definitions of growth
Marketing is optimising activity, not direction
Sales and product are solving different problems
The strategy hasn’t been re-decided since the last funding round• Everyone agrees “something feels off” but can’t articulate why
In this context, traditional strategy workshops often fail because they focus on outputs instead of decisions.
Post-it notes multiply, frameworks are filled in, and the energy in the room is high. But then Monday arrives, and very little actually changes.
What a strategic reset should be
A strategic reset isn’t about starting again, and it’s definitely not about some cringeworthy team bonding.
It’s about creating shared clarity at a moment when the business has grown enough to need a new level of thinking.
For scaleups, a reset usually means:
Re-aligning the leadership team around what matters most now
Stress-testing assumptions that no longer hold
Clarifying what the business is really optimising for
Deciding what to stop doing, not just what to start
Reconnecting strategy, brand and execution
It’s less “five-year plan” and more “are we still pointing in the right direction?”
Why clarity matters more than planning exercises
In the early stages, execution drives growth through speed and momentum; in the scale-up stage, growth is driven by understanding.
Clarity answers:
Who are we really for now?
Why do we win?
What trade-offs matter most?
What must stop for focus to return?
McKinsey research consistently shows that organisations with high leadership alignment are significantly more likely to outperform peers, not because they work harder, but because they work in the same direction.
Why traditional strategy days often fall short
Traditional away days fail because they try to cram deep strategic questions into a short time frame. Common flaws are:
Too tactical - focused on actions, not direction
Too broad - trying to solve everything
Too short - no space for real thinking
A strategic reset flips this with fewer topics, harder questions and clearer decisions. This is sometimes uncomfortable, and that’s why it works.
When scaleups need strategic resets most
Strategic resets are most valuable at inflection points:
Post-funding
When growth slows, but nothing is broken
When leadership teams change or expand
When markets evolve faster than the narrative
When execution is busy but impact feels diluted
Strategic reset workshops and Flow Retreats
This is where many leadership teams get stuck.
They know clarity matters, but they increasingly struggle to create the conditions for it.
Strategic reset workshops - and OSER’s Flow Retreats - are designed to do exactly that: create space, structure and challenge so leadership teams can think clearly together, make decisions, and move forward aligned.
Strategic reset workshops help leadership teams pause, align, and choose before momentum is lost.
FAQs
Can strategic reset workshops be run at any time of year?
Yes. Strategic resets respond to business momentum, not calendar timing. They’re most effective when clarity is needed - not just in January.
What triggers the need for a strategic reset?
Slowing growth, leadership changes, post-funding transitions, market shifts, or persistent misalignment.
How is a strategic reset different from a strategy away day?
A strategic reset prioritises decisions and alignment. Many strategy away days prioritise ideas and activities.
Who should attend a strategic reset workshop?
Founders, CEOs and senior leadership teams who are responsible for direction and growth.
