Summit
Layer: Strategic | PDCA: Check & Act | Duration: 6–8 hours | Frequency: Quarterly or semi-annual
Participants: Planning Leader, Team Owners
The Summit is the highest-cadence strategic event. Team Owners review objectives and transformation initiatives across the entire organization. The Planning Leader facilitates the adjustment of the innovation portfolio and the definition of upper-level objectives for the next cycle.
Inputs
- Results from all Team strategic reviews (T1.3)
- Current state of the transformation portfolio
- External factors (market shifts, regulatory changes, competitive landscape)
Outputs
- Adjusted innovation portfolio
- Upper-level objectives for the next cycle (feed into Planning T1.1)
- Decisions on which initiatives to continue, pause, or stop
Key Principles
- The Summit is a decision-making event, not a reporting event
- Every initiative in the portfolio must justify its continued existence
- Upper-level objectives must be specific enough to enable catchball in Planning
PDCA Steps
| Step | PDCA | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S1.1 | Check | Team Owners review objectives and transformation initiatives across the organization |
| S1.2 | Act | Team Owners adjust the innovation portfolio and define upper-level objectives for the next cycle |
Connections
- Review to Summit (T1.3 → S1.1) — Team-level results feed the Summit review
- Summit to Planning (S1.2 → T1.1) — Adjusted portfolio becomes input for next Planning cycle
Anti-pattern: The Strategy Broadcast
The Summit becomes a one-way presentation where leadership announces the next cycle's objectives without reviewing what happened in the current one. Team Owners listen and nod. The Check phase is skipped entirely — the event jumps straight to Act.
How to detect: The Summit agenda has no time allocated for team-level result reviews. Team Owners do not present their Review outputs. Upper-level objectives change without reference to gaps or learnings from the previous cycle.
How to recover: The first half of the Summit must be Check: every Team Owner presents their results, gaps, and improvement opportunities. Only after this evidence is on the table should the Planning Leader facilitate portfolio adjustments. A Summit that skips Check is not a Check-Act amplifier — it is a cascade.