How to run High-ROI Offsites.
Even if you don't hire us to do it.
Taking a few minutes to watch this video could save your team months of work.
Too Busy; Didn't Watch
The video is a brisk, fun, and info-filled 14 minutes. (Even faster if you watch on 1.5x speed!) But we also know how valuable everyone's time is. So here's an executive summary:
The Problem
Most offsites are expensive disappointments. You pull senior leaders away from real work, spend a fortune on travel and venues, have "great discussions"... and six months later, nothing has changed. The Post-its got filed away. The action items got ignored.
The Goal
A High-ROI Offsite should deliver at least 10x the value of what you invested. Ideally much more. And not in terms of "good energy" or "team bonding" — in actual, measurable business outcomes that stick. How? By focusing on the right things the right way. The keys below are how we do it at Let's Lightbulb.
The Three Keys
1. Identify and tackle the Most Valuable Challenge.
Stop trying to tackle 12 "priorities" with the offsite. The moment you split focus, you lose the ability to solve anything with real rigor. The first key step is for the group to identify and articulate ONE challenge — the most valuable one — and go all in. Use the Value Scoring method (emotional impact + ecosystem impact + monetary value) to make sure you're swinging at the right pitch.
2. Optimally-think things.
Most teams either overthink things (endless debate, death by committee) or underthink things (rush to action without pressure-testing ideas). Both kill results. Optimal-thinking is the sweet spot: structured, rigorous, inclusive of all voices — and arriving at ONE clear decision. It's exactly the approach our methodology is designed to create.
3. An Alignment Plan > An "action plan"
Action plans fail for two reasons. A) As soon as the group leaves the offsite, everything else gets in the way — and all the best intentions fade. B) The majority of the people leaders are counting on to do the actual work weren't part of the offsite. They don't understand why this new solution matters, and they’re already over-busy. An Alignment Plan is like a marketing campaign for the solution — designed to get the rest of the organization emotionally on board and designed to create as much momentum as possible before the offsite ends. It’s 40% of the offsite (not the last 30 minutes).
The Bottom Line
If you're going to pull your leadership team away from the day-to-day, it better be worth it. A High-ROI Offsite solves a valuable challenge in hours instead of months — and the solution actually sticks because you've built alignment into the process from the start.
We don't claim to be experts in your industry. That's your job. But we are experts in the process of guiding strategically smart offsites that generate a high-ROI.
Tim has facilitated workshops with leadership teams at amazing places such as:
Tim has spoken at global events and organizations such as:
What people are saying
"Tim's influence extends beyond individual sessions, having played a pivotal role in our business transformation.
His expertise coupled with an innate ability to foster a sense of urgency and innovation, propelled significant cultural shifts and change within our organization."
Dan Phan
Former Senior Consultant, Omnichannel Transformation
Target Corporation
"I loved working with Tim on our most recent Leadership Summit for Jordan's Furniture! We have a culture that places emphasis on fun, and innovation, and were looking to infuse that into our Summit (which had about 60 leaders, ranging from Directors through our CEOs).
I'd spoken with many potential partners, and loved how Tim came to the table with practical ideas that were right on the money. He was an easy-to-work-with partner who helped us raise the bar for what we had in mind, and he stuck the landing."
Will Goldstein-Mahon
Director, Learning & Organization Development
Jordan's Furniture
“Tim Leake is not just a meeting facilitator or creative strategist; he’s an experience unto himself. You owe it to your team and yourself to experience it.
From the moment he began, you could feel the energy shift. His unique approach, which blends deep creative insight with a down-to-earth, relatable style, instantly captivated our Board of Directors."
Don Lupo
Executive Director
ThinkLA
"What sets Tim apart is his ability to dive deep into complex topics while keeping things practical, organized, actionable, and fun.
We didn’t walk away with short-term solutions and a pile of mismatched ideas: we left with clear, meaningful, long-term strategies. Our session was engaging, inspiring, and — most importantly — immediately impactful."
Don Lupo
Executive Director
ThinkLA
"I have known Tim for over a decade and I have found that his approach and expertise to be truly valuable. Tim brought a fresh perspective to our executive planning meeting and got our team focused on the right things. We found his approach to be flexible, fun and very practical."
Eric Johnson
CEO
Ignited
"I can confidently say that Tim is simply the most skilled and effective facilitator for creative solution development and cross-functional workshopping that I've ever seen.
I think you could put a collection of actual lions, elephants and sharks together in a workshop with Tim and you'll get them engaged, making progress toward a goal and walking (or swimming) away feeling empowered."
Mike Margolin
EVP / Chief Experience Officer
RPA
Case Studies
The legacy advertising agency that risked irrelevancy
Their Most Valuable Challenge (MVC)
Identify and commit to a niche and positioning that will allow the agency to win more than it's fair share of new business
Before
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They'd work with anyone, which meant they weren't the best fit for anyone.
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They were commoditized and often losing based on price.
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They'd known about these issues for over a decade, but had never made concrete progress.
After
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A clear positioning the whole executive team feels excited about and committed to
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Three well-defined niches, with a testing plan to validate them
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A compelling explanation of why they're better, different, and worth paying for
What we did together
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One 3-hour remote session
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Two-day offsite with the executive team
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Two CEO follow-up sessions
The bottom line
In less than a week of working sessions, they broke through a decade of stalled strategy conversations — and are now executing on a positioning that's already winning new business.
Quotes
"Getting out the best ideas from a diverse group takes creativity, enthusiasm and passion. Tim exhibits all three which is why our ideas were incredible and actionable!"
- Participant
"Tim got our team focused on the right things. His approach is flexible, fun and very practical."
- CEO
The Fortune 500 company with ~50,000 employees and no unifying purpose
Their Most Valuable Challenge (MVC)
Create and implement a company purpose statement that actually motivates — driving employee engagement, decision-making clarity, customer loyalty, innovation direction, and synergy across a wide variety of product and service offerings.
Before
No defined purpose beyond "sell stuff and make money." This was an important initiative for the CEO. On the first day, he shared:
This was a key CEO initiative. He shared this with the participants at the beginning of the first day:
"You're creating something that's not just making its way onto walls around our facilities — it will help define who we are, and serve as a reminder of who we aspire to be. So I would encourage you to THINK BIG. Don't settle. Success should look like, we stare at these words and we want to go home and show it to our kids and take pride that this is who we are, as people."
After
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Six rigorously-evaluated recommendations to test with a wider leadership group
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Testing and iteration resulted in a final purpose statement
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Successfully launched across their ~50,000 global workforce
What we did together
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Two-day offsite with 24 hand-selected leaders from from across the company, across departments, and across the world
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The CEO joined at the beginning and the end, but did not participate himself.
The bottom line
In 48 hours, 24 leaders created the foundation that an entire organization now rallies around.
Quotes
"Energizing, inclusive, and we achieved a lot in less than 48 hours. One of the more meaningful activities I've participated in at this company."
- Participant
"I'm really impressed. It's way beyond my expectations. Everyone should be super proud — you did a phenomenal job. I like all of it. I'm thrilled."
- CEO
(to the group, after they shared the six recommended purpose statements)
The large e-commerce retailer who didn't know their customers
Their Most Valuable Challenge (MVC)
Articulate and commit to a shared vision of their core customer archetype
Before
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Everyone had an unspoken sense of who the best customers were — but officially, they claimed to serve "everyone"
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As a result, the brand risked becoming generic and forgettable
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They'd been trying to solve this for years without success
After
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A clear, shared articulation of who their customer is
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Top-down commitment to this core archetype — something they'd failed to accomplish for literally years
What we did together
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Two days workshopping with Marketing, Creative, and Strategy teams
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Half-day session with the Executive Leadership Team
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This "1-2 punch" empowered the core team to generate solutions while ensuring ELT alignment
The bottom line
Years of internal confusion resolved in 2.5 days. The entire leadership team is now aligned on exactly who they're building for.
Quotes
"The work we did together didn't just align us — it inspired us. Every voice in the room makes our work stronger. This was very beneficial to our teams and we now have a stronger alignment on brand, collaboration and how we can better understand our target customer."
- Primary Client
"Really enjoyed the encouragement, positivity, cadence and joy you brought to our group. We needed permission to think big. I learned so much and my perspective on brand and our customers has been renewed!"
- Participant
The professional services firm with 80% of revenue tied to one service line
Their Most Valuable Challenge (MVC)
Identify and test new revenue streams that leverages existing capabilities without diluting focus
Before
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Leadership knew diversification was critical, but it had been nothing but talk for years
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The team was busy serving existing customers and it was hard to make this feel “real”
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They were doing well, but feared being one unlucky break away from serious trouble
After
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Three potential new offers / revenue streams developed
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Testing plans and cadence built
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So far, one direction was killed. One is showing promise. And one has yet to be tested.
What we did together
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Three-day offsite with the leadership team
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Follow-up sessions to reflect on tests, iterate, and keep driving the initiatives forward
The bottom line
In less than a week, they went from "we really should diversify" to a launched offering and paying clients with two months.
Quotes
"I'm usually the skeptical one when it comes to workshops. This impressed me."
- Participant
"It’s embarrassing how long we’ve been talking about making this happen. And now we’ve got the ideas, the plan, and the momentum. I appreciate your help in getting us there."
- CEO
Who this is for:
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Leaders who are sick of leaving offsites with 473 Post-it notes, a group photo, and zero progress six months later.
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Organizations ready to be "uncomfortably ambitious" and swing for a goal so big that even partial success would be a massive win.
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Teams brave enough to pick ONE big challenge and actually solve it, instead of nibbling around the edges of twelve "priorities."
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Leaders who are sick of seeing important priorities drag on for months and years without any significant progress
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Executives who want a facilitator sharp enough to guide the process — but smart enough to let the people who actually know the business solve the problem.
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Executives who respect their team's time too much to pull them away from real work for a few days of corporate theater.
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Executives who've done the math and realized that putting 15 senior leaders in a room for a few days costs a small fortune — and want to see a return on that investment.
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Leaders who want the actual work of strategy to be energizing (yes, really) instead of a slow death by committee.
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Teams who are tired of consultants handing them a "recommendation" built by 25-year-olds who've never run anything, then charging $400K for the privilege.
Who this isn't for:
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Executives who want an offsite filled with icebreakers, personality assessments, and heartfelt sharing circles — but no actual decisions.
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Organizations that treat offsites as a reward or a break from work, rather than an opportunity to do the most important work of the year.
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Leaders who'd rather hire McKinsey to tell them what to do than trust their own team to figure it out.
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Organizations addicted to consensus, where every initiative gets watered down until it offends no one and accomplishes nothing.
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Executives who want a highly corporate experience complete with navy suits, buzzword-speak, and zero personality.
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Leaders who play it safe with small, easy goals — and then wonder why nothing ever really changes.
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Companies that enjoy forming subcommittees to evaluate the viability of other subcommittees.
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Leaders who secretly enjoy the endless cycle of status updates, steering committees, and quarterly reviews — even though nothing ever actually ships.
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Execs who want to "cover a lot of ground" and check fifteen topics off the agenda — even if none of them actually get solved.