Strategy Seminar: A Corporate Project Plated Like Fine Cuisine
To embed a new 2030 strategic plan, a division of an energy infrastructure operator gathered its teams for a two-day residential seminar in Provence. WMH Project designed a fully culinary concept — a scripted plenary, brigade workshops and team-cooking — turning a roadmap into a unifying collective experience.
Why wrap a strategic plan in a creative concept?
A new 2030 corporate project stays abstract if it lives only on slides. This seminar's bet: adopt a culinary universe as a shared grammar. Strategy becomes a recipe, resources become ingredients, planning becomes cooking time. This approach makes messages memorable and casts teams as players, not spectators.
How do you script a plenary to convey strategic messages?
The plenary was built around two speaking spaces — a "lounge" and a "kitchen" — hosted by a professional presenter in dialogue with an executive wearing an apron. Three sequences of 15 to 30 minutes structured the narrative:
- The year in review through a retrospective film shot top-shot, where each recipe step illustrated a collective success.
- The new corporate project, presented with a device anchoring key messages on screen as they were spoken.
- The strategic plan, unpacked by the leadership team through prop objects (an ingredients board, a timer for the schedule).
A game of mandatory culinary expressions kept the pace and humour alive throughout.
How do brigade workshops drive ownership?
The "signature dish" gathered participants into brigades of eight. Each team followed five steps: name the brigade, select five "ingredient" cards (values, skills, tools), match those ingredients to actions, prioritise them over 6 months to 2 years, then write their "recipe for success." The outputs were compiled into a digital book, with a few presented live. The result: a strategic plan reformulated by the teams themselves, in their own words.
What activities reinforce cohesion across two days?
Day two centred on a team-cooking session preceded by an inspiring talk from a recognised gastronomy figure, on team spirit, excellence and innovation. The evening combined a seated dinner, a live musical performance, a photobooth and a mixology workshop in small groups — convivial moments designed to naturally extend the culinary thread.
How is CSR built in from the design stage?
The event was eco-designed: seeded-paper badges, systematic use of local suppliers, residential venues committed to responsible practices, and pooled transfers from regional stations. The event's carbon footprint was estimated then offset through tree planting in French forests, with a 20% top-up from the agency.
Designed and orchestrated by WMH Project — We Make It Happen.
FAQ
What is the goal of a strategic plan adoption seminar?
To help teams understand, embrace and embody a new roadmap. The seminar turns a strategic document into a shared project through storytelling, participatory workshops and the co-creation of a common vision.
Why use a creative theme such as gastronomy?
A unifying universe like cooking makes strategic messages tangible and memorable. Resources become ingredients, planning becomes cooking time: everyone visualises their contribution and engages actively rather than enduring a top-down presentation.
How do you measure the environmental impact of such an event?
WMH Project estimates the carbon footprint based on transport, catering, accommodation and on-site energy, then offers to offset residual emissions through tree planting in French forests, with a 20% top-up from the agency.
How long does it take to design a two-day residential seminar?
The schedule typically spans several months, from venue selection to content production, including steering committees, technical site visits and tasting sessions to validate catering.