# Offsite Pack: Q2 Strategy & Working Agreements Reset

**Team:** Product Team (10 people, remote-first)
**Date:** TBD (recommend scheduling 3-4 weeks out for travel logistics)
**Location:** New York City
**Budget:** Moderate (~$3,000-$5,000 estimated total)
**Duration:** 1 full day (9:00 AM - 6:00 PM) + optional evening dinner

---

## 1. Offsite Goals

| # | Goal | Success Metric |
|---|------|---------------|
| 1 | Align on Q2 priorities | Ranked list of no more than 5 team-level priorities with owners and rough timelines |
| 2 | Reset working agreements | Documented set of 8-12 working agreements the full team has explicitly committed to |
| 3 | Strengthen team connection | Every person has had at least one meaningful 1:1 conversation with someone they rarely interact with |

---

## 2. Logistics

### Venue

**Recommendation:** Book a private meeting room at a co-working space or boutique hotel conference facility in Manhattan.

**Options to evaluate:**
- **Convene** (Midtown or FiDi) -- purpose-built meeting spaces, AV included, catering available
- **Industrious** (multiple locations) -- polished rooms, good for mid-size groups
- **A boutique hotel meeting room** (e.g., The William Vale, Arlo Midtown) -- adds a change-of-scenery feel

**Room requirements:**
- Capacity for 12+ (breathing room for 10)
- Whiteboard or large sticky-note wall space
- Reliable Wi-Fi and display screen or projector
- Natural light preferred
- Breakout area or adjacent lounge for small-group work

**Estimated cost:** $1,000-$1,800 for a full-day room rental

### Catering

- Morning: Coffee, tea, pastries, fruit (delivered or venue-provided)
- Lunch: Catered working lunch -- sandwiches/salads/bowls, dietary options covered
- Afternoon: Snacks, sparkling water, coffee refresh

**Estimated cost:** $500-$800 (roughly $50-$80/person)

### Travel & Reimbursement

- Reimburse flights/trains for non-NYC-based team members (book in advance)
- Provide a per-diem or reimburse ground transport (subway/rideshare)
- If anyone needs a hotel the night before, book a block of rooms at a nearby mid-range hotel

**Estimated cost:** Varies; budget $100-$200/person for local transport + meals outside the offsite

### Materials

- Large Post-it easel pads (3-4 packs)
- Markers (thick and thin, multiple colors)
- Dot voting stickers (5 colors)
- Printed handouts: pre-read summary, agenda, working agreements draft
- Timer (phone or physical)
- Name tags (even if people know each other -- helps with ice-breaking energy)

---

## 3. Pre-Work (Distribute 7 Days Before)

### For Everyone

Send an email/Slack message with the subject line: **"Offsite Pre-Read -- Please Complete by [Date]"**

Include:

1. **Context Document (1-2 pages):**
   - Q1 results summary: what shipped, key metrics, what we learned
   - Current product strategy and company-level goals for the year
   - Initial list of candidate Q2 priorities (8-15 items, unranked)
   - Any relevant customer research highlights or market signals

2. **Individual Reflection Prompt (async, submit in shared doc before the offsite):**
   - "What is the single most important thing we should accomplish in Q2? Why?"
   - "What is one working agreement we currently have (explicit or implicit) that is not serving us well?"
   - "What is one thing about how we work together that you want to protect/keep?"

3. **Working Agreements Audit:**
   - If existing working agreements are documented, share them and ask: "Which of these are we actually following? Which feel outdated?"

### For the Facilitator

- Review all pre-work submissions and synthesize themes
- Prepare the candidate priority list consolidated from submissions
- Draft a strawman set of working agreements based on feedback
- Test all AV equipment at the venue (or confirm with venue staff)
- Prepare all physical materials

---

## 4. Agenda

### Overview

| Time | Block | Duration | Purpose |
|------|-------|----------|---------|
| 9:00 | Arrival & Breakfast | 30 min | Settle in, informal connection |
| 9:30 | Opening | 20 min | Set the day, ground rules |
| 9:50 | Icebreaker | 20 min | Build energy and presence |
| 10:10 | Q1 Retrospective | 40 min | Shared understanding of where we are |
| 10:50 | Break | 10 min | |
| 11:00 | Q2 Priority Generation & Clustering | 50 min | Surface and organize candidate priorities |
| 11:50 | Q2 Priority Ranking & Selection | 40 min | Converge on the top priorities |
| 12:30 | Lunch | 45 min | Informal connection, recharge |
| 1:15 | Q2 Priorities: Owners & Rough Plans | 45 min | Make priorities actionable |
| 2:00 | Break + Energizer | 15 min | |
| 2:15 | Working Agreements: What's Broken | 40 min | Surface pain points honestly |
| 2:55 | Working Agreements: Redesign | 50 min | Co-create new agreements |
| 3:45 | Break | 10 min | |
| 3:55 | Working Agreements: Commitment Ritual | 20 min | Lock in agreements with explicit buy-in |
| 4:15 | Open Space / Parking Lot | 30 min | Address anything that didn't fit |
| 4:45 | Closing & Personal Commitments | 30 min | Reflection, next steps, appreciation |
| 5:15 | End of Formal Session | -- | |
| 6:00 | Optional Team Dinner | -- | Social bonding |

---

### Detailed Session Plans

#### 9:00-9:30 -- Arrival & Breakfast (30 min)

No structured activity. Let people arrive, grab coffee, catch up. Play low-key background music. Have the agenda posted on the wall.

---

#### 9:30-9:50 -- Opening (20 min)

**Facilitator (recommend: team lead or an external facilitator)**

1. **Welcome & Why We're Here** (5 min)
   - Acknowledge the effort of getting everyone together
   - State the two goals clearly: Q2 priorities and working agreements
   - Explain what success looks like by 5:15 PM

2. **Ground Rules** (5 min)
   - Laptops closed unless actively needed for a session
   - Phone on silent; check only during breaks
   - "Vegas rule" -- candid discussion stays in the room
   - Step up / step back -- if you tend to talk a lot, create space; if you tend to stay quiet, push yourself to contribute
   - Disagree openly, then commit

3. **Logistics** (5 min)
   - Restrooms, Wi-Fi password, break schedule
   - Point to the Parking Lot poster on the wall for off-topic but important items

4. **Check-In Round** (5 min)
   - Each person answers in one sentence: "What's one thing you're hoping to get out of today?"

---

#### 9:50-10:10 -- Icebreaker: "Map of Me" (20 min)

Each person gets 2 minutes to share one thing most of the team doesn't know about them -- a hobby, a formative experience, a weird talent. This works well for remote-first teams who rarely see each other beyond work contexts.

**Alternative:** "Product I Love Right Now" -- each person shares a product (not ours) they've been impressed by recently and one thing they'd steal from it. Doubles as lightweight inspiration.

---

#### 10:10-10:50 -- Q1 Retrospective (40 min)

**Goal:** Build shared understanding of what happened in Q1 and extract lessons.

**Format: Timeline + Rose/Thorn/Bud**

1. **Timeline Construction** (10 min)
   - Large paper on the wall with Q1 months marked
   - Everyone writes key events, launches, decisions, surprises on sticky notes and places them on the timeline
   - Include: shipped features, customer wins, team changes, incidents, external events

2. **Silent Review** (3 min)
   - Everyone walks the timeline silently

3. **Rose / Thorn / Bud Discussion** (20 min)
   - **Rose** (what went well): Each person names one highlight. Facilitator captures themes.
   - **Thorn** (what was painful): Each person names one pain point. No solutions yet -- just naming.
   - **Bud** (what has potential): Each person names one emerging opportunity.

4. **Key Takeaways** (7 min)
   - Facilitator synthesizes: "What are the 2-3 lessons from Q1 that should directly influence our Q2 planning?"
   - Capture on a dedicated poster.

---

#### 10:50-11:00 -- Break (10 min)

---

#### 11:00-11:50 -- Q2 Priority Generation & Clustering (50 min)

**Goal:** Get all candidate priorities visible, organized, and understood.

1. **Individual Brainstorm** (8 min)
   - Each person writes priorities on sticky notes (one per note), pulling from pre-work + Q1 retro insights
   - Prompt: "What must we accomplish in Q2 to make the biggest impact on our product and customers?"

2. **Post & Read** (5 min)
   - Everyone posts their stickies on the wall
   - Silent reading -- walk around and read all notes

3. **Affinity Clustering** (12 min)
   - As a group, move related stickies together
   - Name each cluster with a short theme label
   - Aim for 5-8 clusters

4. **Cluster Clarification** (25 min)
   - For each cluster, one person (whoever is closest to the topic) gives a 2-minute pitch:
     - What is this about?
     - Why does it matter?
     - What's the rough scope?
   - Quick Q&A (1-2 min per cluster, no debating yet)

---

#### 11:50-12:30 -- Q2 Priority Ranking & Selection (40 min)

**Goal:** Converge from 5-8 candidate themes to a ranked list of top priorities.

1. **Dot Voting Round 1** (5 min)
   - Each person gets 5 dots
   - Vote for the priorities you believe are most important (can stack dots)
   - Rank the clusters by vote count

2. **2x2 Discussion** (15 min)
   - Draw a 2x2 matrix on the whiteboard: **Impact** (y-axis) vs. **Feasibility in Q2** (x-axis)
   - Place the top 6-8 voted items on the matrix together
   - Discuss placement -- this is where the real debate happens
   - Facilitator manages airtime; use a timer for each item (2 min max)

3. **Final Selection** (10 min)
   - Based on the 2x2 and vote data, the team lead proposes a top 3-5 list
   - Go around the room: thumbs up / sideways / down
   - Iterate if needed until the group reaches at least "thumbs sideways" consensus (can live with it)

4. **Document** (10 min)
   - Write the final priority list on a clean sheet:
     - Priority name
     - One-sentence description of what success looks like
     - Rough t-shirt size (S/M/L)

---

#### 12:30-1:15 -- Lunch (45 min)

Catered lunch in the room or an adjacent space. Encourage people to sit with someone they don't usually work closely with. No structured activity -- genuine downtime matters.

---

#### 1:15-2:00 -- Q2 Priorities: Owners & Rough Plans (45 min)

**Goal:** Make each priority actionable with a named owner and a rough 90-day shape.

1. **Owner Selection** (10 min)
   - For each priority, ask: "Who wants to own driving this forward?"
   - Owner does not mean solo executor -- it means accountable person who ensures progress
   - If no volunteer, team lead assigns or the group discusses

2. **Breakout Planning** (25 min)
   - Split into small groups (2-3 people per priority)
   - Each group fills out a one-page plan:
     - **Priority:** [Name]
     - **Owner:** [Name]
     - **Key milestones** (what's true at the end of each month?)
     - **Biggest risk or open question**
     - **Dependencies on other teams or priorities**
     - **First action in the next 7 days**

3. **Share-Back** (10 min)
   - Each owner presents their one-pager in 2 minutes
   - Group flags any conflicts or dependencies between priorities

---

#### 2:00-2:15 -- Break + Energizer (15 min)

Quick physical energizer to reset after lunch. Options:
- **Walk & Talk:** Pair up, walk around the block, discuss "What's one thing about our team culture you want to protect?"
- **Stretch + Shuffle:** Simple group stretch, then everyone moves to a different seat for the afternoon sessions (changes dynamics)

---

#### 2:15-2:55 -- Working Agreements: What's Broken (40 min)

**Goal:** Surface honest feedback about how the team currently works together.

1. **Anonymous Pain Point Collection** (10 min)
   - Each person writes 2-3 things on index cards (anonymously):
     - "A way of working that frustrates me or slows me down"
     - "Something I wish we did differently as a team"
   - Fold cards and drop in a bowl

2. **Read-Aloud & Clustering** (15 min)
   - Facilitator reads each card aloud (no attribution)
   - Group clusters them into themes on the wall
   - Common themes might include: meeting overload, unclear decision-making, Slack expectations, feedback culture, documentation, async vs. sync norms

3. **Dot Vote on Themes** (5 min)
   - Each person gets 3 dots
   - Vote for the themes most important to address

4. **Prioritize** (10 min)
   - Select the top 3-4 themes to redesign in the next session
   - Acknowledge the others on the Parking Lot for future follow-up

---

#### 2:55-3:45 -- Working Agreements: Redesign (50 min)

**Goal:** Co-create specific, actionable working agreements for the top themes.

1. **Small Group Drafting** (25 min)
   - Divide into 3-4 groups, one per theme
   - Each group drafts 2-3 specific agreements for their theme
   - Agreements must be:
     - **Specific** (not "communicate better" but "respond to Slack messages within 4 business hours")
     - **Observable** (you can tell whether someone is following it)
     - **Revisable** (include a review date)

   **Template for each agreement:**
   ```
   Agreement: [Clear statement]
   Why: [One sentence on the problem this solves]
   How we'll know it's working: [Observable signal]
   Review date: [End of Q2]
   ```

2. **Gallery Walk & Feedback** (10 min)
   - Groups post their drafts on the wall
   - Everyone walks around, reads, and adds feedback on sticky notes (green = support, yellow = concern/question)

3. **Revise & Finalize** (15 min)
   - Groups revise based on feedback
   - Facilitator reads each agreement aloud for final group input
   - Quick consensus check: thumbs up / sideways / down
   - Aim for 8-12 total agreements across all themes

---

#### 3:45-3:55 -- Break (10 min)

---

#### 3:55-4:15 -- Working Agreements: Commitment Ritual (20 min)

**Goal:** Move from "we discussed it" to "we committed to it."

1. **Read the Full List** (5 min)
   - Facilitator reads all finalized agreements aloud, one by one

2. **Personal Commitment** (10 min)
   - Each person writes down:
     - "The agreement I'm personally most likely to struggle with is..."
     - "The one thing I'll do this week to start living these agreements is..."
   - Share with the group (brief -- 30 seconds each)

3. **Accountability Mechanism** (5 min)
   - Agree on how the team will hold itself accountable:
     - Option A: Monthly retro check-in on working agreements
     - Option B: Assign a "working agreements champion" who raises flags
     - Option C: Add a standing agenda item to team meetings

---

#### 4:15-4:45 -- Open Space / Parking Lot (30 min)

**Goal:** Address important topics that didn't fit into the structured sessions.

- Review the Parking Lot items collected throughout the day
- If there are 1-2 meaty topics, discuss them
- If there are many small items, do a rapid-fire "decision or delegate" pass:
  - For each item: Can we decide now (2 min)? If not, who owns following up and by when?

---

#### 4:45-5:15 -- Closing & Personal Commitments (30 min)

1. **Recap** (5 min)
   - Facilitator reads the final outputs:
     - Q2 priority list with owners
     - Working agreements list
     - Key follow-up items with owners and dates

2. **Appreciation Round** (10 min)
   - Each person completes: "One thing I appreciated about today or about this team is..."
   - Go around the full circle. No interruptions.

3. **Personal Commitment** (10 min)
   - Each person shares: "The one thing I'm personally committing to coming out of today is..."

4. **Close** (5 min)
   - Team lead gives brief closing remarks
   - Remind everyone: written summary will be sent within 48 hours
   - Thank the team

---

#### 6:00 -- Optional Team Dinner

**Restaurant suggestion criteria:**
- Mid-range, lively atmosphere (not too quiet, not too loud)
- Can accommodate 10 with a reservation
- Walkable from the venue or a short rideshare

**NYC options to consider:**
- **Westlight** (Williamsburg) -- rooftop views, good energy
- **Lilia** (Williamsburg) -- Italian, excellent for groups
- **The Smith** (Midtown or NoMad) -- reliable, group-friendly, moderate price
- **Pig & Khao** (LES) -- Filipino-Thai, fun atmosphere

**Budget:** $80-$120/person including drinks and tip ($800-$1,200 total)

---

## 5. Facilitation Notes

### Who Should Facilitate?

For a team of 10, consider:
- **Option A: Team lead facilitates.** Works if the team lead is comfortable stepping out of "decision-maker" mode and into "process guide" mode. Risk: team may defer to their opinions.
- **Option B: Rotate facilitation by session.** Different team members facilitate different blocks. More inclusive but requires more prep.
- **Option C: External facilitator.** Best if there are known tensions or if the team lead wants to participate fully. Cost: $1,500-$3,000 for a day.

### Managing Energy

- The afternoon is the hardest. The energizer after lunch and the shift to working agreements (a different topic) help.
- If energy drops, call an unscheduled 5-minute stand-up-and-stretch break.
- Keep discussions moving. Use visible timers. "We have 3 more minutes on this topic."

### Managing Dominant Voices

- Use written-first exercises (individual brainstorm before group discussion) to ensure all voices are captured.
- Round-robin formats for key decisions.
- Explicitly invite quieter team members: "We haven't heard from everyone on this -- anyone want to add a perspective?"

### Remote Considerations

- If any team members truly cannot attend in person, set up a high-quality video connection (large screen, good mic, dedicated camera). Assign an in-room buddy to ensure the remote person is included.
- However, strongly recommend requiring in-person attendance for this type of offsite. The relationship-building value is significantly diminished with hybrid setups.

---

## 6. Outputs & Follow-Up

### Documents to Produce Within 48 Hours

| Document | Owner | Audience |
|----------|-------|----------|
| Q2 Priority List (ranked, with owners, milestones, first actions) | Team Lead | Full team + stakeholders |
| Working Agreements v2.0 (finalized, with review date) | Facilitator or designated note-taker | Full team |
| Offsite Summary (key decisions, action items, parking lot items) | Note-taker | Full team |
| Photo documentation of whiteboard/wall outputs | Anyone | Shared team folder |

### Follow-Up Cadence

| When | What | Who |
|------|------|-----|
| Day +2 | Send offsite summary and all documents | Team Lead |
| Day +7 | Check: has each priority owner taken their "first action"? | Team Lead |
| Week 2 | First team meeting with working agreements as agenda item | Full team |
| Month 1 end | Working agreements check-in: what's sticking, what's not? | Full team |
| Month 2 end | Q2 priority mid-quarter review | Full team |
| Q2 end | Full retro on both priorities and working agreements | Full team |

---

## 7. Budget Summary

| Item | Estimated Cost |
|------|---------------|
| Venue (full-day meeting room) | $1,000 - $1,800 |
| Catering (breakfast, lunch, snacks) | $500 - $800 |
| Materials (sticky notes, markers, printing) | $50 - $100 |
| Team dinner (optional) | $800 - $1,200 |
| Local transport reimbursement | $500 - $1,000 |
| External facilitator (optional) | $1,500 - $3,000 |
| **Total (without facilitator, with dinner)** | **$2,850 - $4,900** |
| **Total (with facilitator, with dinner)** | **$4,350 - $7,900** |

*Note: Travel and lodging for out-of-town team members is additional and varies widely.*

---

## 8. Risk Mitigation

| Risk | Mitigation |
|------|-----------|
| One or more people cannot travel to NYC | Reschedule if possible; hybrid is a last resort for a strategy offsite |
| Conversation gets stuck on one topic | Facilitator uses a timer; "parking lot" items that need more time |
| Team lead dominates priority discussion | Use anonymous/written-first voting before open discussion |
| Working agreements feel too abstract | Template requires specific, observable behaviors -- not vague aspirations |
| People disengage after lunch | Built-in energizer; afternoon topic shift; shorter session blocks |
| No follow-through after the offsite | Explicit follow-up cadence with named owners and dates |
| Venue AV fails | Bring backup: portable speaker, HDMI adapter, printed materials |

---

## 9. Packing List for Organizer

- [ ] Printed agendas (12 copies)
- [ ] Printed pre-work summary (12 copies)
- [ ] Large Post-it easel pads (4 packs)
- [ ] Sticky notes -- standard size, multiple colors (6 packs)
- [ ] Markers -- thick tip (10+), thin tip (10+)
- [ ] Dot voting stickers (5 colors, 50+ per color)
- [ ] Index cards (for anonymous exercises)
- [ ] Timer (or use phone)
- [ ] Blue painter's tape (for hanging things on walls)
- [ ] Name tags / tent cards
- [ ] Camera or phone for documenting walls
- [ ] Extension cords / power strips
- [ ] Portable Bluetooth speaker (for background music during breaks)
- [ ] Backup HDMI/USB-C adapter
- [ ] Bowl or hat (for anonymous card collection)

---

## 10. Communication Templates

### Pre-Offsite Email (Send 2 Weeks Before)

**Subject: Product Team Offsite -- [Date] in NYC**

> Team,
>
> Excited to get everyone together on [Date] for our Q2 planning offsite. Here's what you need to know:
>
> **What:** Full-day strategy offsite -- Q2 priorities + working agreements reset
> **When:** [Date], 9:00 AM - 5:15 PM (optional dinner at 6:00 PM)
> **Where:** [Venue Name, Address]
>
> **Pre-work (due [Date - 3 days]):**
> Please complete the reflection prompts in [link to shared doc]. Should take 15-20 minutes.
>
> **Travel:**
> If you need flights/hotel, please book by [Date - 10 days] and submit receipts to [process]. Ground transport on the day will be reimbursed.
>
> **Dietary needs:**
> Reply to this email with any dietary restrictions by [Date - 7 days].
>
> Looking forward to a productive day together.
>
> [Name]

### Post-Offsite Summary Email (Send Within 48 Hours)

**Subject: Offsite Recap -- Q2 Priorities & Working Agreements**

> Team,
>
> Thank you for a great offsite. Here's what we decided:
>
> **Q2 Priorities (ranked):**
> 1. [Priority] -- Owner: [Name]
> 2. [Priority] -- Owner: [Name]
> 3. [Priority] -- Owner: [Name]
>
> **Working Agreements v2.0:** [Link to document]
>
> **Action items:** [Link to tracker]
>
> **Next steps:**
> - Priority owners: take your "first action" by [Date + 7 days]
> - Working agreements check-in at our next team meeting on [Date]
>
> Full notes and photos are in [shared folder link].
>
> [Name]

---

*This Offsite Pack was generated for a 10-person remote-first product team planning a 1-day strategy offsite in NYC with a moderate budget. Adjust session lengths, venue choices, and budget allocations to fit your team's specific needs.*