GSI BOARD RETREAT

Wednesday, February 23 - Spokane Convention Center

We are looking forward to our Board Retreat next Wednesday, February 23. We are thrilled to spend time together connecting and re-connecting, learning, and visioning for the future! Working with Eva and the Freshvue team, we have crafted a day that will inspire us, challenge us,
and deepen understanding of GSI’s work and impact for 2022 and beyond. Thank you for committing your time to attend and engage.

PLEASE RSVP NO LATER THAN MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21

Parking Directions

Map of Centennial Lobby

GSI Retreat Agenda

8 am    Doors open

8:30 am    Coffee & Connections
Come early! Connect and re-connect with fellow board members and share a cup of coffee or tea!

9 am    Welcome

9:45 am Building a Brighter Future: Letters of Hope

11 am    A Current Perspective
A conversation with the GSI Leadership Team

12 pm Working Lunch

12:30 pm GSI's Key Adaptive Challenges: Craft a Clear Call to Action

2:45 pm Debrief & Next Steps

4 -5 pm Reception
An opportunity to gather and celebrate the work of the day
and the new year.

WHERE ARE WE HEADED?

Our Mission & Vision

GSI's mission is to lead transformative business and community initiatives to build a robust regional economy.  GSI's vision is a vibrant Spokane

region where businesses and communities thrive.

The outcome of our mission is to create the place where organizations come together to advocate for the region, drive strategic economic growth,

and champion a talented workforce.

What kind of leadership does our community need from us?

As we evaluate strategic pathways to support our region's long-term success, we recognize that our community's key issues are not technical problems with

clear-cut solutions or engineered fixes. They are adaptive challenges stemming from interrelated trends—demographic, economic, social, political, and technological—

 that play out on the local, national, and global stages.   

Adaptive problems require innovation and learning among the interested parties and, even when a solution is discovered, no single entity has the authority

to impose it on others. The stakeholders must create and implement their solutions while being willing to challenge their assumptions, priorities, and behaviors.  

As GSI board members and community leaders, if we want to help build a vital and vibrant community, we must work together and lead by mobilizing people

to make progress on our most crucial, complex, adaptive challenges.

Our Journey So Far

Our plan has been informed by best practices, input from other leading chambers, economic development organizations, insights from local thought leaders, and most importantly, contributions from our board. 

We acknowledge that implementing our priorities may be a complex and dynamic process.  The Focus Areas (below) require an adaptive approach, not just tactical execution. The fact that we now have a shared framework for unpacking the technical and adaptive components and recognize the need for a new approach is a testament to the positive work done by GSI in 2021. 

The input and exercises from our board on how to execute our mission have  resulted in some key insights: 

They have validated that the way GSI is approaching the execution of this mission has been directionally correct to this point.  
They have also highlighted some specific priorities that need further attention, such as funding, board engagement, communicating progress, and perhaps most importantly, reiterating what GSI is mandated to lead versus support.

- DRAFT -

2022 STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS

Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback and insights to support the design of the board retreat! We used what you shared to inform the retreat's schedule, topics, action planning processes, and breakout groups. By investing in this prep work, you helped us to optimize your experience and the board's overall effectiveness and productivity at the retreat.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

WORKFORCE & TALENT

ADVOCACY

SUSTAINABILITY & GOVERNANCE

2022 Strategic Focus Areas

REV_GSI's journeyAdobeStock_267910763 [Converted] v.4.png

Our Work

TARGET GSI'S STRATEGIC DIRECTION

BY HONING IN OUR ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES (SEPTEMBER 2021)

At September's Board meeting, each group presented their chosen adaptive challenge within Workforce Challenges or Economic Development Funding.

We had such a lively and engaging dialogue! Thanks for working collaboratively to unpack your adaptive challenge and synthesize your findings.

Your analysis and recommendations directly informed the build-out of the 2022 Strategic Focus Areas. In July, we began exploring GSI's Key Adaptive Challenges to deepen our understanding of these issues, explore different perspectives, and distill your insights to make informed recommendations.

We had identified eight categories of adaptive challenges using your contributions from the prep work and breakout sessions in May, including insights found in "Our Why" and "Areas of Interest." From those categories, the board chose to unpack Workforce Challenges and Economic Development Funding. While there were many commonalities between the groups, each had a unique take on the challenge, why it was important, and how GSI might respond.

From your work together, we have a more comprehensive understanding of: