LET’S START WITH THE VENUE

The rooms we need are a key feature of every session. They are a core part of the experience.

You will find many images below to help get an idea of what’s needed.

• Typically our sessions are from 1 day to 3 days maximum.

• There is always one or two days ahead required to rig and prepare.

• The variability depends on the suitability of the room and the task/scope of the session.

• The audience size can vary (typically) from 15-20 upwards to 40-50.

• Chairs (preferably on wheels) but no tables are arranged in highly flexible arcs and will move around the room as the conversation evolves.

• Beyond that size of audience (100-200+), there’s a different kind of approach to include the entire audience - breakouts and all the related technology.

• Typically we require a room with walls capable of approximately two ~30/40 feet spans.

• Having early sight of the space in the room dictates the design of the framework and it will impact all other logistics. (Clear photographs of all the walls and wall surfaces are essential)

• We always ask for plain white painted walls. But floor to ceiling white painted walls can be quite a challenge.

WHITE WALLS

The reason we need white painted walls is that the electrostatic paper that becomes the whiteboard surface requires smooth surfaces for it to attach. It works through magnetism - electrostatically - and as a result, provides a firm smooth writing surface for the live creation of the frameworks and blueprints.

• Ideally, the kind of rooms we prefer are classroom style - clean bright and without any fixtures on the walls.

• This is often hard because small whiteboards and other fixtures are natural features and for us they just get in the way. (See images)

• Wall dividers can sometimes work - cloth-covered walls and rough surfaces just do not work.

• Lecture theatres and stages are not suitable as that arrangement positions the audience too far away from the walls.

• Given COVID it may be that some people need to conference in. This is possible but requires a separate discussion.

Where the walls are not suitable we will bring in lightweight foam-core panels.

The only challenge with this is it can take 2 to 3 hours (or more) of preparation to build the wall.

This has to be done before we can start to apply the electrostatic paper and only then the preparation of the frameworks that contain the material to stimulate the session itself.

• The foam-core panels are 8’ x 4’ feet in dimension.

• You can see from the photographs that this isn’t a major/difficult construction.

• The panels will not damage any wall or work surfaces.

• It is purely the practical and logistical implication in terms of time to build and early access to the rooms.

• The room sizes have to factor in the audience size and the wall space required to build the framework* to answer the exam question/challenge.

• These panels are delivered to the venue in advance of the prep days (one or two days dependent on the task.

• We don’t require any additional support to do this - we simply ask for the space and freedom in that room - no chairs or tables (apart from one) as we build the room.

*This variable is important insofar as where the exam question is simple or complex the wall requirement will vary. Along with the number of days required in session.

SETTING EXPECTATIONS

A Backdrop and Philosophy

There’s a session coming up.

Everyone has an important role to play.

We were clients ourselves.

We didn’t appreciate days spent in meetings/workshops with little return on participation.

We respect everyone’s time and appetite for these kinds of events.

We developed a different approach

STRUCTURED VISUAL THINKING™

1. Structured - there’s a logic to all our frameworks that forces high-quality decisions and a clear direction around the future.

2. Visual - that’s the fastest method we have found to make collaborative sessions meaningful, practical, enjoyable and in a way that honours everyone’s time and contribution.

3. Thinking - because that’s so often a casualty of the world we operate in.

APPROACH

The approach respects everyone’s time.

It focuses effort on solving the real challenge.

The aim is to create clear and meaningful outcomes. (Plans/Strategies/Solutions/Results).

And equally important make it an enjoyable experience.

We start everything with an Exam Question. An anchoring expression of the challenge that inspires all possibilities and avoids answering/limiting the question in the way it gets phrased.

• By the time we are on the ground, we will have learned about your current situation.

• We will have absorbed any material we’ve received that defines the world you operate in.

• We will have done our own assessment of the context you operate in.

• We will have prepared visual frameworks within which to have the most powerful and relevant conversations we can.

• The frameworks are designed to answer the exam question.

The time will pass very quickly, we will achieve a lot. It will be worth it.

KEY PRINCIPLES

Participation

• The session doesn’t follow a traditional (fixed) agenda - but does follow a deliberate rhythm.

• We don’t ask that you prepare too much so as to allow for creativity and spontaneity.

• We encourage everyone to be involved during the discussions.

• The days are focused on a series of deliberately planned conversations - shaped by the framework we will have on the wall

• We spend the time where needed on the right discussion.

• We move to the next discussion when we are happy that we’ve understood enough to move on.

• Each leading question drives a rich conversation between everyone.

• It’s important to be comfortable with silences - some questions are likely to cause pause. This is good.

The Logistics

• We typically gather at around 8-00 for coffee and kick off with a short context-setting at 8-30 am. 

• Expect to break around 10-30 am for coffee and fresh air, again at lunch for 12-30 and then again at 2-00 pm with a finish time around 4/5-00 pm on each day.

• You are free to get up, wander around and be comfortable as you engage in the conversations.

The Experience

• You will enter a large space (as shown above)

• Conversations and genuine debate, amongst the team, is the order of the day.

• We want you to be comfortable so our preference is for casual attire.

• There will normally be no desks - just open minds and enthusiasm for the questions at hand.

• The walls will have some material already in place to structure and stimulate the conversation.

• The vast majority of the walls will be empty to allow us to create and drive the discussions - collaborating purely on what matters.

• As ideas and input emerge the framework will grow and develop in real-time.

• The results are immediate.

The Focus Will Typically Cover The Business Critical Areas

• An aligned set of outcomes and intentions.

• The value and impact we will bring to our customers.

• A shared vision of the future - one that will inspire and unify us within our marketplace. 

• The challenges and barriers that we need to overcome.

• An understanding of how we need to operate as we progress towards our new vision.

• The capabilities and skills we need.

• A focus on what we need to do next to make this happen.

• How we need to work as leaders to sustain progress and execute the work.

• The principles and criteria that will govern and ensure the integrity of the above.

• The strategy and plan.

Deliverables

Reports And Documents - We capture perspectives, insights, and thoughts both on the walls and using technology and other recording techniques.

Media Options - The results of sessions can be made into different forms of deliverables based on agreement and budgets. (Digital, High-level, Detailed, Interactive, Multi-media)

Timely Reflection - We are not simply recording the discussion. After the session, we reflect and distil everything further. We often turn that into agreed formats/artefacts/tools for what happens next.

Caveat - We don’t know what that means until we get to that point but that will be a big part of the next stages. Everything is agreed in advance and discussed collaboratively.

And Finally

A short tour through the overall approach and how and why it works with examples, cases, and explanations.

Visit the rest of this site for more.