Sometimes people ask me when I “have time to come up with so many new ideas?”
I wonder if they think I just sit at my desk and think. I don’t.
Thinking is work, yes, but most of my ideas come when I am “in delivery” — in front of a room of people, speaking or facilitating. I test them in real time and see which ones land.
So, I thought I’d invest a few blog entries sharing some of the ideas I most often use to help groups move forward while I’m in delivery, in case they help your group too.
Today’s example: last week I had three groups tell me they could really use a “decision-making filter.” So I grabbed a marker, drew a bullseye on a piece of paper, and said, “Would it help to know what is in the centre of your bullseye as a definite, no-brainer ‘yes’, what is in the outer ring of ‘nope’ and what is in the ‘it depends’ ring in the centre?”
Or is it more about changing the size of the rings? Do you need the middle ring to shrink? If so, which of the other two need to grow?
This quick sketch can lead to a rich conversation, because groups soon discover their individual pictures of what belongs in which rings may not match their colleagues’. This tool helps them align.
It also helps people articulate what they are craving — it’s usually more clarity for themselves and consistency across their team.
Derek Sivers, famous for saying, “If it’s not ‘HELL, YEAH’ it’s a no,” would be proud.