What on earth do you do with all those Post It Notes and Sharpies you’re always buying?

It’s a fair question and one which colleagues and friends often ask too. So, by way of an answer, I wrote this brief ‘elevator‘ explanation.

What is a design sprint?

A design sprint is an interactive step-by-step system for solving big problems and/or testing big ideas. This is done over a structured four or five-day period with a small team of key people. In one form or another, I incorporate design sprint methods into much of my training, facilitation and coaching.

Why would I run a design sprint?

Design sprints are used for discovering, building and testing new products, services and apps. In New Zealand, household names like Powershop, Air New Zealand, Vodafone, Icebreaker and ACC use sprints to remain competitive in their sectors.

Sprints can also be used to develop, build and test workflows, models and policies. The outcomes of some sprints I have led include reducing processing time and red tape in local government work planning, improving the online booking experience for Regional Parks and enabling sports clubs to self-serve when reserving sports fields and facilities.

How will design sprints help my business?

Pure design is often seen as an open-ended, overly creative and long-winded process but this needn’t be the case. Sprints are quick and cost effective compared to traditional long-form project work.

A design sprint is a short series of timed workshops involving a small number of key players. These workshops can deliver specific and measurable customer-focused outcomes in under a week, using ‘how can we..?’ questions to inform and build prototypes to test with customers – all between Monday morning and Friday afternoon.

I want a 2nd opinion from a leading practitioner

Sounds great – so what should I do now?

If you would like to know more, feel free to contact me for a chat or book a two-hour Lightening Sprint to experience the process for yourself. Either way, leave me a comment, send me a message, drop me a line or give me a call on 021 233 1445.

The post What is a design sprint and why I should care? appeared first on Jon Dunning.

Luckily, my pre-travel checklist means that, while I am parted from my luggage, I am still able to work. If needs be, I can still deliver tomorrow’s training with what I have in my carry-on bag. Most of what I will need will be in the training room when I arrive tomorrow morning. While I have a change of clothes and personal items in my overnight bag, I always have essentials and necessities in my laptop rucksack. These include:

• Hard & soft copies of the run sheet, facilitator and participant workbooks;
• All supporting materials, clients contacts and travels documents;
• My trusty bag of assorted AV adaptors, cables and dongles;
• Mini-wash kit and spare underwear – in case of delays or lost luggage.

Just as importantly, when travelling with only carry-on bags I need to ensure I leave certain things behind. These include all non-essential notebooks & materials, portable backup hard drives and my trusty Swiss Army knife (as forgetting and having them confiscated has become an expensive mistake).

To help me remember what I need to take and leave behind, I use a checklist but, as a professional who knows his business and tried and trusted travel routine, should I really need one? In his book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, surgeon Atul Gawande explored the value of checklists in a number of professions and repeatedly found that they can be an effective answer for forgetfulness, complexity and unforeseen changes.

In the operating room, Gawande and his team use a two-minute checklist to prepare for surgery – ensuring swift access to the right medicines, blood and plasma – as well as some key essentials for effective collaboration – making sure that, behind the masks, the assembled team know each other by name. Incredibly, in a measured study in eight different hospitals, simple pre-surgery team introductions delivered a 35% decline in deaths and complications in surgery.

While 80% of the surgeons involved said they would continue to use Gawnade’s checklist, the other 20% remained said the checklists didn’t add value and wasted time. However, when asked if they would want a surgeon to use the checklist if they were the patient, 94% of those resisters said they would!

Creating checklists for routine processes and procedures makes sense. They allow us to act swiftly and confidently.  Creating checklists for complex situations – like performing brain surgery or flying a plane – can make a crucial difference since these are the times when we are most uncertain about how to proceed and lack the capacity to assess and decide. In these cases, checklists can help establish facts, eliminate concerns and provide clarity.

Gawande thinks many professionals are resistant to using checklists because professionals and experts have a hard time admitting their own fallibility – let me know what do you think.

[Note: posted after the flight, as my flight was called while writing!]

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More often than not, when a participant is a reluctant one, it is because they:

• Haven’t been briefed or were simply told to attend training;
• Haven’t done the pre-work or wasn’t aware they needed to;
• Have been asked to attend training on a rostered day off;
• Are a casual or part time team member who is out of the loop.

On the day concerned, it turned out to be a mixture of all of these and, with smartphones in laps and the lure of the good weather outside, it proved to be a long day for all concerned. Broadly speaking, participants will fall into one of four types that most facilitators will be familiar with.

Hostage

Hostages are those who see training as a trial of resistance and endurance. They see themselves as captives, subject to cruel punishments by a person they’ve never met in a place they don’t want to be. A hostage is often a victim of poor communication or none at all. Without a clear message from their training coordinator, the context and importance is missed. Without a line manager’s coaching to prepare them for the session, an opportunity is lost.

Holidaymaker

Holidaymakers come along to get a break from their normal work. Away from their workspace, they have no intention of taking part in the training. Some see training sessions as a time to tackle their email backlog, chat with colleagues or check social media every ten minutes. While they might enjoy an easy day, they can distract others and sabotage the class.

Bargain Hunter

Bargain hunters appear more engaged than hostages and holidaymakers. They will listen and take the training on board – but only up to a point. Once they’ve heard enough to note a few key points and ideas for later, their attention wanders. They’re looking for quick fixes and soundbites, rather than a combination of tools and methods they can apply to their work.

Explorer

Explorers look forward to training and see the benefits of learning something new or different. They are more likely to be well prepared, engaged and self-directed. Most training or workshop participants try to be explorers. Keen and well informed, they’re eager to ask questions, debate principles, wrestle with new ideas and contribute.

If I am truthful, I have probably been each of these myself at some point in the past. As such, I have some ideas on how to prepare with success in mind. Good course design and session planning can go a long way to engaging participants and maximising the number of explorers in a training session. Similarly, where possible, smart training coordination can help by ensuring a good mix of ages and roles among participants, along with plenty of notice and punchy, informative communication beforehand.

Another way trainers and facilitators might address the issue in the room is to tackle it up front. Draw four quadrants on a whiteboard or flip chart and write one of the four mindsets in each before turning it to face the wall, Ask each participant to share their own prevailing attitude by placing a blank Post It or tick in the relevant quadrant. Share and acknowledge the resulting histogram. Discuss what the results might mean for the day and what might be done to move more people to the explorer headspace.

How do you gauge the engagement of those attending your meetings, workshops and brainstorming sessions? Leave an comment or drop me a line to let me know.

The post What’s your training room mindset? appeared first on Jon Dunning.

The team at LaValla, headed up by Bernie and Dave, couldn’t have done more to make life easier. Our participants enjoyed fantastic hospitality in beautiful surroundings and the best catering I have experienced in a long time. What’s more, everything a trainer/facilitator needs was provided as a matter of course – such a treat to work at a venue that knows what’s required to make a day successful.

If you need a great venue in the Auckland region, LaValla could be what you’re looking for – it even has its own cinema!

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