Forget Blue Sky Thinking

I’ve spent years running ‘blue sky thinking’ workshops. Where anything goes. Where every idea is a good idea. I now realise that this is a waste of time. Firstly, people find it difficult to come up with ideas when there are no boundaries. Secondly, in the post-workshop review, the ideas are impossible to implement. No wonder ‘brainstorming’ workshops have got a bad reputation.

Instead, I would recommend the opposite. I like to call it ‘black sky’ thinking. It involves setting up the workshop completely differently. Here’s what to focus on.

Sharpen Up the Brief

Firstly, be crystal clear on what you want to achieve from the workshop. Be as specific as you can. For example, specify how many ideas you intend to generate. Be explicit with the format of the output. Provide a simple idea template.

Be prescriptive. We enjoy working towards a clear goal in a workshop. Otherwise chaos will ensue.

Incorporate Your Constraints Within the Brief

Everyone has constraints. You may have zero budget. Or you could have a tough deadline or a small team. Whatever it is, be transparent about it. By all means, be ambitious in setting your goal, but equally, be clear on the constraints you’re up against. In the book ‘A Beautiful Constraint’, this is called a ‘Propelling Question’.

This may seem impossible at first, but the juxtaposition of a bold ambition and a significant constraint is essential for creative thinking. You’re forced to think of new pathways, beyond the tried and trusted ‘best practice’ models.

Summary

Blue sky thinking workshops have got a bad name and rightly so. This doesn’t mean that you should abandon idea-generation workshops altogether. Getting the right people together to solve difficult problems or invent new ideas can be invaluable. You need to design them better. Focus on getting a sharp clear brief. And don’t shy away from including your constraints within it. As a consequence creativity will increase and solutions will be realistic. You may even enjoy taking part in them.

Workshop Icebreakers

Workshops normally begin with an ice-breaker or warm-up exercise. It’s like stretching before you start a long run. It sets the tone for the whole session, so starting well is important. Here are some thoughts on what to consider.

The icebreaker format

Typically, the facilitator asks people to say hello and explain who they are and their role. An icebreaker question then follows this, that everyone answers.

‘Please tell me your name and what you do and…(insert ice breaker question here)

Go around the room until everyone has answered the question. Sound familiar? I’m sure we’ve all done this at some point.

Choosing appropriate Icebreaker questions

The trick is to decide on what the goal of the icebreaker is. Then invent some questions to help you achieve that goal.

Here are some suggestions on possible goals and the questions you could ask. Of course, choose a wording that works best for you.

1 Surfacing Expectations: ensuring everyone’s aligned on the session objectives.

These questions help you stay on track. They’re easy and relevant for any session. For example:

- What would you like to get out of today’s session?

- What would success look like to you?

- What are your hopes and wishes for today?

- Any key watch-outs for today’s session?

It’s also good to go back to the list of expectations at the end of the session, to ensure you’ve covered everything.

2 Getting to Know You: getting a deeper understanding of people in the room.

This is helpful if participants don’t know each other well. It builds trust and forms connections. For example:

- Outside of work, what are your hobbies and interests?

- What’s your favourite…(insert here) eg film/book/holiday destination/pizza topping?

- If you were given £1 million what business would you set up? 

- Draw yourself as a mood board (hand out sheets of paper to do this)

- Name one thing on your bucket list.  

3 Exploring the Task: to allow you to begin thinking about the topic under discussion indirectly.

Tailor the question accordingly. For example, if the session is about technology, ask tech-related questions. If it’s about food, focus on food-related questions. People also reveal something interesting about themselves. For example:

- What’s your favourite app and why?

- What would be a restaurant recommendation to a visitor to your town/city?

- Which business leader (or brand) do you admire most and why?

- Think of an example of a high-performing team from any walk of life. Explain why.

4 Exploring Topical Issues: if there’s a ‘hot’ topic in the air or a specific time of year then use it as a fun way to connect people.

- What book will you take on holiday this Summer?

- Which box set/series did you ‘binge’ on recently?

- Who will win the Euros?

- What have been your best and worst Christmas presents?

- Are you a Swiftie? Favourite Taylor Swift song?

Alternatively, kick off with an energiser

An alternative to the ice-breaker question format is the energiser. Something physical. Something to have a bit of fun. This is particularly useful if the teams already know each other well, or if there’s a big group.

Here are the types of energisers that can be used to kick off a session.

Think carefully. Some energisers require verbal/linguistic dexterity - which may not be appropriate for a multi-cultural audience. Others are very performative and are more geared towards extroverts. For example, tasks that involve singing or dancing. Some people may shine, others may fail. Some energisers are very physical and again may not be appropriate for your participants.

1 Team Quizzes

We all became quiz experts during lockdown, so dig them out again. Any topic can be used, but making it company or category-specific makes it feel more bespoke. Offer silly prizes to the winning team. Everyone loves a quiz.

2 Team Name

If people are in the same teams all day, ask them to invent a fun team name. Something that unites them. And then design a logo on a flipchart that brings that name to life.

3 Stretching

Conduct a simple head-toe stretching routine. Alternatively, do a series of yoga stretches or breathing exercises. Something physical, but not too demanding.

4 Table Top Games

Tasks that can be completed as a team, using materials on a table. For example: build a tower using marshmallows and spaghetti or paper and tape. Create something eg a cityscape using Play-Doh or Lego bricks. It’s playful, creative and bonding.

5 Personality Bingo

Create individual 5 x 5 bingo cards with various statements in each box: eg has a dog, loves hiking, etc. Participants find others who match one of the statements. They then fill out their cards with the initials of the person who agrees with the statement. When a card has a line of initials from different people - shout bingo! You’re the winner.

6 Speed Networking

Pair up participants. Give each pair a couple of minutes to share one interesting fact. Rotate pairs every couple of minutes until everyone has met a different person.

Summary

Icebreakers are important. They loosen minds (and bodies). It signals that this is going to be an exciting and enjoyable session. It enables you to make a fast and productive start. Think carefully about the goal of the icebreaker and then invent a question that will help you achieve it. Something interesting but not too challenging. You don’t want the participants to fail the warm-up. Alternatively, do something physical. Do an energiser. Nothing too strenuous - beware of health and safety! Something that allows them to bond and have fun. Something that doesn’t take up too much time. Once the icebreaker or energiser is done - the work begins!

What’s your favourite icebreaker? Please share in the comments below.

Understanding a Workshop Brief

The key to a great workshop is great planning. The first and most important task is to get to the heart of the workshop brief.

To help you do this, here’s a discussion guide to help you understand the real workshop brief. I’ve also developed a checklist, to ensure you’ve considered everything. As a rule of thumb, spend at least as much time planning the workshop as you do running it. The more you plan, the more successful your workshop will be.

Taking a Workshop Brief: Discussion Guide

Here are the key topics you should cover. Also, the kind of questions you should ask. This is for when you’re meeting with the workshop 'problem owner'.

1 Background to the Problem

What’s the issue we’re trying to solve?

Why is it important? What’s been tried before?

What will happen after the workshop?

Is there anything I need to read to help me understand it?

2 Defining the Workshop Task

What specifically would you like to get out of the workshop?

What would you see as a successful outcome?

What specifically are the outputs you’re looking for? For example, give me a sense of the type and number of ideas you’d like to get to.

Do you have any existing formats/templates that you’d like to work on as workshop outputs? 

3 Understanding the Attendees

Tell me about the people you’d like to invite. Why is it important for them to attend?

What perspective/contribution will they bring to the session?

Any watchouts I need to be aware of?

Who else might be useful to invite?

4 Logistics

Let’s discuss dates/timings. What dates are you planning? How long will the session last?

What about the venue? Who’ll be booking it?

How / when will we invite people?

5 Preparation

Have you thought about participant pre-work? What do you think might be useful? (Tasks? Reading?)

Do you have any thoughts about the process / the agenda? 

6 Next Steps

When would you like to see a session plan?

Is there anything else I need to know that might be helpful?

Workshop checklist

Once you’ve had a briefing session, here’s a checklist to ensure you’ve covered everything. If you still have questions, then have a further follow-up with the problem owner.

1 Am I clear on the workshop task?

2 Do I understand the background and the issue we’re addressing?

3 Have we agreed on how much time to allocate to it?

4 Have dates/times been agreed?

5 Do I know who’s coming and why they’ve been invited?

6 When will invitations be sent out?

7 Has the venue been agreed upon and booked?

8 Have I thought about pre-work for attendees?

9 What workshop materials do we need?

10 What are the workshop tools we will use?

11 What kind of stimulus should we prepare?

12 Are roles and responsibilities clear during the session(s)?

13 When will I develop/share the workshop process?

I hope you find these helpful. If you have any other suggestions on the best way to understand a workshop brief, then please let me know.

Good luck with your next workshop.

Make Your Workshops Funny

When I look back on past workshops, the moments that stick out for me are the funny ones. I remember when someone brought their dog to the session and everyone played with it. Or when someone presented their ideas by taping a flipchart to their body. Once, we gave a prize to the most negative participant in the room. Something you’re never supposed to do - especially as he was the most senior person at the session. He played along with it, which was great.

Having fun is important in workshops. It puts everyone at ease. It creates positive energy. It creates fond memories and encourages greater participation. Usually, you get better ideas.

So how do you do it? How do you ensure workshops are playful and light-hearted?

Firstly, you must follow these golden rules of what you must never do.

What Not to Do: The Golden Rules

1 Don’t laugh at people

By all means, make fun of yourself but don’t be cruel to specific individuals. Join in with the laughter and make it inclusive. Don’t seek to humiliate people or make jokes at someone’s expense.

2 Don’t hog the limelight

It’s not about demonstrating how funny you are. It’s about creating an environment where everyone else can have fun. Don’t share long, ‘amusing’ anecdotes just because you have a captive audience.

3 Don’t deflect from the purpose of the session

Having fun should make the workshop more productive. So make sure it doesn’t get in the way. Pick and choose your moments and don’t force a humourous interlude if it doesn’t feel right.

Some suggestions

Here are some simple and easy ways to introduce fun into the session.

1 Icebreakers and Energisers

Start your workshop with a fun icebreaker to lighten the mood. Include simple games or quizzes throughout that encourage interaction and laughter. They set the tone for the whole session.

2 Visual Aids and Props

Use visual aids, props, or multimedia elements to add humour throughout. Funny images, videos, cartoons. Anything that puts a smile on people’s faces. Keep them relevant to the workshop and part of the overall experience.

3 Humorous Examples

Incorporate funny stories, quotes, or examples related to the workshop topic. Humour can help make the subject matter more relatable and memorable.

4 Encourage Participation

Create opportunities for participants to share their own funny experiences or ideas. Specifically, those related to the workshop topic. This encourages a relaxed atmosphere where humour is welcomed and appreciated.

5 Role-Playing Exercises

Workshop exercises can be playful and enjoyable. Role playing allows you to do this. This involves assigning roles to participants and having them act out scenarios. Typically, consumer role play. Other workshop exercises can feel light-hearted and playful. For example, creating mood boards from magazines.

6 Music

Use music to set a relaxed, informal tone. This could be during breaks, at lunch or as part of workshop exercises. If you’re not sure what to choose, stick to the 1980s. Everyone loves the 80s. It sometimes leads to spontaneous singalongs or dance moves. Click here for more ways of using music in workshops.

7 Silly Competitions and Prizes

People are naturally competitive so create competitions between teams with fun (inexpensive) prizes. This is particularly effective during the final presentations. Chocolates are always welcomed. Anything silly works well - key rings, cuddly toys, little trophies.

Summary

Having fun is part of the overall workshop experience. You don’t have to be a comedian. Inject humour into your facilitation style using a friendly and light-hearted tone. Then provide lots of opportunities for fun and laughter for everybody else. Remember the golden rules. Laugh with people, avoid hogging the limelight and make sure it doesn’t deflect from the workshop’s objectives.

Then try out out some of these simple suggestions. You don’t have to force it or try too hard. Everyone enjoys a good laugh. You’ll build trust, people will relax, time will fly and you’ll get great outcomes.

And if all else fails - bring along a dog.

What have been your funniest workshops? Please let me know in the comments below.

Avoiding Workshop Groupthink

One of the risks of running a workshop designed to generate new ideas is ‘Groupthink’. People will always seek consensus in a group setting and the facilitator encourages this. As a consequence, dissenting voices or challenging thinking will be squeezed out.

So how can you avoid Groupthink if you are facilitating a workshop? How can you ensure that individual voices and challenging ideas are seen and heard?

Here are a few suggestions.

1 set and Enforce Ground rules

Establish guidelines that promote open communication, constructive feedback, and respect for differing opinions. Emphasise the importance of listening actively and considering all perspectives before making decisions. Get everyone to sign up for this way of working.

If you’re the facilitator, ensure you model and encourage this behaviour. If you see people transgress - reinforce them.

2 invite diverse, outsider perspectives

Invite people who can offer fresh perspectives and challenge the group's assumptions. These could be outsiders with specific expertise or creative skills. Outsiders can disrupt groupthink by offering new ideas and viewpoints that may not have been considered before.

Give them a platform for airing alternative perspectives or sharing fresh insights.

3 encourage and reward independent thinking

Encourage participants to think independently and avoid automatically conforming to the group's consensus. You can do this by setting up exercises and tasks that force this to happen. For example, encourage working groups to focus on the flaws in their ideas or promote the opposite perspective.

Make sure everyone participates - not just the vocal or experienced people. Encourage everyone to voice their opinions even if they differ from the majority. Manage disagreements openly and fairly. Emphasise that changing your mind is not a sign of weakness.

4 Use anonymous feedback

Often in workshops, people are asked to vote for their favourite ideas. This usually involves allocating stickers to ideas captured on flipcharts. What frequently happens is that whoever goes first, sets the tone and everyone else falls into line.

Try to avoid this. Provide opportunities for participants to share their opinions anonymously. For example, get people to write down their top 3 ideas and give them to the facilitator who then shares the results. Or, use polling software where people vote individually and anonymously. For example, Slido.

This can help shy or dissenting voices feel more comfortable expressing their views. You’ll also get a ‘clean’ read of individual opinions that aren’t tainted by others.

5 rotate teams

If people work in the same teams all the time, everyone in that team will tend to share the same point of view. To avoid this, change up the teams regularly. Make them bigger, make them smaller. Mix and match people. This allows different voices to be heard. It prevents a single opinion from dominating. It also creates fresh energy and greater cross-fertilisation of ideas.

6 Promote critical thinking

Trusting your gut feeling is important. But allow space for critical thinking. Encourage participants to question assumptions, challenge ideas, and explore alternative solutions. Make sure opinions are backed by evidence. Seek out flaws in arguments. Facilitate discussions that consider multiple viewpoints before reaching a consensus.

Summary

Of course, getting to a consensus is important in workshops and ensuring common ground amongst the participants. However, beware of Groupthink. Be careful of jumping to conclusions without ensuring every voice is heard. Consider a range of alternatives.

Establishing the ground rules upfront is key. Create an environment where people feel confident enough to challenge Groupthink without fear of recrimination. Encourage participants to be critical thinkers. To be willing to change opinions or be open to new ideas.

Do this and the workshop will continue to be a useful forum for generating fresh ideas.

Making the Most of 'In Real Life' Workshops

Nowadays, online workshops have become the norm. So there has to be a great reason to bring people together for a real-life event. Expectations will be high. It has to be worth it. What you don’t want people to say afterwards is: ‘we could have done this online’.

So, how do you ensure that real-life workshops feel special? How can you ensure they’re worth the time, effort and money? Here are a few suggestions.

1 Address your toughest challenges

You have the opportunity to make real-life sessions longer than online workshops. Therefore, focus on the biggest, thorniest topics. Day-day business can be handled via online meetings

For example, developing your brand strategy. In real-life sessions you can spend good chunks of time getting into the detail. You can debate, take a break and then re-look at where you’ve got to. You can sense whether you’ve made a breakthrough or reached a consensus via the body language and energy in the room.

Innovation sessions often work best in real life. There’s more opportunity for spontaneity and for sparking off each other. You can scribble, sketch and share. You can speed up, you can slow down. You can use the physical space to create more freely and move around. You can use a range of materials to bring your ideas to life.

2 Ensure there’s lots of social time

It’s much rarer to meet face-to-face in this new hybrid world of work. So make the most of the time you have together. Make sure there’s a good amount of social time. People love the opportunity to catch up, gossip or get to know each other better.

This usually revolves around food and drinks. Breakfast is good and it gets people to the workshop early. Arrange post-workshop drinks. Try and find a nice local bar. Alternatively, go for a walk, or do an activity together.

3 Use lots of stimulus

Fill the room with products. Of course, your own, but also your competitors. Bring other objects that will inspire you. For example, interesting packaging, cool new brands, and adverts. Fill the walls with stuff to look at. Whatever’s relevant to the topic you’re exploring. We can’t create ideas in a vacuum, we need something to spark off.

This is what online workshops can’t give you. The opportunity to see, touch, smell and taste something interesting.

4 Move people around

Sitting in the same place with the same people is draining. Therefore, allow attendees to mix with everyone. This can happen during social time of course, but also during the workshop. Re-form the teams regularly. Encourage as much cross-fertilisation as possible. It also creates energy and makes the workshop feel more dynamic.

5 Maximise the location

Make the most of the facilities available. If it’s a big room, use the entire space. This may involve moving the furniture or playing with the layout but don’t stay stuck in the same area. If there’s a nice garden or a terrace, go outside. Maybe you could work outside, weather permitting.

If you’re in an interesting location, make sure you get the chance to visit the neighbourhood. Try and use it as part of the workshop experience. For example, visit local stores or talk to people on the street. Look out for a nice spot nearby for post-workshop drinks.

6 Exciting Food and Drink Choices

Don’t underestimate the power of great food, drink and snacks. Everyone is a foodie nowadays, so make an effort with the catering. Make sure there’s enough choice for people with special dietary requirements. Food is also a great opportunity to bond.

Have fun snacks available all day to help maintain energy. And of course, ensure chocolate is on hand as special treats and prizes.

Summary

In contrast to the pre-Covid period, people look forward to real-life workshops. As they’re rarer they need to feel more like an event. Think carefully about how you make it extra-special. Go the extra mile.

Use your valuable time together to address tough, strategic challenges. Ensure everyone gets to know each other better. Make it feel 3-D by using lots of stimulus and of course, make an effort with the food and drinks. For some people, this is what defines a successful real-life workshop. As a facilitator bring all your energy. Build in social time. make sure you use the venue to its max and explore the neighbourhood.

Online workshops have their place. But nothing can beat the buzz and excitement of a real-life workshop. Make the most of them.