Frame the problem
Before anyone proposes a fix, get the worries about a problem onto the wall and turn them into one statement of the problem the room agrees on. Use it when a team is about to solve the wrong thing quickly.
90 minutes, in person. Serves 8 to 12.
How to run it
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Check-in
10 minSay what the room will leave with and point to the three steps on the wall. Then ask: "In one sentence: what do you need from the next ninety minutes?" Take answers in any order, not round the circle. If someone passes, move on.
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Stinky Fish
25 minWorries per fish: up to five
Hand everyone a sheet with a big fish drawn on it. "Inside your fish, write what worries you about this problem: the things that smell worse the longer we leave them unsaid." Specific beats general: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" is a worry; "timing" isn't. Go first: read your own fish out loud, and make it honest, because the room will match you. Then everyone writes up to five in silence, posts their fish on the wall and reads the wall without talking. Finish by starring any worry that shows up on three or more fish.
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How Might We
20 minQuestions each: three questions
Take the starred worries. Everyone turns them into three questions starting "How might we…", one per note. Show one first: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" becomes "How might we set dates after we know the size of the work?" A good question is narrower than "make it better" and wider than a solution in disguise. Post the questions and stack duplicates. Then everyone puts one dot on the question they most want answered, and the top one goes forward.
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Point of View Statement
20 minWho drafts: in trios, one draft per trio
Put the template on the wall: "[Who] needs [what] because [why we believe it]." "Write the problem as one sentence about the people who have it. No solutions in the sentence." Everyone drafts in trios, one draft per trio, working from the winning question. Post every draft. Everyone stars the one closest to true. Read the starred draft out loud and let the room fix it, at most three edits. Then write it at the top of the wall.
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Commit: who does what by when
15 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. The owner writes "I will [what] by [when]" on a card, reads it out and sticks it under the result. Only owners speak. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Write that on the wall too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
In the 90 also: Ask each owner one question: "What could stop this?" One sentence back. If the answer is another person, that person is in the commitment too.
Stinky Fish is from the Hyper Island toolbox.
90 minutes, in person. Serves 8 to 12.
-
Check-in
10 minSay what the room will leave with and point to the three steps on the wall. Then ask: "In one sentence: what do you need from the next ninety minutes?" Take answers in any order, not round the circle. If someone passes, move on.
-
Stinky Fish
25 minWorries per fish: up to five
Hand everyone a sheet with a big fish drawn on it. "Inside your fish, write what worries you about this problem: the things that smell worse the longer we leave them unsaid." Specific beats general: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" is a worry; "timing" isn't. Go first: read your own fish out loud, and make it honest, because the room will match you. Then everyone writes up to five in silence, posts their fish on the wall and reads the wall without talking. Finish by starring any worry that shows up on three or more fish.
-
How Might We
20 minQuestions each: three questions
Take the starred worries. Everyone turns them into three questions starting "How might we…", one per note. Show one first: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" becomes "How might we set dates after we know the size of the work?" A good question is narrower than "make it better" and wider than a solution in disguise. Post the questions and stack duplicates. Then everyone puts one dot on the question they most want answered, and the top one goes forward.
-
Point of View Statement
20 minWho drafts: in trios, one draft per trio
Put the template on the wall: "[Who] needs [what] because [why we believe it]." "Write the problem as one sentence about the people who have it. No solutions in the sentence." Everyone drafts in trios, one draft per trio, working from the winning question. Post every draft. Everyone stars the one closest to true. Read the starred draft out loud and let the room fix it, at most three edits. Then write it at the top of the wall.
-
Commit: who does what by when
15 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. The owner writes "I will [what] by [when]" on a card, reads it out and sticks it under the result. Only owners speak. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Write that on the wall too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
In the 90 also: Ask each owner one question: "What could stop this?" One sentence back. If the answer is another person, that person is in the commitment too.
90 minutes, remote. Serves 8 to 12.
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Check-in
10 minSay what the room will leave with and show the three steps on the board. Then ask: "In one sentence: what do you need from the next ninety minutes? Type it in the chat, but don't press Enter until I say go." Say "Go" and read the chat out loud in one pass. It's faster than a round, and nobody answers in the shadow of the person before them.
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Stinky Fish
25 minWorries per fish: up to five
Give each person a fish shape with their name on it in the "Stinky fish" frame, or a named box if your board has no shapes. "Inside your fish, write what worries you about this problem: the things that smell worse the longer we leave them unsaid." Specific beats general: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" is a worry; "timing" isn't. Go first: read your own fish out loud, and make it honest, because the room will match you. Then everyone types up to five into their own fish in silence and reads the frame without talking. Finish by starring any worry that shows up on three or more fish.
Board: Frame 1, "Stinky fish": one fish per person, named.
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How Might We
20 minQuestions each: three questions
Take the starred worries. Everyone turns them into three questions starting "How might we…", one per sticky in the "Questions" frame. Show one first: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" becomes "How might we set dates after we know the size of the work?" A good question is narrower than "make it better" and wider than a solution in disguise. Stack duplicates. Then everyone gives one vote, in the voting tool or with one dot sticker, to the question they most want answered, and the top one goes forward.
Board: Frame 2, "Questions": empty.
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Point of View Statement
20 minWho drafts: in trios, one draft per trio
Put the template at the top of the "Problem" frame: "[Who] needs [what] because [why we believe it]." "Write the problem as one sentence about the people who have it. No solutions in the sentence." Open breakout rooms of three for eight minutes; this is the recipe's one breakout round. Each trio types one draft into the "Problem" frame, working from the winning question. Back in the main room, everyone stars the draft closest to true. Read it out loud and let the room fix it, at most three edits. Then type it at the top of the frame.
Board: Frame 3, "Problem": the template at the top, with space for drafts and the final sentence.
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Commit: who does what by when
15 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. Owners type "I will [what] by [when]" into the Commitments frame, under the result they own. Read every commitment back out loud. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Type that into the frame too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
In the 90 also: Ask each owner one question: "What could stop this?" One sentence back. If the answer is another person, that person is in the commitment too.
Board: Frame "Commitments": one column per result, with space for "I will [what] by [when]".
60 minutes, in person. Serves 8 to 12.
-
Check-in
5 minSay what the room will leave with. Then ask: "One word for how you're arriving." Take the words in any order, not round the circle.
-
Stinky Fish
20 minWorries per fish: up to three
Hand everyone a sheet with a big fish drawn on it. "Inside your fish, write what worries you about this problem: the things that smell worse the longer we leave them unsaid." Specific beats general: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" is a worry; "timing" isn't. Go first: read your own fish out loud, and make it honest, because the room will match you. Then everyone writes up to three in silence, posts their fish on the wall and reads the wall without talking. Finish by starring any worry that shows up on three or more fish.
-
How Might We
10 minQuestions each: one question
Take the starred worries. Everyone turns them into one question starting "How might we…", one per note. Show one first: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" becomes "How might we set dates after we know the size of the work?" A good question is narrower than "make it better" and wider than a solution in disguise. Post the questions and stack duplicates. Then everyone puts one dot on the question they most want answered, and the top one goes forward.
-
Point of View Statement
15 minWho drafts: alone, one draft each
Put the template on the wall: "[Who] needs [what] because [why we believe it]." "Write the problem as one sentence about the people who have it. No solutions in the sentence." Everyone drafts alone, one draft each, working from the winning question. Post every draft. Everyone stars the one closest to true. Read the starred draft out loud and let the room fix it, at most three edits. Then write it at the top of the wall.
-
Commit: who does what by when
10 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. The owner writes "I will [what] by [when]" on a card, reads it out and sticks it under the result. Only owners speak. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Write that on the wall too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
60 minutes, remote. Serves 8 to 12.
-
Check-in
5 minSay what the room will leave with. Then ask: "One word for how you're arriving. Type it in the chat, but don't press Enter until I say go." Say "Go" and read the chat out loud in one pass. It's faster than a round, and nobody answers in the shadow of the person before them.
-
Stinky Fish
20 minWorries per fish: up to three
Give each person a fish shape with their name on it in the "Stinky fish" frame, or a named box if your board has no shapes. "Inside your fish, write what worries you about this problem: the things that smell worse the longer we leave them unsaid." Specific beats general: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" is a worry; "timing" isn't. Go first: read your own fish out loud, and make it honest, because the room will match you. Then everyone types up to three into their own fish in silence and reads the frame without talking. Finish by starring any worry that shows up on three or more fish.
Board: Frame 1, "Stinky fish": one fish per person, named.
-
How Might We
10 minQuestions each: one question
Take the starred worries. Everyone turns them into one question starting "How might we…", one per sticky in the "Questions" frame. Show one first: "The deadline was set before anyone scoped the work" becomes "How might we set dates after we know the size of the work?" A good question is narrower than "make it better" and wider than a solution in disguise. Stack duplicates. Then everyone gives one vote, in the voting tool or with one dot sticker, to the question they most want answered, and the top one goes forward.
Board: Frame 2, "Questions": empty.
-
Point of View Statement
15 minWho drafts: alone, one draft each
Put the template at the top of the "Problem" frame: "[Who] needs [what] because [why we believe it]." "Write the problem as one sentence about the people who have it. No solutions in the sentence." No breakout: everyone types a draft into the "Problem" frame alone, working from the winning question. Then everyone stars the draft closest to true. Read it out loud and let the room fix it, at most three edits. Then type it at the top of the frame.
Board: Frame 3, "Problem": the template at the top, with space for drafts and the final sentence.
-
Commit: who does what by when
10 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. Owners type "I will [what] by [when]" into the Commitments frame, under the result they own. Read every commitment back out loud. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Type that into the frame too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
Board: Frame "Commitments": one column per result, with space for "I will [what] by [when]".
Comments & Discussion
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Recent Comments (3)
This workshop was incredibly effective for our remote team! We adapted it slightly for a virtual setting and it worked wonderfully. The key was breaking into smaller breakout rooms.
Great resource! One tip: prepare all materials the day before to avoid any last-minute rushes.
Used this for our quarterly planning session. The structured approach really helped us stay on track!