Unstick a problem

Say 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.

Notes each: six

Write the problem on the wall as a question and read it out. Then flip it beside the original: "For the next few minutes we're making this as bad as we possibly can. How would we guarantee it fails?" Everyone writes six ways to make it worse, one per sticky note, in silence. Absurd is welcome. If the first notes are polite, add an outrageous one of your own to show how far to go. Everyone posts their notes, then moves duplicates on top of each other so the wall reads cleanly.

The full Reverse Brainstorming exercise

"We do this" marks each: up to five

Change the tone; this part is serious. "Which of these are we actually doing, even a little?" Everyone puts a red dot on up to five notes they've seen happen here. Mark the behaviour, never a person. Move every note with three or more dots into a "We do this" column. Expect the room to go quiet. That's the step working.

In the 90 also: Take the three most-marked notes. For each, ask for three volunteers: "Where did you last see this?" One sentence each, no names.

The full TRIZ exercise

Actions each: three actions, one per card

Point at the "We do this" column. "Pick one of these. What can you do about it this week, yourself, without asking anyone or spending anything? Start with 'I will'." Everyone writes three actions, one per card. "Someone should" doesn't count; neither does anything that needs approval. Cards go up under the practice they tackle. Three volunteers read theirs out.

In the 90 also: Before cards go up, pairs swap and push each other: "Could you start that tomorrow? Does it need anyone's permission?" Three minutes each way. Each person keeps their strongest action and puts up only that one.

The full 15% Solutions exercise

Each 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.