Unstick a problem
For a problem the team has gone round in circles on. Make it worse on purpose, admit which of the bad ideas already happen here, then each person picks one thing they can stop or change this week without asking anyone.
60 minutes, in person. Serves 8 to 12.
How to run it
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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.
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Reverse Brainstorming
20 minNotes each: four
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 four 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.
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TRIZ
10 min"We do this" marks each: up to three
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 three 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.
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15% Solutions
15 minActions each: one action on a 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 one action on a 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.
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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.
TRIZ and 15% Solutions are Liberating Structures, by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless.
90 minutes, in person. Serves 8 to 12.
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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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Reverse Brainstorming
25 minNotes 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.
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TRIZ
20 min"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.
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15% Solutions
20 minActions 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.
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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.
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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Reverse Brainstorming
25 minNotes each: six
Put the problem at the top of the "Make it worse" frame as a question and read it out. Then add the flipped question beside it: "For the next few minutes we're making this as bad as we possibly can. How would we guarantee it fails?" Everyone types six ways to make it worse, one per sticky, with no chat. Absurd is welcome. If the first notes are polite, add an outrageous one of your own to show how far to go. Then everyone drags duplicates on top of each other so the frame reads cleanly.
Board: Frame 1, "Make it worse": the original question and the flipped one at the top, and space for notes.
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TRIZ
20 min"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 stamp or a red sticker on up to five notes they've seen happen here. Mark the behaviour, never a person. Move every note with three or more marks into the "We do this" frame. Expect the call 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.
Board: Frame 2, "We do this": empty until the marking is done.
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15% Solutions
20 minActions each: three actions, one per card
Point at the "We do this" frame. "Pick one of these. What can you do about it this week, yourself, without asking anyone or spending anything? Start with 'I will'." Everyone types three actions into the "Our 15%" frame, under the practice they tackle. "Someone should" doesn't count; neither does anything that needs approval. Then open breakout rooms of two for six minutes; this is the recipe's one breakout round. Back in the main room, three volunteers read theirs out.
In the 90 also: In the breakout, partners ask each other: "Could you start that tomorrow? Does it need anyone's permission?" Each person keeps their strongest action and deletes the rest.
Board: Frame 3, "Our 15%": one column per practice from "We do this".
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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.
-
Reverse Brainstorming
20 minNotes each: four
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 four 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.
-
TRIZ
10 min"We do this" marks each: up to three
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 three 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.
-
15% Solutions
15 minActions each: one action on a 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 one action on a 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.
-
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.
-
Reverse Brainstorming
20 minNotes each: four
Put the problem at the top of the "Make it worse" frame as a question and read it out. Then add the flipped question beside it: "For the next few minutes we're making this as bad as we possibly can. How would we guarantee it fails?" Everyone types four ways to make it worse, one per sticky, with no chat. Absurd is welcome. If the first notes are polite, add an outrageous one of your own to show how far to go. Then everyone drags duplicates on top of each other so the frame reads cleanly.
Board: Frame 1, "Make it worse": the original question and the flipped one at the top, and space for notes.
-
TRIZ
10 min"We do this" marks each: up to three
Change the tone; this part is serious. "Which of these are we actually doing, even a little?" Everyone puts a red stamp or a red sticker on up to three notes they've seen happen here. Mark the behaviour, never a person. Move every note with three or more marks into the "We do this" frame. Expect the call to go quiet. That's the step working.
Board: Frame 2, "We do this": empty until the marking is done.
-
15% Solutions
15 minActions each: one action on a card
Point at the "We do this" frame. "Pick one of these. What can you do about it this week, yourself, without asking anyone or spending anything? Start with 'I will'." Everyone types one action into the "Our 15%" frame, under the practice they tackle. "Someone should" doesn't count; neither does anything that needs approval. No breakout: everyone reads the frame in silence, then three volunteers read theirs out.
Board: Frame 3, "Our 15%": one column per practice from "We do this".
-
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!