Everything is Awesome - How to stimulate conversations about the future in your organisation

Everything is AwesomeHow to stimulate conversations about the future in your organisation

Public Sector Innovation Month29 July 2015@peer_academy #cobawesome

• Your name• Where you work• What you do, and……• One super power

that you’d like to have!

Let’s get to know each other…

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Working in groups, answering future-based questions impacting on your organisation:

• Q1 – Let’s have a traditional meeting about it… A bit of theory…• Q2 – Let’s draw it!Break A bit more theory…• Q3 – Let’s make it!

Outline for today

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Three levels of engagement

ProcessBeing in the process

Meta ProcessWatching the process

Meta-Meta ProcessWatching yourself:• Being in the process• Watching the process

Learning in the moment

• Self evaluation & learning during the activities• When an activity is running…

– Notice if you feel you have to jump in and make a point about the process (i.e. a ‘process point’ – MP)

– Notice your own responses to the process and to your watching of the process (i.e. MMP)

• Agreement – Refrain from raising these during the process; instead– Note them and save them for the specified de-brief time

when you will be able to do so and to discuss them

What does your organisation look like ifrevenue and/or operating budgets drop by 50%?

Question 1

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Rules:• 10 minutes to discuss in your groups

– You can either discuss one organisation’s future or discuss how this impacts multiple organisations

• Use the notes page in your notebooks to take notes

• Ask questions as you go

Activity 1

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5 minutes to reflect – use your workbook• What were you asked to do? (P)• What happened? (MP)• What did you feel about what happened? (MMP)

How did you go?

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• Talking about organisational futures isn’t easy– public sector machine bureaucracies are designed to

get things done• Everyone comes with baggage

– human decision-making is largely based upon implicitly held ‘models’ of reality

• The future is fuzzy– no “prediction” has ever come true!!!

Our assumptions

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You can only be sure about your organisation’s future if

you actively create it

Causal Layered Analysis

Official public description of issuetrends, problems, issues, mainstream news, events, data, statistics; talk-back radio

The‘Litany’

Social Causes& Policy

Worldviews

Metaphor & Myth

Social science & policy analysissocial, economic, cultural, political & historical factors; technical explanations; academic analysis

Unquestioned assumptionsabout ‘how the world is’; the influence of worldviews

The deep unspoken & unseenarchetypes, stories, images, symbols, myths & metaphors at the core of worldviews; the deep ‘collective unconscious’

See: Inayatullah (1998), Slaughter (1999, p.145)

Thinking in Systems

• Soft Systems Methodology describes a system according to individual worldviews– allows individuals to hold differing ideas about the

system• Systems thinking is an attempt to make what is

‘implicit’ in individual minds, ‘explicit’– “All models are wrong, but, some models are useful”

(Richard Bawden).

What does your organisation look like if the cost to deliver your services/products increases?

Question 2

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Rules:• Everyone has a different coloured pen• Floor or standing, no working in seats• No talking without drawing• Cartoon style – people shown should have their

motivation or desire shown in a thought bubble• One person at a time draws, others listen and then

someone picks up the thought thread or goes with a new one

Activity 2

2 minutes to reflect• What were you asked to do? (P)• What happened? (MP)• What did you feel about what happened? (MMP)

Then share with group

How did you go?

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Lego Serious Play

Based on key theories:1) Play – use of metaphors2) Constructionism3) Hand-mind connection4) Creative Imagination

Flow Theory: Hard Fun

Skills & Knowledge

Diffi

culty

FlowZone

Bored

Anxious

• UN Leadership Summit 2013• EU funded project on use of

Lego Serious play in SMEs• Large corporates – SAP, Google• Not for profits in the community development and education spaces

internationally• National Health Service in the UK• Universities in Europe, UK and USA

Who uses it?

Authentic thought

Challenge Construction Sharing Reflection

I ask you to build a metaphorical story that answers my questions

You all build individually and give it meaning while you’re

building

You all tell the group the story in your

model

Questions, insights and identification of patterns

Don’t have a meeting with yourself…

- just start building!Trust your hands…

- let them pick the bricks they want!Don’t get bogged down in design…

- think metaphorically!Question the model…

- not the person!

Commandments of Play

2 minutes

Build a duck

Your duck

•Share with your partner•What makes it a duck?

2 minutes

Build the highest tower you can

Your Burj Khalifa…•Share with the table•What could you have done differently?

What does your organisation look like in a resource constrained world?

Question 3

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Rules:• 5 minutes to build your models• 15 minutes to put your models together and

discuss:– What is different? Why?– What is the same? Why?

Activity 3

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Share with group• What were you asked to do? (P)• What happened? (MP)• What did you feel about what happened? (MMP)

How did you go?

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Our experiences with Serious Play

Learn Week 1 Introductory Training 3hr

Week 2 Brainstorming Workshop‐ Detailed list of all your processes‐ Identify resources & team preferred future state

3hr

Implement Weeks 3-6 Process Mapping Workshops‐ Value Stream Mapping‐ Pi Events to implement identified improvements‐ Documenting Processes & Improvement Opportunities in

Promapp

4 x 2hr

Share Week 7 Report Back & Learning Session‐ Share the outcomes & benefits of the Pi Events‐ Discuss strategy & timelines for continuing work

2hr

Implement Week 8-11 Self-Run Process Mapping Workshops 4 x 2hr

Share Week 12 Report Back & Learning Session 1hr

Learn Week 1 Introductory Training 3hr

Week 2 Brainstorming Workshop‐ Detailed list of all your processes‐ Identify resources & team preferred future state

3hr

Implement Weeks 3-6 Process Mapping Workshops‐ Value Stream Mapping‐ Pi Events to implement identified improvements‐ Documenting Processes & Improvement Opportunities in

Promapp

4 x 2hr

Share Week 7 Report Back & Learning Session‐ Share the outcomes & benefits of the Pi Events‐ Discuss strategy & timelines for continuing work

2hr

Implement Week 8-11 Self-Run Process Mapping Workshops 4 x 2hr

Share Week 12 Report Back & Learning Session 1hr

Summary

• Talking about futures in organisations can be tricky

• Causal Layered Analysis helps us better understand how these conversations happen

• There are different methodologies tailored to what level of engagement you require

The‘Litany’

Social Causes& Policy

Worldviews

Metaphor & Myth

Summary

• Talking about futures in organisations can be tricky

• Causal Layered Analysis helps us better understand how these conversations happen

• There are different methodologies tailored to what level of engagement you require

• Lego is Awesome!!!

Any questions?

Feedback & Thank You!

Rowena MorrowInnovation Leader

rowena.morrow@boroondara.vic.gov.au

@prospective

https://au.linkedin.com/in/rowenamorrow

Simon WongDigital Lead, Customer Experience Improvement

simon.wong@boroondara.vic.gov.au

@thewongbus

https://au.linkedin.com/in/siwotravels