JOINT THINKING �STARTER KIT

A collection of very basic yet highly effective means to improve joint thinking put together by Anja Kantowsky �

About this document

>12 years experience

facilitating meetings

>20 years meeting

experience

Passionate

for people

& working

together

Bad meetings are a drag

Improving

is easy and

fun! Good practice -> results -> ☺

Collection

of practices

for joint

thinking

Complete Scientific

Someone opens a matter to think about

Some don’t answer �- maybe question is unclear, maybe they need more thinking time?

Some answer

Ad-hoc thinking setup in teams

What are we

thinking a

bout?

Inputs might get lost

Difficult setup

for introverts

Improved setup: �Write down the matter to think about

With a written topic or question everyone knows what to think about

Ways to do this:

Just a topic �e.g. Sales situation Narrowing it down�e.g. Improving our sales situation A question�e.g. What can we do to spur sales?

Narrowed

down =

easy to co

me

with input

Standard for documenting inputs:�Taking notes on a flipchart

People utter their thinking

Someone is taking notes

“translatio

n” of

inputs might

cause irrit

ation

Linear setup = a lot of time for all inputs

Difficult setup

for introverts

Improved setup for gathering of inputs:�Hand out sticky notes and pen

Handing sticky notes and pen to each person at the table helps to overcome all issues with linear documenting by someone.

Only one thought per

sticky note

Descriptive & understandable

Setup without a person taking notes:�Put the matter to think about on the table

With a written subject in the middle of the table the thinking energy of the group stays focused.

Great to stop multitasking in a group!

Gathering of inputs – the pro setup

Use graphical organizers to sort inputs right away. In such a setup, everyone is asked to locate her/his sticky notes in the overall picture.

Saves a lot of time when jointly exploring inputs

Explore the following topics if you’re up for more

Have fun!