-
Designing for sense‑making
How to prevent the rush to solutions that undermines good decisions Last week I wrote about how AI is quietly replacing working sessions. Instead of pulling people together to understand a messy problem, someone “puts it into AI” and emails…
-
How AI Is Quietly Replacing Working Sessions
Lately, I keep hearing the same line at work: “I put this into AI and it came up with this model / framework / analysis.” A few years ago, those same problems would have triggered a working session: get the…
-
Are your workshops too long?
Why workshop length is a design decision “We need a half-day workshop.” Sound familiar? I’ve found workshop length is often treated as a given before the session even gets designed. Workshop length is a design choice But workshop length is…
-
Put the Naysayer in Charge of Critique
The moment you formalize the resistance, it starts improving the work. You’re not dealing with “difficult participants.” You’re dealing with a room that just lost momentum. You’ve seen it happen. Someone starts pushing back on everything. Not building, not adding,…
-
Why That Workshop Won’t Land
No shared problem, no shared progress. Your client wants a workshop to “fix” another team. You’re in the scoping call, 20 minutes in. They describe the tension: Team A gripes constantly about Team B. Team A wants a session where…
-
Generative Play: Using creative moments to shape work
How workshops can turn play into progress A side-quest or a shortcut? You invite teams to build Lego models, create mood boards, or run design jams, and you see participation paired with scepticism. People lean into the activity, but they’re…
-
How to Reset a Room Full of Preconceived Ideas
When Assumptions Threaten Real Collaboration I was tasked with turning some 80s office space, mahogany boardroom and all, into a collaborative hub for our project team. Volunteers from across the teams showed up ready to redesign it, assigning spaces to…
-
Set the One Goal That Matters
Find the single goal hidden inside every overloaded brief. Clients love a busy workshop brief. By the time it lands in your inbox, it’s usually stacked with goals: “align on vision, brainstorm new ideas, prioritize the backlog, map the current…
-
Workshop for One
How to apply deliberate design to your individual work From Overload to Clear Findings Imagine you return from fieldwork with stacks of raw research, yet no clear path ahead. Your notes glare back from the desk. You gathered everything you…
-
Facilitating When Mental Health Isn’t Top Notch
Leading workshops on off days: strategies for delivery when life piles on. You’re Off. Workshop’s On. You wake up drained, anxiety spiking not just from work stress but the world gone insane. A family crisis blowing up your phone, global…
