April 2010 Strategic Innovation Newsletter: 7 steps to improve workshops

Welcome to the April 2010 edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Tips for improving business processes

• Lookfor hand-offs in processes. Are these for legitimate purpose wheredivision of labour can add value, or is just a decision which couldeasily be made by the previous person?
• Error proof at thefirst point of contact with the customer. Very often we are collectinginformation from customer via electronic forms, nothing wrong there,just with archaic forms that require enormous powers of deduction towork out what is being asked for.
• Allocate process ownersor product owners for the various streams within your business, oneperson with a view of the process will be able to drive considerableimprovements with such a focus.

7 steps to improve workshops

 Leadingsuccessful strategy retreats, innovation or process improvementworkshops, requires some planning to make sure you achieve your desiredresults and not come up with random ideas, and people who don't feltthey achieved anything.

Here are 7 steps to have great meetings to drive you innovation agenda:

1. Clarify Objectives in advance.

Too many workshops suffer from a wandering discussion, high-jackedagendas, and lots of talk jut no results, not so much because of theparticipants, but because of a lack of clear goals. Setting goals wellin advance, communicating these well in advance drive a significantimprovement in actually driving real world actions from these meetings.
 

2. Match attendees to the objectives:

Gettingrandom people in the room to attend is a wast of time for you and forthem. Passion and energy about the topics and goals to be achieved iscritical, as are people with actual insight on the issues at hand.Match the people to attend to the goals to be achieved. Do you needsomeone from IT on the new product work flow system? Probably, butmaybe not for a business unit strategy session.

3. Share back ground information before the meeting.

Many workshops are bogged down in mind numbing minute, while intendedto help decision making, actually inhibit. Don't throw the baby outwith the bath water. Instead share it in advance, and use the meetingto discuss insights from the data and drive decision making.

4. Get everyone involved.

This is important, because people want to feel heard, and have anopportunity to assess risks and contribute to an idea. Many meetingssuffer from a strong personality who could be a boss, or simply have alot to say, who dominate the meeting. The corollary is people who areless assertive but still have much to offer get drowned out. Constructyour meetings using techniques curb some people without hindering theircontribution, and draw out the ideas in the quiet ones.
 

5. Focus on the content of the meeting. Don't get bogged down in bureaucracy.

Notwithstanding the objectives and agendas set to direct the meeting,if an important issue has come up and the times dictate it must bedealt with, go ahead. Also don't be a slave to formal meetingpressures. Whilst important in some arenas are damaging when creativityand insight is required.
 

6. Don't boil the ocean.

Often, in a room full of bright energetic people, the temptation is toboil the ocean. Don't try and solve everything, set up a car park tocapture ideas which you get to later, stay on track for now.

7. Follow up.

Let me people who attended, know the outcomes, the next steps and howit fits in to the wider plan. Too many sessions end up without closure,leading people to think 'nothing ever gets completed around here.'

Technique of the month: Managers as helpers

Tom Peters blogged about this recently, and I just finished reading a book by Edgar Schein about the art and process of helping.

So often as managers, or consultants, we feel we must have all theanswers. But sometimes we don't. We may have all the knowledge in theworld concerning our discipline, but sometimes we just don't knowwhat's going on with the client, or the boss or the team member andtheir reality.

Ed Shchein suggested, to access our ignorance and to simply ask forhelp, or to share the problem. To say I don't understand what's goingon here, can you help me?

I've tried this several times in the last few weeks and it worked, because alas at the end the day I'm a professional helper.

So the next time you really are in the dark, share the problem.

What are you helping to solve today?