Reflection:	
  Visualization	
  Tool

Sticky	
  Notes	
  From	
  “What-­‐if”	
  Co-­‐creation	
  Workshop

Challenge	
  &	
  Selection	
   	
   The	
  challenge	
  I	
  chose	
  to	
  share	
  with	
  my	
  peers	
  in	
  this	
  assignment	
  is	
  the	
  use	
  of	
  Sticky	
   Notes	
  as	
  a	
  visualization	
  tool	
  to	
  expose	
  breakthrough	
  thinking	
  as	
  part	
  of	
  co-­‐creation	
   workshop.	
  This	
  workshop	
  was	
  pulled	
  together	
  as	
  one	
  step	
  in	
  the	
  process	
  to	
  help	
   address	
  the	
  situation	
  our	
  organization	
  faced,	
  as	
  we	
  needed	
  to	
  revisit,	
  re-­‐think,	
  and	
   transform,	
  the	
  services	
  we	
  offered	
  our	
  customers,	
  based	
  on	
  shifts	
  in	
  our	
  company’s	
   strategy.	
  	
   	
   Our	
  company	
  is	
  in	
  the	
  business	
  of	
  bringing	
  an	
  entirely	
  new	
  type	
  of	
  educational	
   experience	
  to	
  the	
  world.	
  It,	
  by	
  definition,	
  is	
  a	
  disruptive	
  force	
  in	
  traditional	
  teaching	
   and	
  learning,	
  and	
  for	
  educational	
  institutions.	
  In	
  our	
  current	
  state,	
  we	
  offer	
  a	
  variety	
   of	
  advisory	
  and	
  support	
  services	
  for	
  our	
  customers.	
  But	
  as	
  our	
  firm	
  continued	
  to	
   mature,	
  our	
  corporate	
  goals	
  evolved,	
  and	
  types	
  of	
  goals	
  changed	
  (e.g.,	
  from	
  volume-­‐ type	
  goals,	
  to	
  quality-­‐type	
  goals).	
  So,	
  consequently,	
  our	
  services	
  needed	
  to	
  change	
  as	
   well.	
  Figuring	
  out	
  how	
  we	
  needed	
  to	
  change	
  to	
  deliver	
  on	
  new	
  –	
  and	
  aggressive	
  -­‐-­‐	
  	
   goals,	
  meant	
  we	
  needed	
  not	
  to	
  jump	
  to	
  solution-­‐mode	
  right	
  away,	
  but	
  needed	
  to	
   really	
  take	
  pause	
  to	
  determine	
  how	
  we	
  needed	
  to	
  adjust,	
  if	
  not	
  transform,	
  the	
  types	
   of	
  services	
  we	
  offered,	
  and	
  consequently,	
  the	
  type	
  of	
  talent	
  we	
  needed	
  to	
  deliver	
  on	
   future-­‐state	
  services.	
  Seeing	
  as	
  we	
  are	
  in	
  a	
  new	
  field	
  of	
  education	
  that	
  is	
  evolving	
   very	
  rapidly,	
  the	
  opportunity	
  to	
  apply	
  Design	
  Thinking	
  seemed	
  right-­‐on.	
   	
   	
   Application	
   	
   After	
  going	
  through	
  the	
  What-­‐Is	
  stage,	
  we	
  moved	
  onto	
  What-­‐If,	
  and	
  the	
  particular	
   application	
  I’d	
  like	
  to	
  share	
  is	
  our	
  work	
  to	
  conduct	
  a	
  Co-­‐Creation	
  Workshop.	
  	
   	
   We	
  brought	
  about	
  twelve	
  select	
  stakeholders	
  together,	
  offsite	
  and	
  away	
  from	
  our	
   offices,	
  to	
  spend	
  a	
  day	
  going	
  through	
  a	
  co-­‐creation	
  exercise	
  –	
  to	
  help	
  co-­‐create	
   concepts	
  of	
  services.	
  These	
  stakeholders	
  were	
  from	
  across	
  many	
  different	
  functions	
   of	
  our	
  services	
  department,	
  along	
  with	
  some	
  colleagues	
  we	
  work	
  closely	
  with	
  in	
   other	
  departments,	
  like	
  marketing,	
  engineering,	
  and	
  product.	
  We	
  explored	
  the	
   services	
  work	
  itself,	
  the	
  people	
  needed	
  to	
  do	
  the	
  work,	
  the	
  processes,	
  to	
  deliver	
  on	
   our	
  new	
  goals.	
  In	
  advance	
  of	
  workshop	
  (and	
  carrying	
  through	
  to	
  the	
  beginning	
  of	
  it),	
   we	
  dedicated	
  a	
  sizable	
  chunk	
  of	
  time	
  for	
  folks	
  to	
  soak-­‐in	
  and	
  comment	
  on	
  the	
  results	
   from	
  the	
  What-­‐Is	
  stage.	
  And	
  then,	
  to	
  kick	
  off	
  the	
  co-­‐creation,	
  I	
  asked	
  a	
  rather	
   dramatic	
  trigger	
  question:

“What	
  if	
  we	
  got	
  rid	
  of	
  our	
  XX	
  core	
  service	
  all	
  together?”

Insight	
  &	
  Approach

This	
  single	
  question	
  sparked	
  some	
  knee-­‐jerk	
  defensive	
  reactions	
  among	
  some,	
  but	
   ultimately	
  the	
  question	
  helped	
  pull	
  the	
  group	
  out	
  of	
  incremental	
  change	
  ideas,	
  to	
   dramatic,	
  big,	
  out-­‐of-­‐the-­‐box	
  ideas.	
  It	
  enabled	
  folks	
  to	
  think-­‐big,	
  and	
  think-­‐crazy.	
   Our	
  point	
  was	
  to	
  get	
  as	
  many	
  ideas	
  out	
  on	
  the	
  table,	
  and	
  to	
  encourage	
  no	
  holding	
   back.	
  	
   	
   My	
  approach	
  was	
  to	
  give	
  everyone	
  sticky	
  notes	
  as	
  our	
  visualization	
  tool.	
  We	
  put	
  an	
   organizational	
  performance	
  model/methodology	
  on	
  the	
  wall	
  (five	
  big	
  boxes	
  labeled	
   “Work”	
  “People”	
  “Process”	
  etc.),	
  and	
  asked	
  folks	
  to	
  put	
  each	
  big-­‐idea	
  they	
  had	
  on	
  a	
   sticky	
  note,	
  and	
  place	
  it	
  onto	
  one	
  of	
  the	
  big	
  boxes	
  on	
  the	
  wall	
  to	
  which	
  it	
  related.	
  	
   	
   The	
  end	
  product	
  of	
  this	
  visualization	
  was	
  a	
  wall	
  completely	
  full	
  of	
  ideas!	
  We	
  got	
   some	
  really	
  bold	
  ideas	
  on	
  how	
  we	
  could	
  change	
  to	
  deliver	
  on	
  the	
  new	
  corporate	
   goals.	
  Our	
  next	
  step	
  was	
  to	
  ask	
  folks	
  at	
  the	
  workshop	
  to	
  form	
  into	
  sub-­‐groups,	
  and	
   each	
  group	
  would	
  focus	
  on	
  one	
  box	
  on	
  the	
  wall	
  (like	
  “Work”	
  or	
  “People”)	
  and	
  were	
   asked	
  to	
  organize	
  and	
  group	
  the	
  sticky-­‐note	
  ideas	
  for	
  that	
  box	
  into	
  themes.	
  Then	
   they	
  presented	
  those	
  themes	
  to	
  the	
  entire	
  stakeholder	
  group.	
  This	
  created	
  some	
   great	
  dialogue,	
  and	
  we	
  could	
  easily	
  see	
  where	
  there	
  was	
  a	
  lot	
  of	
  energy.	
  We	
  then	
   determined	
  as	
  a	
  large	
  workshop	
  group	
  which	
  few	
  ideas	
  from	
  the	
  themes	
  were	
   worth	
  pursuing	
  to	
  test	
  those	
  ideas	
  further	
  with	
  sketching	
  them	
  out.	
  	
   	
   Some	
  of	
  the	
  types	
  of	
  breakthrough	
  ideas	
  we	
  got	
  were:	
  	
   -­‐	
  “Crowdsource	
  this	
  service	
  across	
  all	
  our	
  customers!	
  Have	
  them	
  help	
  eachtother”	
   -­‐	
  “Build	
  functionality	
  to	
  enable	
  our	
  customers	
  to	
  do	
  self-­‐service.”	
  	
   -­‐	
  “Move	
  upstream	
  to	
  provide	
  a	
  new	
  XX	
  strategy	
  service	
  which	
  would	
  remove	
  the	
   need	
  for	
  YY	
  service	
  to	
  be	
  so	
  prominent”	
  	
   	
   The	
  next	
  time	
  conducting	
  this	
  exercise,	
  I	
  would	
  make	
  a	
  few	
  adjustments.	
  I	
  would	
  be	
   more	
  plannful	
  on	
  the	
  use	
  of	
  colored	
  sticky-­‐notes.	
  I	
  would	
  recommend	
  giving	
   everyone	
  the	
  same	
  color,	
  and	
  use	
  the	
  different	
  colors	
  to	
  label	
  the	
  themes.	
  This	
   approach	
  is	
  simply	
  easier	
  to	
  visualize	
  standing	
  back	
  and	
  reading	
  a	
  wall	
  full	
  of	
  great	
   ideas.	
  Secondly,	
  I	
  would	
  want	
  to	
  have	
  customer	
  personas	
  also,	
  in	
  addition	
  to	
  this	
   visualization	
  exercise.	
  The	
  personas	
  would	
  have	
  helped	
  anchor	
  the	
  work	
  we	
  did	
   with	
  the	
  sticky	
  notes,	
  and	
  serve	
  as	
  our	
  guiding	
  light	
  for	
  new	
  services	
  strategy.	
   	
   Upon	
  reflection,	
  I	
  originally	
  thought	
  this	
  co-­‐creation	
  would	
  be	
  difficult	
  to	
  do.	
  But	
  I	
   have	
  to	
  say	
  that	
  it	
  was	
  actually	
  magical/beautiful	
  how	
  it	
  all	
  led	
  to	
  big	
  ideas	
  that	
  had	
   merit!	
  This,	
  I	
  believe,	
  is	
  because	
  the	
  process	
  that	
  led	
  up	
  to	
  this	
  workshop,	
  and	
  the	
   workshop	
  itself,	
  was	
  rigorous,	
  and	
  well-­‐planned.	
  And	
  so	
  in	
  addition	
  to	
  having	
  a	
   great	
  set	
  of	
  concepts	
  to	
  further	
  develop,	
  I	
  also	
  now	
  have	
  a	
  greater	
  understanding	
   and	
  appreciation	
  for	
  Louis	
  Pasteur’s	
  famous	
  quote:

“Chance	
  Favors	
  the	
  Prepared	
  Mind.”


Reflection : Visualization Tool Sticky Notes From “ What-­‐if ” Co-­‐creation Workshop Challenge & Selection The challenge I chose to share with my peers in this assignment is the use of Sticky Notes as a visualization tool to expose breakthrough thinking as part of co-­‐creation workshop . This workshop was pulled together as one step in the process to help address the situation our organization faced , as we needed to revisit , re-­‐think , and transform , the services we offered our customers , based on shifts in our company ’s strategy . Our company is in the business of bringing an entirely new type of educational experience to the world . It , by definition , is a disruptive force in traditional teaching and learning , and for educational institutions . In our current state , we offer a variety of advisory and support services for our customers . But as our firm continued to mature , our corporate goals evolved , and types of goals changed ( e.g. , from volume-­‐ type goals , to quality-­‐type goals ) . So , consequently , our services needed to change as well . Figuring out how we needed to change to deliver on new – and aggressive -­‐-­‐ goals , meant we needed not to jump to solution-­‐mode right away , but needed to really take pause to determine how we needed to adjust , if not transform , the types of services we offered , and consequently , the type of talent we needed to deliver on future-­‐state services . Seeing as we are in a new field of education that is evolving very rapidly , the opportunity to apply Design Thinking seemed right-­‐on . Application After going through the What-­‐Is stage , we moved onto What-­‐If , and the particular application I ’d like to share is our work to conduct a Co-­‐Creation Workshop . We brought about twelve select stakeholders together , offsite and away from our offices , to spend a day going through a co-­‐creation exercise – to help co-­‐create concepts of services . These stakeholders were from across many different functions of our services department , along with some colleagues we work closely with in other departments , like marketing , engineering , and product . We explored the services work itself , the people needed to do the work , the processes , to deliver on our new goals . In advance of workshop ( and carrying through to the beginning of it ) , we dedicated a sizable chunk of time for folks to soak-­‐in and comment on the results from the What-­‐Is stage . And then , to kick off the co-­‐creation , I asked a rather dramatic trigger question : “ What if we got rid of our XX core service all together ? ” Insight & Approach This single question sparked some knee-­‐jerk defensive reactions among some , but ultimately the question helped pull the group out of incremental change ideas , to dramatic , big , out-­‐of-­‐the-­‐box ideas . It enabled folks to think-­‐big , and think-­‐crazy . Our point was to get as many ideas out on the table , and to encourage no holding back . My approach was to give everyone sticky notes as our visualization tool . We put an organizational performance model / methodology on the wall ( five big boxes labeled “ Work ” “ People ” “ Process ” etc . ) , and asked folks to put each big-­‐idea they had on a sticky note , and place it onto one of the big boxes on the wall to which it related . The end product of this visualization was a wall completely full of ideas ! We got some really bold ideas on how we could change to deliver on the new corporate goals . Our next step was to ask folks at the workshop to form into sub-­‐groups , and each group would focus on one box on the wall ( like “ Work ” or “ People ” ) and were asked to organize and group the sticky-­‐note ideas for that box into themes . Then they presented those themes to the entire stakeholder group . This created some great dialogue , and we could easily see where there was a lot of energy . We then determined as a large workshop group which few ideas from the themes were worth pursuing to test those ideas further with sketching them out . Some of the types of breakthrough ideas we got were : -­‐ “ Crowdsource this service across all our customers ! Have them help eachtother ” -­‐ “ Build functionality to enable our customers to do self-­‐service . ” -­‐ “ Move upstream to provide a new XX strategy service which would remove the need for YY service to be so prominent ” The next time conducting this exercise , I would make a few adjustments . I would be more plannful on the use of colored sticky-­‐notes . I would recommend giving everyone the same color , and use the different colors to label the themes . This approach is simply easier to visualize standing back and reading a wall full of great ideas . Secondly , I would want to have customer personas also , in addition to this visualization exercise . The personas would have helped anchor the work we did with the sticky notes , and serve as our guiding light for new services strategy . Upon reflection , I originally thought this co-­‐creation would be difficult to do . But I have to say that it was actually magical / beautiful how it all led to big ideas that had merit ! This , I believe , is because the process that led up to this workshop , and the workshop itself , was rigorous , and well-­‐planned . And so in addition to having a great set of concepts to further develop , I also now have a greater understanding and appreciation for Louis Pasteur ’s famous quote : “ Chance Favors the Prepared Mind . ”