Mixed business

A workshop with a mixed purpose feels a bit the same as a mixed business store. There’s too much on the agenda and we get distracted and don’t have time to explore any of the ‘purposes’ in a meaningful way.

Jacinta Cubis16 February 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Workshop or workout?

Does your workshop sometimes feel like more of a workout?

Jacinta Cubis9 February 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Time.

Is time on your side when facilitating workshops? We may not be able to control time, but we can make better use of it.

Jacinta Cubis2 February 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Why workshops are like films

Ingmar Bergman said, ‘I write scripts to serve as skeletons awaiting the flesh and sinew of images’. This is a helpful way to think about how we design workshops. I think the design serves as the scaffolding to build free and open conversations. The sort that are needed to solve complex problems, make decisions and collaborate.

Jacinta Cubis27 January 2021collaborability, collaborate, collaboration, collaborative skills, soft skills, stakeholder engagement, groupwork, facilitate, facilitationComment

Workshops: what’s at stake

I reckon a 3-hour workshop costs about $30K. What do you think? The financial cost of a workshop is one thing. If it fails, you might have to spend those $$ again. Then there's the costs of delayed decisions, undermined trust and damaged reputation. There is a lot at stake with workshops and good design is key to their effectiveness.