Welcome to Magical Meetings Stories, a series where I chat with professional facilitators, meeting practitioners, leaders, and CEOs across industries about their meeting culture. We dive deep into a specific Magical Meeting they’ve run, including their approach to facilitation design, and their tips and tricks for running meetings people thrive in. 

Today’s story is with Kellee Franklin, an innovative and integrative thinker, creative change agent and corporate strategist, executive advisor, and entrepreneurial-minded business leader and educator. She has been recognized for delivering sustainable business strategy and IT/digital transformation, leveraging Big Data to drive innovation, designing new and inventive ways of performing business, and achieving actionable results through using human-centered design processes and best-in-class management consultant strategies. She is also the founder of Mindful Innovation Labs. Kellee also received a PhD in Human Development with an emphasis in Adult Learning and Organizational Behavior from Virginia Tech.

In our discussion, Kellee reflects on a specific 10 meeting series she ran shortly before the pandemic lockdown. She dives into what drove the meeting design and why her unique approach was successful.

“I think what drove the design of that meeting, which really has driven the design of the vast majority of the meetings that I have with clients, is just my fundamental belief in adult learning principles, which I don’t think get communicated as often as they should.” -Kellee M. Franklin

The Importance of Meeting Design

Kellee is a big believer in spending a lot of time upfront in meeting design, because she isn’t the biggest fan of meetings. This thinking is also applied when she coaches executives, where the emphasis is placed on designing meetings. 

Her Team-Centered Meetings are an ongoing approach she uses with teams, both virtually and in person. Let’s take a closer look at Kellee’s process for making this specific Team-Centered Meeting magical.

The Meeting 

During this specific Team-Centered Meeting, Kellee was responsible for navigating 15 design teams of 32 nationalities through a design thinking process. At the end of it, each team was going to pitch a product. There was a series of 10 meetings and she met with each individual team weekly for only 30 minutes. “Throughout the week, these design teams were meeting together and they were also getting content and having access to clients and working collaboratively. But their time with me was relatively limited. So, we had to make the most use of our time together,” she explains.

Team-Centered Meeting Driver 

Kellee’s fundamental belief in adult learning principles are what drove the design of this meeting, and the design of many of her other meetings and engagements. She believes adult learning principles don’t get communicated as often as they should. She explains the aspects of adult learning, which are differentiated from how children learn: “Some of the things that I deeply believe in are that adults have a higher sense of self-direction and motivation. They have life experience and a drive for facilitating learning. They have a focus on achieving goals. They have a need to know how the information that they’re receiving is relevant to what they’re working towards. They have a need to have things that are practical. They’re open to help and mentorship. And they are open to modern forms of learning. And they want to be able to choose how they learn.”

Taking these beliefs and principles into account prompted Kellee to ask herself: “How was I going to design these meetings in a manner that was going to facilitate the most effective outcomes for them?”

The Exercise

When each team came into the room for their weekly meeting, they had goals that they were working towards for that week. First, they filled in a dashboard and Kellee then put the dashboard on a whiteboard for everyone to see. Throughout the day, she was meeting with all 15 teams. The teams filled in the following on their dashboard:

• The name of their team
• Each of the three or four goals they had
• The stage they were at with those goals (identified by red, yellow or green)
• Any questions they had or resources they needed

After the dashboard was visualized on the whiteboard, Kellee put the responsibility back on the teams to determine how to best spend their next 30 minutes together, based on what the team wanted to prioritize, tackle and focus on. “And that really…is an adult learning principle, rather than me driving the meeting, it allowed the design team to drive the meeting.”

By the end of the day, all teams’ information was in the dashboard and on the whiteboard. She would take a photo of the whiteboard and send it out to everyone. This way, each of the teams could see how one another was working. Even though the 15 teams weren’t working all together, it gave them an opportunity to learn from each other.

A Unique, Successful Approach

Kellee explains that it was a little awkward at first for the design team, because “they were accustomed to having the person in charge, if you will, run the meeting. And this was kind of a role reversal for them.” But in the end, this approach was truly what made it so successful. “As we moved and progressed through the process, they really, really appreciated and they would start to come to the meeting, much more organized, recognizing that they only have 30 minutes with me and that they needed to know what specific questions that they needed to address and how were they going to use the best use of their time.”

She elaborates on the process further: “They would come in with, as we progressed, things written down or part of their deliverables that they wanted to show me to get feedback on. And it was really a lovely way to see them develop and grow throughout this progress. So again, rather than me dictating to them, it was an opportunity to really have them showcase their work. And I have to tell you, every team came in with different questions and a different idea of how they were going to utilize my time.”

Role of the Facilitator

Throughout her engagements–both in this meeting series and her work in general–Kellee sees her responsibility as the facilitator to really think about the purpose at hand when designing the meeting. “I think that’s our role as a facilitator of learning,” she says. These are some of the questions she utilizes to determine meeting design:

• What are the objectives of the meeting?
• How can we design it in a way that everyone has the opportunity to feel seen?
• How can we design it in a way that everyone has the opportunity to feel heard?

Advice

When reflecting on the Team-Centered Meeting series, Kelle’s main recommendation for others is to think about and utilize the adult learning principles. Kellee has made it a point to incorporate them in her work and the feedback has been extremely positive. “I have more people tell me, ‘Gosh, if I had been exposed to those principles earlier in my career, I would do meetings, I would do presentations so differently than I’ve done throughout my entire career.’”

Applying these principles throughout her work has helped Kellee and the teams she works with drive more efficient and effective outcomes, something everyone could benefit from.

Do you have your own Magical Meeting Story to tell?

We’d love to hear your wizardry! Share your story with us here.

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We all hit slumps. In our personal and professional lives, challenges are inevitable. Slumps can be defined in many ways. They prevent us from being efficient, effective, and they are the enemy of innovation; they keep us from moving forward. What is difficult is finding ways around these impediments. 

Enter: prototyping– the experimental design-thinking process that helps you shift from ideas and discovery to tangible realizations.

In the world of facilitation, this is a common practice to undergo in a Design Sprint or innovation workshop. Interestingly, many companies and teams can experience road bumps and pitfalls after completing one of these experiences. Why? While most teams emerge from a Design Sprint with a prototype to implement, they often get stuck on the next steps; how to move the project forward. 

So, what’s next? I wrote the book Beyond the Prototype to help you navigate the fuzzy area between ideas and outcomes. If you’ve ever struggled to move a key innovation project forward at work, apply the following post-prototyping practices to launch your next big idea. 

Pro-tip: Use our free Beyond the Prototype Templates to help your team break barriers and excel in innovation.

Purpose

Return to the identified purpose of your project. If you’ve completed a Design Sprint or innovation workshop, you would have chosen a purpose in the goal-setting portion of the workshop. What is the objective of bringing the idea to fruition? What will it do? Keeping your purpose top-of-mind will help you drive your idea forward. Everything you do should be from the lens of your objective; let it guide you.

People

Pinpoint the target audience and then expand your inner circle. Who else needs to be involved in the process to drive the idea/project forward? Keep in mind: Who is the product or service for? Are you meeting all of their needs? Also, decide who the right people are on your team to carry out the necessary tasks to bring this idea to life. Who will be responsible for what? Make sure each person knows their role and hold the team accountable.

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Process

What systems and processes need to be in place to implement your idea and keep everyone involved on track? Start with your end result/goal and work your way backward–identify each step you need to take to reach this end result. Once the process is decided upon, make sure everyone on the team knows the ins-and-outs, what to expect, and what their roles are to carry them out successfully. 

Pro tip: build a roadmap, or a sequenced flow of things you’re going to do to achieve your outcome, to track your process. A kanban type tool like Trello is an effective way to move you forward in the process and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. 

Prep

Gather all of the information and supplies you need to carry out each step of the process. What tools will make completing tasks more efficient and effective? Collect all pieces of the puzzle before you start putting it together. 

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Practical Concerns

It’s important to identify any concerns you and your team have with the project. Voicing worries upfront allows the team to share their perspective and also gives you insight into potential problems. Practical concerns are specific constraints or problems for the idea itself. For example, if the product needs to be under a certain weight, or if it needs to cost less than $5. Once you have identified the concerns, come up with solutions to each of them. If one of the problems arises, you already have a way to solve it. 

Pitfalls

Similar to practical concerns, pitfalls are any obstacles that may arise and cause problems with moving the process forward. A pitfall is anything that might blow up in your face or assumptions that are common and might trip us the team. For example, a pitfall could be that your team has a tendency to keep changing their minds and starting over, which halts the process.

Product

Finally, identify the product, or the output–the tangible thing that must be created. In other words, think about the outcomes that you are driving to. How do you need to package things up for? What’s the narrative you need to tell? What other prototypes do you need to make to gather more insights and achieve your outcome? 

Use these 7 tips to get unstuck whenever you find yourself at a project stand-still. You have the power to not only bring your idea to life but to make it a success. 

For more inspiration on how to navigate the slumps check out, check out Beyond the Prototype the book.

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When you view your business through the eyes of a customer, what do you see? That is what a design thinking approach to business is all about–creating ideas to address customers’ unique needs and desires; everything is viewed through a human-centric lens.

A design thinking approach goes beyond thinking about the product or service itself and asks what the human need is behind what’s being offered. This deeper level of thinking is central to entrepreneurs and businesses that want to generate bold and innovative ideas. A successful business is successful because it adequately serves people by providing a solution to their wants and needs. The entire design thinking approach is interactive–you want to be in constant awareness of your target market and their changing needs. 

“Design thinking is a mindset, not a toolkit or a series of steps.” -Arne van Oosterom

The following prompts are a guideline for integrating the design thinking approach into your business. They will help you stay conscious of the target audience and how to best serve them throughout the innovation process. 

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Who is your target audience? 

In order to best serve your audience, you must first understand them. Clearly identify your client/customer base. This includes narrowing down the demographics of the group as well as observing them and their behaviors. Why do these people behave in the way that they do? What problems are they experiencing? Why are things the way that they are? What is working well, what is not working well, and why? Inquiring with an open perspective and learner’s mindset will help you better understand the world at large and how you and your business can contribute to it in a truly meaningful way. 

What do they want or need? 

To fully understand people, you must know their wants and needs–what drives them? What problems stand in the way? These two questions are the heart of the design thinking approach. Get to really know people; talk to your target audience. Conduct user interviews. Gather as much information as possible. When you know what people desire as well as cleary defined roadblocks that are in the way of achieving those desires, you can find and offer those solutions. 

What is the problem you want to solve?

Reflect on your observations to gain clarity about the specific problem you wish to solve. What common themes do you see? Group and cluster like-ideas. Then, synthesize the information–this process will help you identify the most prominent problem that needs to be addressed. While you may want to, you can’t solve all customers’ problems. Center your energy on one impactful issue; do one thing well versus tackling multiple solutions. The end goal of this phase of the design thinking approach is to convert the defined problem into a tangible, human-centered statement, rather than focusing on technology, monetary returns, or specifics of a product. Remember, it’s about the people you want to help!

What are the possible solutions?

You know your target audience, their wants, needs, and the obstacles that they face, now it’s time to ideate solutions. Brainstorm, think creatively. There are infinite solutions to solving any problem. Design thinking is creative problem-solving, and it’s at its best in this stage. Challenge yourself to think outside of the box. How can you solve the issue innovatively? How can you best serve the people in need? 

How can you give your idea legs?

Take your top idea(s) from ideation and design a prototype; bring it to life. A digital or physical prototype springboards you from ideation to the material realm of reality. Creating a scaled-down version of the solution in question allows you to get feedback from users in your target market–critical to maintaining a design thinking approach. You will identify the solution best suited to solve the problem through trial-and-error. 

How do customers feel about your product? 

Test the solution(s) by sharing your prototype with consumers and get their feedback. It is an essential opportunity to make sure that everything about your idea is centered around the people who will be using it. Both positive and negative feedback is valuable here–use the information to flush out the details of your design and refine it as needed. Listening to the feedback is how you build the best prototype possible and ensures that the final product you launch is aligned with your target market’s needs and desires. 

Note: the design thinking approach is an ongoing process. Even after you launch your product, it’s imperative that you continue to observe and listen to the users. Their wants and needs may change and you will then want to refine your product accordingly. 

Your intention for business changes when you view it through the lens of the customer.

The end-user is top-of-mind and informs every decision that you make when you are focused on serving them. The design thinking approach is a powerful mindset that will transform your business and, in turn, the world around you. We contribute to a better world when we authentically serve others. 

Looking for training in the Design Thinking methodology?

Voltage Control offers a range of options for innovation training, design sprints, and design thinking facilitation. Please reach out to us at hello@voltagecontrol.com if you want to talk.

The post The Design Thinking Approach to Business appeared first on Voltage Control.

“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.” -Albert Einstein

We are in a time of great uncertainty but also of profound opportunity. The world is changing as we know it. But this opens up a stage for entrepreneurs to shine. There is a chance to deliver real value to the world in the face of chaos. How can we serve? How can we adapt current companies to fit the new business landscape? What new ideas can we create to address peoples’ wants and needs? Entrepreneurs have the chance to lead the way in this grand shift of physical, economic, and sociological dynamics. The key to successfully do so is design thinking.

Design thinking is a creative problem-solving process. The core of the methodology is human-centric and asks the question, “What’s the human need behind a product/method/process/service?” It’s central to entrepreneurs who want to generate bold and innovative ideas. After all, authentically understanding people and how to best serve them is at the heart of every successful business. The design thinking process allows you to see your business through the eyes of the customer. It helps you to identify the customer’s desires and needs and how to productively create ideas to address them. What better time than now to think about people and how to serve them in ways others have yet to discover or overlooked?

Historically, peculiar times tend to breed excellent ideas. “America’s financial panics have often been the periods of its most interesting commercial and logistical innovations,” history professor and author Scott Reynolds Nelson wrote in a New York Times article. “Some of our most storied brands today were born in depressions a century or more ago.” 

Many major companies and brands that are now household names were born out of recessions and hard times, led by entrepreneurs that leaned into obstacles and found and pursued opportunities. For example, Disney, CNN, Microsoft, Burger King and FedEx were all created during recessions. A similar opportunity to make a creative splash exists right now. What businesses will be born? Take your innovative idea and turn it into a success using the design thinking process.

“Entrepreneur, design thinking is the ability to create, portray and deliver tomorrow’s distinction, today.” – Onyi Anyado

The design thinking process

There are five essential steps to the design thinking process. It combines creative thinking, logical reasoning and testing as a strategy for innovation. The main goal of the process is to create a final product or service that fulfills end-users’ needs. Integrate the following steps to better connect with customers, refine the focus of your offerings and grow your business. 

1. Observe & empathize

At the center of the design thinking process is curiosity. Creating successful ideas starts with observing people and their wants and needs. Why do people behave as they do? Why are things the way that they are? What is working well, what is not working well and why? Asking these questions with an open and inquisitive perspective will help you to better understand the world around you and how you can successfully contribute to it. You will then have the ability to see the finite details and opportunities that exist within them to creatively solve problems.

Seek to understand what you don’t know about your customers and the problems they face by viewing the world through their eyes.

This creates empathy, a key ingredient in the design thinking process. Empathy will help you identify the best ideas for products and services to address your customers’ needs. Observe as much as possible during this phase. Everything you gather is useful information that will inform the future work you create.

2. Define the problem

Reflect on the information gathered from your observations. Doing so will help you gain clarity about the tangible problem you’re trying to solve. Group and cluster ideas together until you find the prominent themes. Then synthesize the information to help you pinpoint the most significant problem that needs to be addressed. You can’t solve all customer problems. Concentrate on the most significant or impactful issue as your central focus to move forward with. This step is crucial because it centers your energy and instructs your future designs. The end goal is to convert the defined problem into a tangible, human-centered statement, rather than focusing on technology, monetary returns, or specifics of a product. 

3. Ideate solutions 

“There’s a way to do it better—find it.” –Thomas Edison

Now that you better understand the target audience and the ins and outs of the problem, it’s time to generate ideas to solve it. Think broadly to create different solutions. Brainstorm! Get creative. There are no wrong ideas; the more possible answers to the identified problem, the better. This is usually a very creative and freeing phase because you have permission to think of out-of-the-box ideas before deciding which ones to prototype later. This is the phase that everyone typically loves because it has bottomless potential. 

4. Prototype

Phase four of the design thinking process is creating a prototype. Take your top idea(s) and create a simulation of the design so you can show it to people and get feedback. It is usually a scaled-down version of the product or system in question. This is a huge step in the evolution of your idea because it moves you beyond talking and ideation into the material realm of reality. Create a physical or digital prototype of some aspect of your product, service, or experience that you can show to users in your target market. Through trial-and-error, you will identify which of the possible solutions is best suited to solve the problem. 

“What good is an idea if it remains an idea? Try. Experiment. Iterate. Fail. Try again. Change the world.” – Simon Sinek

5. Test

All of your work combines together to test the product in the final stage. This is the time to share your prototype with consumers to get their feedback. Therefore, this is still an interactive stage. Testing a product often leads to tweaking and redefining problems and solutions as you gain a better understanding of the consumer. It is an essential opportunity to make sure that everything about your idea is centered around the people who will be using it. You want to know what they think, both positive and negative thoughts. Use the information to flush out all details of your design and refine it. That is how you build the best product possible and prepare it to launch. 

“It is about them and for them. The closer the end-users’ needs are analyzed and answered, the more successful the adoption or purchase of a solution. You iterate until you get it right from a customer perspective. This the power of HCD (human-centered design).” – Olivier Delarue

The world needs the next great ideas and design thinking can help create effective and opportune solutions. Put people first and incorporate the design thinking process in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

Looking for training in the Design Thinking methodology?

Voltage Control offers a range of options for innovation training, design sprints, and design thinking facilitation. Please reach out to us at info@voltagecontrol.com if you want to talk.

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