Why our best workshops don’t start with a deck—but with a beginner’s mind and a bias toward action.

We do a lot of workshops here at Futuredraft. It's likely that in the last 11 years we've run thousands of them.

Collaboration is a foundational element of our raison d'être. We use many collaborative methods and tools, workshops being one of the most powerful and useful. Some of the most innovative and game-changing ideas we've produced came out of collaboration sessions. No one would be able to tell you who came up with what concept, but I bet they could recall how we got there during the session, like recalling the plot of a blockbuster action movie.

It's actually amazing how many skeptics are out there - and for good reason. How many of you have been burned by waste-of-time, hand-wavy workshops that are more presentations than opportunities to collaborate? We rail against these 50,000ft 'design thinking' events that avoid getting their hands dirty in the business, problem space, and vision.

We respect the hell out of people's time and wouldn't waste it. The quality and impact of our workshops are reflected in the positive feedback and trust we establish with our collaborators. After a few events, people are eager to schedule more and contribute more. The quality and impact increase.

We design together in our workshops. The solution emerges in its nascent form. At the end of the session, everyone is 'Done', 'thinked out', exhausted but filled with a satisfaction akin to witnessing a birth.

What are experience tells us

We have always operated under the assumption that it was better not to spend a lot of time preparing for workshops, especially kick-offs. As implied, we do not prepare a 'presentation deck' to manage the event and keep us on agenda. In fact, we try and keep the agenda loose, allowing it to evolve in real-time as we expose what is needed and what will create value.

There's a lot to be said about bringing your best 'beginner's mind' to a workshop.

The best way to overcome cynicism and tribalism is to forget the past—to submit to chaos and the unknown. In forgetting and seeing things with fresh eyes, you bring new angles, new approaches, and fresh joy. In letting mystery and chaos come into play, you allow for the unexpected to emerge.

You don't even need to think about the old process and existing solutions when you are deep into a collaborative session. It's about imagining a whole new world where things really work, where a new business model can emerge, where something beautiful and exciting happens.

What about you? Do you prepare for everything? How do you prepare? Research? Planning? Process innovation?

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