Workshops
We are herd animals and when we are in a group miracles or disasters will happen. Boring brainstorming, voting or meeting our enemies halfway is a disaster.
Taking a group through a process of building trust and bonding around hard technical challenges is the ultimate.
We do it for you with group sessions finding creative answers and create a great strategy to tackle the future and the challenges. The continuous flow of things needs creative teamwork and I help you to do it yourself.
Group sessions led by combining technology, hard business while using group psychology.
Unique combining of what is happening in the real world with how our minds work taking the group’s creative thinking beyond it all.
- Focus the team on solving technical challenges.
- Help leaders to take their teams with them to the future.
- Create a strategy and planning for the future.
- Build a group to work better and do it together.
- Learn the core principles of creativity and innovation.
We live in a complex time. Technological challenges with participants that need to work together and be creative as never before. Brainstorming, voting or meeting others halfway is senseless. We need to follow a process that makes one + one = ten.
The process of “who are we”, “what is going on?”, “what does it mean”, “our challenges”, “create unique solutions”, “ focus in on how we will do it” is key to success.
We need to protect the introverts and silence the judgementals until we need them.
Humans in a group will go through five phases and applying it gives great results.
- I am uncertain and have no opinion.
- I have an opinion and it differs from you!
- This is nice here. Your opinion makes sense
- Exuberance, we are in this together and will make it work!
- Sadness, it was so nice, let’s stay here …
To do this key processes are followed. Powerpoint switched off, we share ideas while drawing and laughing.
Psychologists focus on human behaviour while technocrats work through it with Powerpointed bulletting. Doing it this way we lose as our answer lies in combining these two approaches in a unique way.
Anglo Platinum
Anglo Platinum, a large mining company, planned to outsource all supporting activities. It is to be BBEE certified. A large session was held outside Rustenberg. Attend by the trade unions, Solidarity and NUM. The four banks who are to pay for it attended, some government officials and the management.
Everybody had fears and greeds and the sixty of them sat in the room, some withdrawn and others very noisy.
Gave the rules and “We stick to it or I leave!” Rules give security. Then divided them in groups and did the brainwriting exercise creating hundreds of challenges to attend to. Then let them combine it with Post-it stickers and the major challenges was decided on.
The group by midday was less tense and even started to laugh. After lunch we taught them a few creativity techniques and each group had to come up with solutions on how to go forward. One group painted a fifteen meter wide painting!
The greatest was when a group composed a song and sang and danced the road ahead!
It ended up by more than a hundred companies created with ninety percent of them after a decade still in full swing!
Sasol Synfeuls
To cut costs Sasol Synfeuls decided to share supporting services between different departments. This had a lot of resistance as we humans hate change.
Six months weekly sessions with about thirty participants going through the group processes. Two days where they share their dreams and fears and using creative techniques coming up with wonderful solutions.
The wine farm
Making wine and getting a profit is so difficult. Wine makers say it is all about the “ROE, Return on Ego”.
Get a diverse group together and follow the creativity techniques. We did it in the cellar and used the painting technique to great effect. Several solutions came out. One was a photo day.
We advertised at photo clubs and more than fifty six o’clock met on the hill looking at Simonsberg. The geologist told them, “Why is there a mountain?”
The all down to the farm and the historical Cape Dutch house. A young architect working on restoration of it took them bit by bit around the old house while the cameras were spinning.
The sun rose and time to make wine. Cabernet and Shiraz flowing while the winemaker told us how he works.
The event carried on till sunset and a fortune of wine were sold!
Canada Governor General
One morning the phone rang, a person with a heavy French accent phonic for Toronto asking for an appointment at the Cannadian High Commissioner in Pretoria.
Week later the meeting asked to lead a session in Bronkhorstspruit at a children’s home for children with Aids managed by the Cathlolic Church. The session will be attended by their Governor General Michaëlle Jean and several governmental officials from Pretoria and Mpumalanga.
Four months of hard work to prepare, working with the Archbishop and the Mother Superior, manager of the children’s home.
All planning follows group rules. We decided no politicians with boring speeches. Did short heartbreaking stories followed by the children performing in short plays. Standing applause for what they gave us!