Case Studies
Use of Matrix Product
Matrix - breaking down 'silo working' by using an experiential learning activity to powerfully demonstrate the advantages of working collaboratively Outlined below is an overview of how and where an RSVP Design Consulting Client used Matrix to help provide a powerful emotional experience to help people engage with an abstract concept and relate it directly to their own organisation challenges. Background: Client Request In Oil & Gas Businesses a large number of different departments must work collaboratively to unlock value for the enterprise. However Operations Excellence, Geologists, Rig operators etc. tend to work in silos and escalate decisions / requests for information up the hierarchy. This results in slow decision making and a lot of re-work. The client wanted a means to demonstrate the value and benefits of collaboration experientially. Consultant Response Approach: We decided the best way to do this was to actually recreate the organization structure using Matrix cords. When the activity got underway the group began problem solving in silos. It took about 15 minutes before one group they realized that they didn't have any white clips in their department! That led to the group discovering that they only way to success was by sharing resources. Their starting assumption had been that they could solve it individually! Once they determined they needed to share resources, they embarked on a very painful process of sending all the information up the network, to the 'boss' who would speak to the other 'bosses' and then send other information down. After 30 minutes they concluded that this was very painful and almost impossible to achieve. I asked for an estimate, and they said it would take - '4 to 6 hours!". At this stage I offered them 4 additional cords which they willingly accepted and used to connect the teams at the lowest level in the organization. Once those connections were in place, information and resources started to move rapidly. Teams that had been a foot away from each other that hadn't talked in the preceding 45 minutes were now engaged in heated problem-solving debates. In 15 minutes the task had been successfully completed. Matrix Activity Debrief The de-brief brought out a number of wonderful realisations from the participants: When you escalate things to your boss, you actually make his / her life more complex A lot of communication lines exist and are easy to use, but the ones that are formally established are the 'safest' Listening for what other people need can help you get what you need! Even though you might have all the resources you need to complete your task, you can still be a critical cog in connecting other people who don't have the same comfort you have in terms of task completion There is real value to collaboration in terms of speed, trust and greater engagement Further Information To learn more about how we can help you to integrate or facilitate powerful, experiential learning activities in your training, please contact sales@rsvpdesign.co.uk or call +44 141 561 0387
Read more
Use of Minefield Product
MINEFIELD – An experiential capstone learning activity to provide opportunities to use the competences required of good managers Outlined below is a description of how to use an experiential learning activity to provide the kind of complex challenge that will provide a group with the opportunity to rehearse, practise or try to manage their contribution to a task. The task is consistent with earlier theoretical input and asks them to apply management competences in a realistic environment. They are under pressure from the task itself but also from working with others in an unfamiliar context. This case study is provided by Derek Fox from DF Leap in Ireland and describes his work with two different clients. Mostly I use Minefield at the end of a 2-day session to reinforce the learning from the sessions. It always works really well, participants really get the learning out of it and the debrief usually lasts 60-90 minutes. I run a 6 day ‘Stepping into Management’ course broken down into three 2-day sessions (over 3 months). Module 1 is ‘Personal Effectiveness – Managing Self’ it covers: Understanding your role and context Planning Problem Solving Decision Making Time Management Prioritisation Managing Personal Change Personal Brand In the afternoon of day 2 we run Minefield as it ‘tests’ most of the competences above. For example, during the course we help them understand they need to know ‘What Matters Most’ to the organisation (Top Priorities). Then what is the business criteria and weighting for Decision Making and Prioritising. They cover Planning and Problem Solving. In Time Management we help them understand they can NOT manage time (it is fixed) but they can manage where they SPEND their time, so actually it is about budgeting your time (making sure you are focusing on the most important things). So Minefield works well here as: At the start I set up a company called ‘Minefield Inc’ I am the CEO and I tell them my Top Priority is MONEY! Make me profits! (this should link back to the ‘What Matters Most’ part of the course and focus them on solutions that maximise profits) I assign an overall Co-ordinator and 4 team leaders (one for each sub team A.B,C,D). The role of the Co-ordinator is to look at the big picture and co-ordinate communications across the 4 teams. The role of the team leader is to manage their team’s activities, plan, and deliver results Ideally if they do it right they should work out the following: The goal is to FIND the mines (this is around Planning and What Matters Most) They need to do this in the most profitable way (What Matters Most) So if the goal is find the mines, than applying STEP 1 of Problem Solving (What is the problem) they should identify they need to lift the buttons to find the mines Now there are several strategies for this, if they are applying all the learning they should work together as one large team (this does not always happen due to the competitive nature) They should then PLAN out options, for example Option 1 – One team just lifts ALL the buttons Option 2 - Each team lifts buttons in their area of the mine and shares info with other teams Option 3 - Play strategically as Minesweeper and only lift the buttons they plan/pick to try to maximise profits Now selecting the strategy falls under Decision Making and Prioritising, so they have options, they need to pick one based on the criteria (Money, Time, Risk). Working across this criteria they SHOULD (but do not always) pick Strategy 1 or 3 (if they even decide to work together) If they are clever they realise: We have MORE money than needed to lift all buttons We have MORE people than needed (in Time Management we talk about resources being Time, People, Money) but we are limited in TIME, so Time is an important factor. If they go with Option 1 this is ZERO risk and VERY quick, but they do not make the MOST money If they go with option 3 this maximises the Money but there is a risk they get it wrong (this related to Risk Appetite , which is important in banking) Teams that do not work together typically run out of time and/or get it wrong (do not correctly identify all the mines) After the exercise I get the team leaders to debrief in their teams (what worked, did not work, do differently next time), then the Co-ordinator hosts a group debrief and they then need to report back to me as CEO. Case 2: Claims Handlers in an Insurance business. Here the course looks at key skills of: Observation Awareness Problem solving Identifying key information Big picture v details Asking Questions Again I run the exercise (but not as a large organisation) to test out their ability to look at the big picture, decide on a strategy and be aware of all the information/details to work out what is the key information. Further Information To learn more about how we can help you to integrate or facilitate powerful, experiential learning activities in your training, please contact sales@rsvpdesign.co.uk or call +44 141 561 0387
Read more