All around the world we encounter RSVP Design's learning tools that have been forgotten in L+D departmental cupboards, not because they haven't achieved their desired learning outcomes, but because they were bought in for one particular programme which has now run its course. In the minds of the department that tool is purely defined by it's original purpose, and the question "What else could we achieve if we used the tool we've bought in a different way?" doesn't get asked. In this series of articles we're going to look at some of RSVP Design's most popular learning tools and suggest some ways to use them that go beyond the obvious.
We have no hesitation about doing this, of course it's always good when our customers invest in new resources from us, but we see every sale as just that, an investment, and we'd rather that customers get full and lasting value from it. Economically things are pretty difficult for most people right now, so the waste that is represented by perfectly functional tools being locked away in corporate cupboards can't be a good thing. First up what we need is a bit of imagination and an open mind, but also a willingness to read a bit more deeply into our tools - there are strong clues there about what we were thinking when we designed each new product.
And if you don't have that magic corporate cupboard full of exciting tools? Well maybe we can apply the same thinking to your initial investment in something new. The 'V' in RSVP Design stands for Versatile - our commitment to designing learning tools in such a way that every one can be used to address multiple learning outcomes, so by introducing them differently, utilising them differently, and reviewing them differently you can address very different learning outcomes. What this means is that a single tool can play a valuable role in your work with many different populations and programmes - and all it needs is for you to think more broadly and not fall into the trap of "RSVP Design's tool X is only applicable to Y learning outcomes".
In the following articles I'm going to look at three of RSVP Design's most popular tools and apply a bit of lateral thinking to how and where they can be used. This isn't just an exercise in imagination, everything I'm going to suggest is based on a real case study of our own work with clients across many years and many engagements.
I'm going to start with Colourblind, our best selling tool and quite probably the world's best selling experiential learning activity - there's just so much we can do with such a simple yet effective tool. I'll then move on to Webmaster - we've been exploring for a long time but nobody here thinks we've yet discovered the limitations to what we can achieve with it. Finally I'll investigate a different type of tool, Voyage Mapping, and describe some ways of using it against planning, reflecting, reviewing, feedback and coaching needs - we think it sets the bar pretty high for a 'bangs for bucks' single purchase, see what you think!
