working the workshop

Workshopping is very often, the art of inspiring and stringing together multiple intelligences in a state of heightened creativity to solve a problem at hand.

‘Let’s do a workshop’. This was one of the most frequently heard phrases while working with a leading global marketer. Workshops became a place where people would come together, where and all responsibility was absolved momentarily and all trust was reposed in “the workshop”, with an expectation that “the workshop” would provide all the answers, solve all the problems, get everyone aligned.  
Yet very few workshops manage to be productive’ enough & accomplish the lofty goal they set out to achieve. Not even those run by the resource & intelligence abundant Google or FB. And yet, the best ones manage to get everyone together in a vulcan mind meld and help brands - practically - grow into their ambitions.

Through the multiple workshops I've designed and led, here are some things that I recommend people keep in mind as they start thinking of using workshopping as a process in business and brand building. 

1. Know the Business. Pre Align the Objective. Workshops are exponentially better if the leads have a clear understanding of the business and therefore, of the objective at hand. The pre work stage is almost the most critical part of the workshop. Clarify the intention. Get alignment on the output and the expected outcome of the workshop. Most of the time there is a misalignment on the expected outcomes of the workshop and what qualifies it as being ‘successful’ or not.
2. Have a Going in Hypothesis. The difference between a successful workshop and not, is usually the presence or the absence of a going in hypothesis. The presence of a hypothesis helps the moderator / facilitator run and navigate the session effectively and purposively. Share the going in hypothesis along with the pre reads for greater efficiency.  
3. Customize. Always Customize. One size does not fit all.  Workshops have to be tailor made to suit the client, the brief at hand, and the team. From the venue, to the formats, to the exercises to be used in the workshop, to the moderator type - ensure that the workshop is suited to the client and the brief at hand. This becomes all the more critical in a multicultural environment where it is critical to understand and design for the different people and personality types in the room.
4. Know Your Role. Clarify, establish, maintain the difference in roles clearly between the Moderator, the Participants and the Problem Owner. They are all different, and hold different responsibilities. I have seen many a workshop descending into chaos when the boundary between the problem owner (usually clients) and that of the moderator (usually agency folks) are not clearly delineated and maintained. 
5. Think of  the Team Composition. It is key to get the right people, with the right knowledge, attitude and vibe into the room. No amount of ice breakers and exercises will help get the creativity going without the right set of people in the room. Get the experts in, get the people who truly understand the business, get people who can be the representatives of the consumers. Get creative and interesting people in (writers, comedians, artists).Get actual consumers in when relevant, and get your smart and articulate friends in. And think of the right numbers needed for the workshop. Not too small , not too big either. Choose wisely.
6. Choose the Moderator / Facilitator well. It’s not enough to have a great ‘product’ knowledge – the ability to work the group & lead them with knowledge and personality is key. As is the ability to resist being the know it all who pushes their solution down the group’s throat.  
7. Get a Toolbox. The right stimulus. And all the physical logistics that you need to think of and assign one person to do all of this
8. The Venue. This is almost the biggest creative stimulus and often not owned and used well enough. There is something not quite right about doing a workshop on parenting while sitting in a corporate looking boardroom. Or doing a workshop on fitness in a windowless office location. Or in doing a brainstorm on leveraging Chinese New Year for your brand and having nothing to do with CNY in the room (true story!). Some of the best workshops I’ve led have been those where the venue is either an inextricable part of the hypothesized strategy or an immersion into a slice of life of the person you are intending to design the communication for. 
9. Goals. Get a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time Bound) close.  Ensure that there are clear alignments and next steps outlined along with the owners ascribed to each deliverable, before the end of the workshop.
10. The Workshop Pack. Ensure that all the key attendees and stakeholders get a complete workshop pack – with all the materials, references, cases used, coordinates of the participants and a tracker for the steps outlined.

Workshop is a way of working in a risk free and collaborative manner and creatively creative manner. Planning for it is both a science and an art – and used well, it can be a true creative catalyst for actionable solutions. Plus, great fun !