Techniques for Priority Consensus Building

In one of the more challenging strategic planning sessions I facilitated for a tech company, we encountered a big roadblock: an overwhelming number of great ideas but no clear direction on where to focus our efforts. Sound familiar? The stakes were high, and we needed a structured approach to move forward effectively. We turned to a prioritization matrix to turn chaos into clarity and ensure our efforts aligned with the company's goals and values: 🌟 Impact vs. Feasibility: We categorized each idea based on its potential impact on the company's growth and the feasibility of implementation. This helped us quickly identify high-impact, high-feasibility initiatives that would provide immediate value. 🌟 Aligning with Core Objectives: Next, we introduced an additional parameter: alignment with the company's core objectives of innovation, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Each idea was assessed on how well it supported these objectives, ensuring that our efforts remained true to our strategic direction. 🌟 People & Resource Allocation: We estimated the requirements for each idea, considering budget, people, and time. By mapping these requirements against our available people and resources, we prioritized projects that were not only impactful but also realistically achievable. 🌟 Stakeholder Support: Recognizing the importance of stakeholder buy-in, we ranked ideas based on the level of support from key stakeholders, including senior leadership and key department heads. This ensured that our chosen initiatives had the necessary backing to succeed. 🌟 Urgency and Timing: Finally, we assessed the urgency and timing of each initiative. Some ideas, while valuable, could be postponed without significant impact, allowing us to focus on more immediate needs. By the end of the session, we had a clear, prioritized action plan that everyone was excited to implement. Using a structured approach to prioritize the work not only provided clarity but also built consensus and commitment across the team. Remember, the right tools can transform your planning sessions into productive and actionable steps. How do you prioritize initiatives in your organization? Share your strategies and experiences below! 👇 --------- Ready to elevate your next strategic meeting? Let’s talk! #StrategicPlanning #Facilitation #Leadership #Prioritization

🥳FACILITATION FINDS! If you’re facilitating a large group - as I was doing recently - and you need to prioritize from among tens of ideas generated, I HIGHLY recommend 25/10 from Liberating Structures. https://lnkd.in/gQ4DKPDC I was able to help 87 people generate, review, and prioritize among 87 ideas down to the top five in about 40 minutes! Here’s how it works: (1) Invite each person to come up with a new, bold idea on the topic up for discussion.  (2) Each person writes down their bold idea on a card: one idea, one card, one person. See a sample card below created by my colleague Doan Thi Thao Linh based on Liberating Structures. (3) Then, I typically have people stand in one large circle or several decently sized circles in the room. I explain that everyone will pass the cards while the music is playing. Their only job when the music is playing is to pass the cards - no reviewing. Once the music stops, each person should only have one card.  (4) The participants review the card they now have in their hands (different from their original card) and rate it from a score of 1 to 5. Five is a wonderful idea that they are excited to implement; one is something they don’t want to contribute to or see happen. I emphasize that participants need to be discerning so they really end up with the best ideas that they will have to implement! (5) I recently did 10 rounds of voting. After the 10th round, I asked everyone to return to their seats with the last card they rated in their hand.  (6) Everyone counts up the total number of points on that card. With ten rounds, the highest possible score was 50 (ten rounds times five points possible per round).  (7) Once they scored, I asked them to hand their card to the person to the right and have them check the math!! (8) Then I ask all participants: Who has a card with 50 points? 49? 48? Etc. These are your highest priority ideas.  (9) I jot those down on a flipchart, and then from there you can transition into action planning. It’s an incredibly simple and efficient method, and the addition of the music makes it a bit more fun, dynamic, and energizing. Happy facilitating!

Have you heard of Prioritisation Poker? It’s one of my favourite prioritisation techniques. As a training exercise, it’s great for demonstrating the concepts of iterative delivery and the value of collaboration. As a real prioritisation method, it's incredibly useful for helping teams find value, and make tough decisions together. Plus it's fun! The game's goal is to gain consensus on the top 20% of stories, business capabilities, or opportunities you're aiming to prioritise, and plan for subsequent iterations. Knowing where the value lies, even if that 20% can't be delivered immediately, is super-beneficial in focusing the team's efforts and optimising the approach for feedback and learning ⭐ I recall using the MOSCOW technique during my early analysis days. Do you remember those endless customer conversations, where everything seemed like a "MUST"? 🤦♂️ So what do you need to play Prioritisation Poker? 👍 A balanced group of stakeholders 👍 Poker chips - real ones work best as players enjoy the tactile feel. 👍 A way to distinguish player's chips like stickers - 80s pop legends not required 😜 👍 Items to prioritise printed on cards or laminated. I ❤️ laminating! in my setup (which encompasses a range of activities from waking up to arriving at the office), I have 45 cards, assuming 9 players with 5 chips each Here's how it works: 1️⃣ Lay out the items face up. 2️⃣ Players place their chips on the cards they consider most valuable. Just play the chips don't hoard them till the end. 3️⃣ Introduce the rules: A) Only cards with precisely 5 chips will be chosen for the first iteration - B) For a card to be chosen, it needs votes from at least 3 different players. 4️⃣ Players negotiate and move chips until 20% of the cards have exactly 5 chips with votes from at least 3 different players. In my example, this would be 9 cards. 5️⃣ Set aside the chosen cards labelled as 'iteration 1' 6️⃣ Repeat the process on the remaining cards for iterations 2 through 5 I reeeealllly recommend giving this a go. While there may be some dependencies to consider, the exercise is well worth it for the alignment and shared understanding alone. 💥 Before you begin, make sure to you're set up to ensure only 20% of the cards can be chosen. This gives me brain ache: 🧠 💥 ➕ ➖ ➗ If you have 60 cards and 6 players, aiming for 12 chosen cards, you'd want the total number of chips to be divisible by both 12 and 6. In this case, you could have each player hold 8 chips, and each chosen card requires 4 chips. I often find it sufficient to make sure the number of cards is divisible by 5, each player has 5 chips, and there are between 40 to 50 cards. I learned this about 15 years ago during some Agile training, but I've never met anyone else who's familiar with it. 🤔 I'm interested in hearing from you if you've used this technique or something similar to identify that crucial 20% of value. Happy prioritising! 🎯 #prioritisation #facilitation #agile

Why you should use the Deserted Island collaborative gaming technique in Business Analysis? 🏝️ What it is: The Deserted Island technique is a collaborative game often used in business analysis, project management, or team workshops. It's a group exercise designed to help a team prioritize, brainstorm, or think creatively about what is most important, especially when resources (time, money, etc.) are limited. The technique encourages participants to focus on the essentials and narrow down what truly matters in a given situation. ✅ How to use it: 🔸 Step 1: Gather your team and define the context of the "deserted island" scenario. It could be prioritizing project features, determining critical business processes, or making high-stakes decisions with limited resources. 🔸 Step 2: Set up a brainstorming session where each participant writes down their ideas or critical items (features, functions, etc.) they believe are essential. 🔸 Step 3: Discuss the items and allow team members to justify their choices. You may need to guide the conversation to stay on track, ensuring it's focused on the current challenge. 🔸 Step 4: After discussion, narrow down the list to a set of prioritized items. This could involve voting, ranking, or grouping similar items together. 🔸 Step 5: Use the prioritized list as the foundation for further decision-making, project planning, or resource allocation. 📈 Benefits of the Deserted Island Technique: 1️⃣ Encourages Focus on Essentials: It forces participants to think critically about what is truly important, eliminating unnecessary distractions. 2️⃣ Fosters Creative Thinking: The "deserted island" scenario is imaginative and can lead to creative problem-solving and new perspectives. 3️⃣ Promotes Collaboration: This technique encourages team members to discuss their reasoning and collaborate on finding the best solutions, promoting alignment and buy-in. 4️⃣ Helps Prioritize: It aids in identifying key priorities when resources or time are limited, ensuring that only the most important elements are given attention. 5️⃣ Builds Consensus: By engaging everyone in the prioritization process, this method helps build consensus among team members, making it easier to move forward with a unified direction. 6️⃣ Engages Participants: It adds a fun and engaging element to the decision-making process, making it more interactive and less formal. In summary, the Deserted Island technique is a great way to prioritize and align team members around what matters most. It can be a valuable tool for any business analysis or planning session where focus, creativity, and team collaboration are key to success. Have you heard of this technique before? Have you used any similar one? Let me know in the comments below! #businessanalysis #projectmanagement #prioritization

Is there too much talking and not enough decision-making in your meetings? Try this at your next meeting: 1. Ask people to create recommendations. I always ask people to give me a headline and 3-4 bullet points to explain what it is or how it works. (I recommend 4x6 post it notes) 2. Give folks 90 seconds to explain their recommendation. 3. Put all recommendations on a flip chart and ask people to dot vote for the recommendation that best solves the problem. (Look up how to conduct a dot vote) 4. Present the recommendations in rank order. Narrow your conversation to reviewing the trade-offs of the top two recommendations. 5. Make a choice - When the discussion is winding down, try to summarize by saying, "So the choice we are making is ...?" 6. Write the choice in an email and send it out after the meeting. This is the approach I took with Nebraska Cancer Specialists, and one person commented, "This would have taken us forever to reach a consensus. You managed to do it in three hours." I'd like to thank Danielle Geiger and the team for inviting me to facilitate their annual planning workshop. Outstanding work, team!

Have you ever heard of "nemawashi"? It's a Japanese business practice that can transform how we build consensus in global teams. In my experience, nemawashi involves laying the groundwork before a major decision. It's like preparing the soil before planting a tree. This approach involves having one-on-one discussions with stakeholders to gather feedback and build support. Basically if I say it hindi "Sabko pehle apne side kar lo" I work in Japan, and I see how this method prevents surprises in meetings and ensures everyone is on the same page. It taught me the value of preparation and respect in decision-making. Here are some strategies to apply nemawashi in diverse teams: 1. Identify Key Stakeholders: Know who influences decisions and engage them early. It can be your manager and also get all the colleagues involved. This is what I am going to do, please support me when I do it. Example: When proposing a new project management tool, I first approached our IT lead and team leads individually to discuss the benefits and address their concerns. 2. Use Digital Tools: Leverage emails or video calls for personal discussions. Example: For a global product launch, I scheduled one-on-one video calls with regional managers to align on messaging and address market-specific challenges. 3. Respect Cultural Differences: Adapt your approach based on cultural norms. Example: When working with our German colleagues, I learned to be more direct and data-driven in my nemawashi discussions, while with Japanese stakeholders, I focused on building relationships and consensus gradually. 4. Create Psychological Safety: Encourage open feedback without fear of judgment. Example: Before a major reorganization, I held confidential "coffee chats" with team members, assuring them their honest feedback would be valued and kept anonymous. By integrating nemawashi into your process, you can enhance collaboration and efficiency. How do you build consensus in your team? #BusinessCulture #Leadership #GlobalTeams