Creating a facilitative environment: A think tank on designing facilitation spaces and future centers

Mark PixleyLEADERSHIP INC

2Mark Pixley

• LEADERSHIP INC• Based in China.• Facilitating for 15 years, working with

corporate & management groups.• Interests: Strategic Planning, LSC

process, technology, KM, Societal Innovation.

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3Introduce Yourself

• Name• What you do...• Facilitation Experience...• Draw what type of learning animal you are...

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4Intentions

• Have a greater awareness of how the space effects the facilitation experience.

• Developed ideas about how to create a facilitation space... including imagery and tools.

• Learn about some efforts being done worldwide to create facilitative spaces including future centers.

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5Program

• What is the ideal environment for facilitation? • If you were to create a special space to guide

people in thinking together, what would it look like?

• How would you structure it? • What tools would you provide? • This interactive think tank will explore the

emerging concept of "Future Centers" and create an opportunity for us to explore what we would put into a center

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6Agenda

• Introductions• Discussion of Facilitation Environment • Case Studies: Some active Future Centers• Group Design Work: How would you design

an ideal facilitation space? Imagery? Tools?• Report back and integration• Application discussion

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7

FACILITATIVE ENVIRONMENTS

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8

Space makes a difference

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9Modern Meetings © LEADERSHIP INC

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Innovative Meetings

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11

Facilitative Environments

• Groups of three...• Speaker, interviewer, observer• Three rounds

• When you have facilitated…• What was the most challenging space?• What was the most interesting space?

• Discuss & write three insights about the use of space in facilitation...

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12

SYS Univ., GZ, China

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13

Ikea Future Search, SH, CN

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Facilitator as ARCHITECT

• You are responsible for the space...

• You do that in every meeting...

• You do that what you choose a location...

• More people are designing custom spaces...

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15Not a new idea © LEADERSHIP INC

16

CASE STUDIES

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17Some Histories

Skandia Mindlab FujiXerox KDI

Chicago Woodside LI Creativity

Davo CapGem Starfish

GoogleStanford

Design

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ICA

18ICA, Chicago © LEADERSHIP INC

19

Woodside, Hong Kong

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LI Creativity Center, China

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21Very flexible… © LEADERSHIP INC

22

Yeah… a white wall…

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23Some Histories

Skandia Mindlab FujiXerox KDI

Chicago Woodside LI Creativity

Davo CapGem Starfish

GoogleStanford

Design

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MG Taylor

24MG Taylor, Davo © LEADERSHIP INC

25CapGemini © LEADERSHIP INC

26Starfish, Bangkok © LEADERSHIP INC

27Some Histories

Skandia Mindlab FujiXerox KDI

Chicago Woodside LI Creativity

Davo CapGem Starfish

GoogleStanford

Design

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FutureCenters

28Future Centers

Future Centers are…

• Special working environments that help organizations and people break out of patterns and routines, see issues from multiple perspective, and choose effective courses of action.

• Facilitated work environments, collaborative workplaces where learning and insights from past and future, and from diverse participant perspectives, are applied to solve real world problems in the present.

• Collaborative workspaces for creating, developing and applying knowledge, practicing innovation and working with an orientation to the future.

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29Skandia, Sweden © LEADERSHIP INC

30Mindlab, Denmark

• MindLab is a cross-ministerial innovation unit which involves citizens and businesses in creating new solutions for society. We are also a physical space – a neutral zone for inspiring creativity, innovation and collaboration.

• We work with the civil servants in our three parent ministries: the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, the Ministry of Taxation and the Ministry of Employment. These three ministries cover broad policy areas that affect the daily lives of virtually all Danes. Entrepreneurship, climate change, digital self-service, citizen’s rights, emplyment services and workplace safety are some of the areas they address.

• MindLab is instrumental in helping the ministry’s key decision-makers and employees view their efforts from the outside-in, to see them from a citizen’s perspective. We use this approach as a platform for co-creating better ideas.

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31

Fuji Xerox KDI, Japan

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Mind Tree, Bangalore

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33Some Histories

Skandia Mindlab FujiXerox KDI

Chicago Woodside LI Creativity

Davo CapGem Starfish

GoogleStanford

Design

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Design Tech

34Google © LEADERSHIP INC

35

Stanford Design School

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36

Stanford Design School

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37

CREATING A CENTER

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38Aspects…

People

Methods

Technological

Physical

• In each aspect, what would you want to have in your center?

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39Creating a Center

• Create a Future Center Plan

• Consider...• Vision & Purpose – Why of the center?• Process – What is the model?• Metaphor – Image to describe what we are doing• Space/Layout – What is the space and how do we use?• People – Who is involved in the center and what do

they do?• Methods – What are the facilitation tools and methods

used?• Technology – What technology support could be used?• Others...

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40Idea to Action

Ideation

• Vision• Supporters

Planning

• Stakeholders• Formal Plan

Launch

• Prototyping• Big Bang

Operatio

n

• Projects, Development• Dissemination, Evaluation

Transform

• Strategic Evaluation• Transformation

• How Future Centers develop over time...

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41

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES…

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42The Nest, Shanghai Shanghai Social Innovation Park

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43

Thank you for your Insights…

• Leave your contact information and we will send you copy of program results...

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44LEADERSHIP INC

For more information about creating facilitative spaces, please contact us at...

• 86-755-82111366• mark@leadershipinc.com.cn• www.leadershipinc.com.cn

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