One of the emerging themes I identified back in my book, From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching, was Design Thinking. While this was several years ago, Design Thinking has now exploded into business practices everywhere. As a longstanding program designer, myself, it’s been natural to be integrating many of the principles and practices of Design Thinking into my own way of doing things.

In this week’s blog post, I wanted to share a little more about design thinking to get you thinking about how you might incorporate it into your program design, or conversations with clients.

“Design is the action of bringing something new and desired into existence—a proactive stance that resolves or dissolves problematic situations by design. It is a compound of routine, adaptive and design expertise brought to bear on complex dynamic situations.” —Harold Nelson

As we step into a new year, and new decade, what is it that you want to create? My guess is that there are probably many design opportunities for you on the horizon.
Design Thinking has emerged from many areas, and is a human-centered approach to any program design. If you’ve worked with me before, you’d know my affinity to the Group Coaching Design Matrix and how it gets us thinking through WHO our client really is.

CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown defines Design Thinking as:
“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” — Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO

Design thinking is grounded in several principles:

• It needs to be human-centered
• It should be fun and creative
• It is a mixture of analytics and intuition

IBM has created what they call the Design Thinking Loop – Observing, Reflecting and Making.

Design Thinking usually consists of five or six steps including:

1. ​Empathize – who is your client and what do they want. Next call we will explore one of Design Thinking’s most popular tools – The Empathy Map
2. Define – What do they want, what do they need
3. Ideate – what’s possible
4. Prototype – build a prototype and test it out. Program design may be
5. Test – Test it out – what works, what doesn’t. Iterate again!

 
And the cycle continues….
 
What’s important about thinking about your program design in this fashion?
 
For more on this topic, check out https://designthinking.ideo.com/

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Products can be a popular line of revenue in and of themselves. We’ll take a closer look at this in future months but take a look around at what other businesses similar to yours offer. This might include:

• Books
• Workbooks
• Online courses
• Live courses
• Video series

There are many different ways you can go with product development.
Do you want it to be:

• Digital or Something Tangible?
• Book? Course? Support?
• Low Price? High Price?
• Introduction to your work? A Standalone?

Questions to consider when  you think about products:

1. What are your clients asking for?
2. What do you wish you had and could provide for clients?
3. What processes and approaches have you developed that could be a stand alone?
4. What might provide a nice passive revenue for you?

​Best wishes,
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC - Potentials Realized
Author of the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) and others
Join us at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab this fall to focus on your business consistently. We meet the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month from 3 - 4 pm Eastern
Phone: 416-996-8326
Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on  Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder.

One of my favorite activities over the last few years has been to create a summer project list of small, and larger tasks, to complete in what some find to be a quieter time. There always are lots of project possibilities in the summer months. Have you considered:

• Updating your website
• Incorporating a new system
• Catching up on the reading you have piled around your office (or bed)
• Taking time to plan for a new program
• Writing some blog posts (and getting ahead of the curve)
• Creating a content calendar for your business
• Writing your newsletters for the next few months
• Starting a new series on Instagram

Some useful questions to consider as you go to decide what projects you want to put attention around:

• What have your clients been asking for?
• What are your key goals this year?
• What new activities would support your action and achievement of these?
• What projects would you like to move off of your “TO DO” List?
• What milestones would you create for yourself so that this is completed before the end of the month, or the end of the summer?
• What resources do you need in order to be successful with this?

For some more inspiration around this topic, listen into this 20 minute video I did last year on 2018 project ideas – check it out on my YouTube channel.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Building in regular pause points is invaluable in supporting focus, action and reflection. Kolb’s cycle of learning is commonly referred to as a four-step process known as ERGA – Experience, Reflection, Generalization and Application.
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Key to learning, according to this model, is that we take a “pause” to build in reflection after having an experience. It is this pause that allows us to cull learning and insights which we can then apply to other areas of our life and work.
There are many different ways to reflect including:

• Retreat programs
• Short writing activities – 2-5 minutes where people MindMap or note their learning
• Mid-point evaluations with clients
• Quarterly Reviews (see the article below)

 
Last month at the Learning Lab and Design Studio I was reminded of a great book called the Women’s Retreat Book by Jennifer Louden which is chock-full of great resources for creating and leading your own retreats. You’ll want to check it out.

Other resources you might want to explore:
Create a Pause Via Quarterly Retreats Using these questions (Coaching Tools Company Article)

Undertake a quarterly review process with me (30 minutes - VIDEO). Be sure to grab your pen and journal for this one!

Wishing you all the best,
​Jennifer

PS - For those of you who want to bring some of this into your work, consider joining me on July 9th for the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training. I'll be leading a group of professionals through 6 x 3 hour facilitator virtual training sessions in July so you can lead this work with your own clients. More here.

​Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010)
Potentials Realized
Phone: 416-996-8326
Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on  Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder.

In today’s VUCA world, disruption is more the norm that the exception.  This often means that what worked last time, will not work this time. Experimentation can therefore become a useful philosophy and habit. With the rapid pace of change, new industries, new jobs and new approaches are springing up on a regular basis. What have you tried lately? Are all your old approaches working as they used to?

How to practice it:
On a regular basis (i.e. each quarter), consider what would be useful to learn and/or experiment with (tools, processes, practices, skills etc).

An experiment could involve trying something new out, tweaking an approach you have been using for a while (i.e. instead of doing a Facebook Live in the morning, what about trying it in the evening?).

Why it can be valuable:
There are many applications for experimentation in business. It can help us get into a pattern of trial and error, helping with diversification. Given that things are changing so quickly it may mean that we are better positioned for new, and unseen, options.
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A and B testing, where you pilot two approaches at once, has become a popular approach for many marketing initiatives, to see which one gets more engagement and traction.

Questions to consider:

• What do you want to experiment with?
• What is needed?
• Where could experimentation benefit your work?

Resources:
Carol Dweck: Growth Mindset (check out her concept of Not Yet)

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Welcome back. Last week you did some research around what possible giveaways you could offer to your clients. It might be a video, podcast series, mini – e course, article, or even a checklist.

What are those things you wish you had?

This week, in part 2 of the series, you are invited to map out your giveaway, and start drafting it. What are the major elements of this project?

Consider these questions –

• What is the purpose of this item?
• What are the 3 main points?
• What question does it answer or solution does it offer for the client?
• What are the elements of the item?
• What other resources can the product direct the client to?
• What is your call to action?
• What are the discrete steps you need to complete in order to complete this project?

Once you have a good idea of what it can look like, spend some time drafting it out.

Be ready for a next step next week!

Best,
​Jennifer

Keeping Neuroscience at the Forefront of Good Design - © Jennifer Britton
Photo Credit - Britton, 2017 (Excerpt, Effective Virtual Conversations)
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In Effective Virtual Conversations I share the journeys of two professionals who work in the virtual space – Jane and Jo. In chapter 5, Jane reflects on what it takes to incorporate science into her work with groups in the virtual space. I highlight eight different areas of focus.

We want to design with the learner’s entire self in mind, brain included. This month at the Learning Lab Design Studio. I explored eight different neuroscience elements you will want to keep in mind as you go to design your own programming.

As you read through today's blog post, consider what elements you want to be focusing on in your work:

 These include:

1. Fight or Flight – the Amygdala Highjack
2. Mirror Neurons
3. PEA/NEA
4. Micro-moments
5. Positive Interactions
6. The Social Brain
7. Oxytocin
8. Latency and Recency Effects

Fight or Flight:
Under times of stress our brains may revert to their more reptilian past, and we may go into “Fight” or “flight” mode – looking to fight or wanting to run away respectively. What can you do to create more certainty and safety for your learners and in your design.
Mirror Neurons – Just like a mirror, we are influenced by those around us. The notion of mirror neurons indicates that our brain will “fire” in ways that is similar to those we are in dialogue around. With this in  mind, what is the environment you want to create for your groups?
PEA/NEA – Explored by Richard Boyatzis and his team, the Positive Emotional Attractor Network (PEA) is a series of components of the brain, which support in “opening up” the brain. When we ask questions like “What’s possible?” or “What would you do if you won 50M dollars?” all active this network, and create an open space. Consider what you can be doing to incorporate these questions and/or work around vision in your programming.
Micro-moments: Barbara Frederickson writes that change and connection occurs through what she calls “micro-moments”. Consider how you can be building this into your design, or getting your group to become more aware of their significant micro-moments.
Positive Interactions – The highly disputed Losada Ratio found that in order to “thrive” we need three positive interactions to one. While the ratio is disputed mathematically, it is valuable to think about the ratio of positive to negative conversational elements. John Gottman found that this ratio is closer to 7 to 1 for teams that thrive. What can you do in your design to boost the habit of providing positive interactions with your group/team members?
The Social Brain – The notion of the social brain is multi-fold and includes the notion that we learn through and in connection with others. What are you doing to boost peer connection?
Oxytocin – also known as the bonding hormone, this hormone is important for teamwork and group cohesion. Be aware that this is activated through touch and togetherness. What can you do in your design to leverage this “feel good” neurochemical?
Latency and Recency Effects – We remember the start and end of things but everything in the middle can get muddied, unless it is memorable. What can you do to create something novel mid way to loc k in learning? Consider visual anchors, polls etc.”
End of Excerpt. Copyright 2017-2018, Jennifer Britton. All Rights Reserved

To read more about program design the virtual space pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations.

Resources to explore
Chapter 5 – Effective Virtual Conversations, for more on these 8 elements
Barbara Frederickson – PositivityRatio.com
Richard Boyatzis NEA/PEA: The role of the positive emotional attractor in vision and shared vision: toward effective leadership, relationships, and engagement
Richard E. Boyatzis,1,* Kylie Rochford,1 and Scott N. Taylor. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4439543/
Mirror Neurons: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-athletes-way/201402/do-mirror-neurons-help-create-social-understanding  AND https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/brain-myths/201212/mirror-neurons-the-most-hyped-concept-in-neuroscience
 
What are your specific steps to incorporate neuroscience into your work?
Enjoy the start to your week,
Jennifer

.Jennifer Britton
Author of Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), 
Potentials Realized - Supporting Coaches, Businesses, Leaders and Teams 
Is 2019 your year to take it ahead? Join me for one of our two annual groups - The Learning Lab and Design Studio (focusing on program design) or the Coaching Biz Growth Lab (focusing on coaching business development)
Phone: 416-996-8326
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