Thank you all for coming to today’s lunch and learn Thank you all for coming to today’s lunch and learn. At 3M, we’re passionate about making your life in the office easier. Our products work toward that goal and so do the ideas behind them. One of the most common situations we try to simplify is teamwork during your company’s organization or planning meetings.

These meetings happen all the time, but often making real headway can be a challenge. You might have just one or two people in the group, or the group could be large. You might have several people who are shy with their contributions, or several domineering personalities. Or you might just have a group that’s tired of brainstorming and is stuck in the same rut with the same problems over and over again. Each of these scenarios can make it difficult for participants to feel like they are really making the most of their valuable time.

At 3M we believe these challenges can be overcome and teamwork can lead to successful problem-solving. By using the right tools and changing the way you look at a problem, you can foster efficient and effective meetings. Over the rest of this session we’ll offer a few tips for making the most of your meetings and teamwork sessions.

The first technique we’ll look at is the Nominal Group Technique. We’ve all been in meetings where the conversation is dominated by just a few people. Those people may have some great ideas, but soon their way of viewing the problem can restrict their ability to find new solutions. Full participation is key when you’re looking for new, creative ideas. That’s where the Nominal Group Technique comes in. It provides structure, so everyone, even your most shy colleague, can contribute.

To start off you’ll need a group moderator, a Post-it® Super Sticky Easel Pad, Post-it® Super Sticky Notes, a timer and writing utensils. Make sure you are in a place with a wall that everyone can see.

Write the subject of your brainstorming session on the Easel Pad and hang it on a wall. The subject could be a problem you need to solve or just the brainstorming topic. With the Easel Pad in view, each participant should write down as many related ideas as possible within 5 minutes. Use one Post-it® Super Sticky Note per idea. After the moderator says that five minutes are up, each participant should look through their notes and choose the strongest idea. The team will go in a circle with each person sharing one idea. Write these ideas on the Easel Pad. At this point, there should be no discussion. Each team member simply shares an idea, then it moves to the next person. Also, the ideas don’t necessarily need to come from the notes. They could be a new idea sparked by something someone else said.

Once each person has had the opportunity to share a favorite idea, the group can discuss them more in depth. This is a great time to clear up any questions or investigate the logic behind each idea. It might be helpful to use another Easel Pad sheet to record any clarifications.

When all the ideas have been clarified, it’s time to vote When all the ideas have been clarified, it’s time to vote! Have your group choose the top ideas. If the situation and time warrants it, you can complete another round of brainstorming. Your team should leave the room with plenty of ideas or solutions to the problem.

Before we discover more teamwork tips, let’s try the Nominal Group Technique together.

Everyone grab a pad of Post-it® Super Sticky Notes Everyone grab a pad of Post-it® Super Sticky Notes. I’ll be the moderator. Since we are talking about teamwork, let’s focus on the subject, “What makes a brainstorming session successful?” Now that I’ve written the topic on the Easel Pad sheet, you all have five minutes to write down as many ideas as you can. One idea per note.

Any questions. Try to write down as many ideas as you can think of Any questions? Try to write down as many ideas as you can think of. I’ll let you know when time is up. Okay go.

Alright time is up. Now look through your Post-it® Super Sticky Notes Alright time is up. Now look through your Post-it® Super Sticky Notes. Choose your favorite idea. In a smaller group setting generally everyone would share. But, for our purposes, how about just the first six of you share your favorite ideas. Remember, you are not sharing why your idea is the best or why it works, you are simply sharing one idea on what makes a brainstorming session successful. If you think of a new idea based on someone else's idea and you want to share that, go ahead! I’ll write each thought on the Easel Pad sheet as you share.

Okay. Now that everyone has shared, let’s take a look at our list Okay. Now that everyone has shared, let’s take a look at our list. This is the time to clarify anything confusing. I can write our notes on another sheet if we need to. Do we need any other explanations? If not, let’s move on to voting.

Look through the ideas we have and choose your favorite Look through the ideas we have and choose your favorite. I’ll read the ideas aloud and if you think that it is the best answer to our question, what makes a brainstorming session successful, raise your hand.   Great! Our top three answers here give us some insights into how future brainstorming sessions can be more successful. At this point if your team still thought there was more to be discussed, then you could do another round of brainstorming. If not, then assign to-dos based on your issue. For instance, if we decided that having snacks really made brainstorming successful, then I could volunteer to bring snacks to our next session.

Thank you all for participating in the activity Thank you all for participating in the activity! Are there any questions about the Nominal Group Technique? If not, we’ll discuss the Five Whys teamwork technique.

Identifying the root of a problem is often the first step to fixing it Identifying the root of a problem is often the first step to fixing it. Help your team find out what is truly lying beneath the surface with The Five Whys method of problem solving.

To use this method of problem-solving, you’ll need Post-it® Super Sticky Big Notes, 3" x 3" Post-it® Super Sticky Notes, and writing utensils.

Start off your meeting by identifying your problem and writing it at the top of a Post-it® Super Sticky Big Note. Stick the Big Note somewhere everyone can see it. Your question might be, “Why has everyone been tardy to meetings lately?” Pass out 3" x 3" Post-it® Super Sticky Notes to each participant. Now begin to ask questions! Ask open-ended questions about why the problem exists. Let each participant stick their note under the question on the Big Note. One answer might be, “Meetings are scheduled too early.”

Read all the different “why” answers aloud Read all the different “why” answers aloud. Take the next few minutes to group together the “whys” that are similar and/or worthy of deeper consideration. Feel free to remove and rearrange the Post-it® Super Sticky Notes as needed during this time. Rephrase the ones that could have a separate underlying problem as another “why” question. For example, “Why are we scheduling meetings so early?”

Have each participant write down their answer to the new “why Have each participant write down their answer to the new “why.” For instance, “We are rushed for end of day deliverables.” Continue these steps until the root problem is identified. We suggest doing the exercise at least five times, but your situation may call for more or fewer times. This questioning strategy is designed to be nimble and fast. Post-it® Brand Products help get thoughts down quickly and easily. This method and the Post-it® Note tools we recommend help give everyone a voice and get your team on a path toward solving big problems.

Are there any questions? Great! Let’s discuss another teamwork tool for getting to the bottom of problems.

Once you have an overarching problem identified, a Fishbone Diagram can be another helpful way to discover underlying causes.

To begin this method, gather some Post-it® Super Sticky Notes and some markers. Use a room that has a large Post-it® Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface on a wall.

Jot down the problem your team has identified on a Post-it® Super Sticky Note. This will form the “head” of your Fishbone Diagram. Stick it on the dry erase surface at one end and draw a line straight out from it. This is the “spine” from which your team will address the problem. As a group, identify and discuss factors that may contribute to the problem. Explore as many options here as you can. There are no wrong answers.

Write each suggestion from the group on a line drawn off the diagram’s “spine.” These are the “bones” of your Fishbone Diagram. Building off of these bones, have the team brainstorm the causes that could be responsible for that part of the problem. Put these causes on Post-it® Super Sticky Notes and add them to the appropriate line.

With the identified problems in hand, work together as a group to solve for the smaller “bones.” When your team has some ideas on how to solve the small problems, assign each person a to-do. This gives your team the chance to help identify, solve, and take action against the problem.

Are there any questions about Fishbone Diagrams Are there any questions about Fishbone Diagrams? If not, we can discuss one of the more revolutionary problem-solving techniques, Reverse Thinking.

If your team is getting stuck in a brainstorming rut, try reverse thinking for a new perspective. Reverse Thinking is just what it sounds like. Your team takes the problem you’ve been focusing on and creates more problems, instead of solutions. While it might seem counterintuitive to try to make your problem worse, the end result can be really eye-opening.

This type of problem solving is great for any size of group This type of problem solving is great for any size of group. Because all you need is a writable surface like the Post-it® Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface, Post-it® Super Sticky Notes, and writing utensils, it’s simple to work wherever it makes sense.

The first step in Reverse Thinking is to identify your problem and turn it on its head. For example, say you sell cleaning products and want to get more subscribers to your weekly emails. Stop brainstorming around the question, “How can we get more people to subscribe to our newsletter?” Instead ask yourselves, “How can we get people to unsubscribe from our newsletter?” Write that new question at the top of your dry erase surface. It sounds odd, but this gives your team freedom to relax a little bit and get the creative juices flowing again. Come up with as many ideas as possible and write them each on their own Post-it® Super Sticky Note. Put each idea on the dry erase surface under the question. One idea might be, “Offer text heavy, irrelevant information in the letter.”

By itself, that doesn’t seem very helpful By itself, that doesn’t seem very helpful. However, this is not where the process ends. Once the ideas are all up on your board, choose a few to focus on. Remove the others from the board. Then reverse the statements still on the board again. Going back to our earlier example, we said we could keep people from signing up for the letter with “text-heavy, irrelevant information.” Reverse that to, “Offer easy-to-read, helpful tips.”

Now make it stronger. There are many ways to do this, but one of the most effective things to do is imagine the best possible outcome for whoever is doing the action. Here the best reason for someone to open their email is that they are getting something for free. Use that idea to add a little excitement to your reversed idea. One way that could work would be to say, “Every month offer a new sample that can be used to implement the helpful tips we give our customers in the newsletter.” Erase your negative options and check out your new solutions. Try it a few times and you’ll see that sometimes turning things around can really bring out your team’s creativity for new and effective solutions.

Are there any questions on the Reverse Thinking activity?

Teamwork doesn’t have to be boring or ineffective Teamwork doesn’t have to be boring or ineffective. With the right tools and techniques your team can find solutions to problems or the best new ideas for your company. Try some of the techniques we’ve talked about today and see how they make a difference in your meetings.

Can I answer any final questions?

Thanks for having us!