1. Focus Groups: Understanding Culture Through Storyboards
Troy Tungate
Lean Manager, Mint Division
WILD Flavors, Inc.
Welcome to Focus Groups: Understanding Culture through Storyboards presentation/training. I appreciate that all of you selected this breakout session from the list of great sessions the MLC has provided. What a great conference the MLC provides here, and the setting is beautiful.
Thank you for taking this journey with me, let us begin.

2. What is your organization’s culture?
What is Culture?
The collective values, beliefs, attitudes, and patterns that shape an organization’s behavior
What is your organization’s culture?
So let me start by asking you, what is culture? Specifically, what is organizational culture?
<discussion>
<click>
Read slide, this is one definition. There are many others. Bottom line is culture is all the things that impact an organizations actions and behavior. So, what is your organization’s culture?
How do you know? Does everyone in the organization feel/act/behave that way? What ways could you use to determine an organization’s culture?
<discussion> survey, gemba walks, interviews, etc.
Focus groups are simply a method for obtaining information about an organization’s culture. It is fun, interactive, and provides additional benefits beyond culture.

3. Agenda Introduction to Focus Group Storyboards Current State
Future State
Change Requirements
Facilitator Guide
Leadership Presentation and Recommendations
Questions and Discussion
Here is today’s agenda. We will start with an introduction to focus groups, followed by current state storyboard development, then future state, then determining requirements for change, followed by a guide for facilitators, and how to present this to leadership and/or turn this into actionable interventions.

4. Why Focus Groups?
Provides an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts, feelings
Generates transformative ideas
Engages participants in the company
Future
Colleagues
Provides current state “picture” of organizational culture that can be engaged by leadership
Why do we do focus groups?
It provides a forum, an arena, an opportunity for employees or participants to share their thoughts, feelings, ideas, concerns, problems, etc. Part of it is simply allowing employees to express themselves. This is important. Another reason is to generate transformative ideas. You will be surprised at the ideas that are generated by the participants. Good stuff. And it also engages people in the future of the company. By going through the focus group process, participants will get caught up in the future state of the company. They will think deeply about where the company is at and where it is going. They will come up with ideas about getting to the future state. They will discuss and present these ideas to their peers. During the process, they get to know each other and what each other does. There is learning and “we are in this together” that is gained. Participants will get a better sense of what other areas, functions do and what their challenges are. It also provides a picture of the current state culture for leadership intervention.

5. Introduction to Focus Group Storyboards
3. Change Requirements
Here is the focus group process- pretty simple. We will talk later about who guides the focus groups, but for now this is the process overview.
You start with the current state, teams will develop the storyboards reflecting their thoughts, feelings, impressions, regarding the current state. Then the future state- here the teams will dream a little. Then how do we get there? Pretty simple. But the process is what is important and the learning is real.
Ready to make some storyboards?
1. Current State Storyboard
2. Future State Storyboard

6. Current State Storyboard
Using pictures that represent different thoughts, feelings, ideas, attitudes, etc. the participants will create storyboards
Facilitator questions to ask:
When you drive into work, what are your thoughts, feelings, ideas?
Its Monday morning and you are getting ready for work, what are your feelings, ideas, thoughts about work?
Try to get to the baseline, deep, real current state culture
Developing the current state storyboard requires participants to think about their current situation and always uncovers some truths, some agendas, and some surprises. This can be emotional. People have deep feelings about their organizations.
So, how does it work? Using selected pictures, team’s of participants will create storyboards describing their current state feelings, thoughts, feelings, impressions, ideas, etc. Questions to ask are: <read slide>
The questions was raised about arts and crafts with crusty ole guys. I really don’t have a good answer for this challenge, I simply don’t highlight it. The overall experience has always been positive and seems to far outweigh “wasting people’s time by making arts and crafts”. I just say this is what we are doing, show them how, and say go. I don’t allow for the objection. Not saying this is the best way but it has worked. I am sure you can come up with a better answer. At the end of the day, the organization is paying the participants to make arts and crafts.
Lets look at some real examples of current state storyboards.

7. Current State Storyboard Examples
Review examples. Note participants writing and facilitator notes.
What does “stressed” mean? Participant answer “we don’t have enough people to cover the workload” and “we don’t have the right people managing/leading our area”. As a facilitator, always dig a little deeper when you see a generic term such as stressed or frustrated or happy or success.

8. Current State Exercise
In teams of 5, look through the pictures and pick 3 that indicate your feelings, thoughts, ideas about the MLC conference.
Using the glue sticks and scissors, cut these out and attach to the storyboards on the table
Be Creative
Present to the group
Time: 20 minutes
<Read slide>
<pick teams>
<tell participants when time is up>
<walk around and observe, answer questions>

9. Future State Storyboard
Using pictures that represent different thoughts, feelings, ideas, attitudes, etc. the participants will create storyboards
Facilitator questions to ask:
How should your organization look, feel in 2-5 years?
What should your organization look and feel like in 2-5 years?
Try to get to participants to imagine the future state culture
Ideal state
<read slide>
The future state storyboard draws on the participants sense of what “it should look like”. This is utopia of course but it gets them thinking about what the organization could look like. This should be fun and invigorating.

10. Future State Storyboard Examples
<review slides>
Notice the participant notes and the facilitator notes. When you dig for definition more answers come through.
For example, what does “better leadership” mean? Right people, right positions, defined leadership structures, clear chain of command, empowered employees. Wow- that is usable information.

11. Future State Exercise
In teams of 5, look through the pictures and pick 3 that indicate your feelings, thoughts, ideas about what the MLC conference should look like in 2-5 years.
Using the glue sticks and scissors, cut these out and attach to the storyboards on the table
Be creative
Present to the group
Time: 20 minutes
<Read slide>
<pick teams>
<tell participants when time is up>
<walk around and observe, answer questions>

12. Change Storyboard
Determine required actions to get from current state to the future state
Questions to Ask
You’re the CEO/President/Governor/Director/Secretary/Manager, what changes would you make to get to the future state?
If you were in charge, what would you do?
Try to get to participants to identify specific items that they believe will get them to the future state
<read slide>
The change storyboard is simply a list of what the participants would do to get to the future state. It puts the focus on them and requires deeper thinking/problem solving. Its important to be as specific as possible. Sometimes you will get some good ideas here, sometimes not.
Either way, there is some accountability and thinking behind this.

13. Change Exercise
In teams of 5, look through the storyboards and identify the 3 most important actions the MLC should do to reach the future state.
Write these on a sheet of paper
Present to the group
Time: 10 minutes
<Read slide>
<pick teams>
<tell participants when time is up>
<walk around and observe, answer questions>
Here is an example <review> Notice the participants comments and the additional facilitator notes.
What does “let employee voices be heard” mean? Actually means leadership follow through and an all employee town hall meeting.
So we have talked about the process steps and created our own storyboards. I am assuming that most of you will be facilitating or administering focus groups. Its time to dig a little deeper into the facilitator role.

14. Facilitator Ground Rules
Open, Honest, and Transparent
Tell participants exactly what happens with this information and how it will be used
Anonymous
Integrity, trust
No Judgment
No Good/Bad
No Right/Wrong
These are the requirements for facilitating focus groups.
<read slide>
This is hard to do. You must be an impartial guide through the process and sincerely engage people in sorting out their feelings, thoughts, etc. You will be challenged, you will want to get defensive, you wont agree with what is said, you will know that people are simply complaining or unfairly criticizing. Don’t judge, don’t get defensive, let the participants express themselves.
So, now that the ground rules have been established lets look deeper into the facilitator role

15. Facilitator Guide
The role of the facilitator is critical to obtaining real results
Goal is to understand what the participants are communicating
Ask questions and check for understanding
Make sure teams are mixed
Circle most important item on each storyboard
Summarize key thoughts
You will represent the participants to leadership
<read slide>
Its important to make up mixed, cross-functional, cross-departmental teams. This encourages interaction between different groups and prevents groupthink, agenda push.
The facilitator must impartially understand what is being communicated. You must understand what is truly important and be able to discuss with leadership.
What are the additional duties of the facilitator?
<next slide>

16. Facilitator Duties Do not get personally involved
Keep the participants on schedule
Estimate is 90 minutes for 2 groups
Add 30 minutes for each additional group
Prepare before the session
Meeting room, materials and supplies
Mental
Empathize with participants
Make it fun!
<read slide>
Simple enough. This will be emotional for some of the participants, you should make it light and fun as much as possible. The timing will depend on how diligently the facilitator keeps to the schedule and how deep the discussion goes. These are estimates.
Don’t allow participants to fight, bully, challenge each other. Keep it light.
Ok, so now we know the process and how to facilitate the focus groups. Now what? What do we do with this information.

17. Leadership Presentation
Take pictures of each storyboard and change requirements
Look for themes, important ideas- analysis, pareto
Prepare presentation with pictures and summary
Prepare a slide with themes, important ideas
The information and learning that we have gathered to this point must be clearly communicated to the leadership. We do that by summarizing the focus groups and presenting to leadership.
Make it visual, take pictures of storyboards, not the participants- remember they are anonymous. Scan the data for themes, do an analysis, pareto chart (80/20). Prepare the presentation.
How do you decipher all this to come up with recommendations.
<next slide>

18. Leadership Presentation Recommendations
Using your knowledge, learning, and impression of the focus groups:
Determine what is real and important
Determine what is ranting, smoke, agenda, complaint of the day
Beware of your own bias!
Develop recommendations
Targeted, specific, incremental
<read slide>
Remember, the facilitator represents the participants to leadership. You don’t have to come up with a magical solution that stops world hunger. Recommend the things that the participants (using your judgment) thought would be most beneficial. Don’t push your own agenda or pet projects. Let the focus group do the talking through you.

19. Presenting to Leadership
Represent the focus groups as best as you can
Allow the leadership to review, evaluate, and own the results
Answer questions but don’t lead or push
Keep it anonymous
<Read Slide>
Some key points during the leadership presentation. The leadership team may be upset, confused, shocked, defensive, etc. about what the focus groups have said. The facilitator is presenting what the focus groups have said. Don’t get defensive or take anything personal. Don’t let the leadership dismiss what the groups said. These are real feelings, thoughts, etc. Ultimately leadership is responsible for the culture. Let the groups talk (through you) and let it sit. Let the weight of the groups comments, good and bad, settle in with the groups. Don’t apologize for what the groups say either. These are real feelings. Good leadership will see the value in the depth of the focus group information and think about how to intervene, support, push, guide the organizational culture. You also have to remember these are feelings, thoughts, etc. Leadership will want to jump in and “fix” it. But its not that easy, culture cant be “fixed” in an afternoon. Developing a better culture requires consistent effort in the right direction over a period of time.

20. Presenting to Leadership Exercise
In your teams, look through the current state, future state, and change requirements and identify:
What is most important? One item from each
Present to the group
Time: 5 minutes
<Read slide>
<pick teams>
<tell participants when time is up>
<walk around and observe, answer questions>
Its also possible to present the focus group results to all employees. This can be done through a newsletter, presentation, , or other avenues. This is at you discretion. You should be careful not to set unreasonable expectations for the leadership or allow the company wide presentation to descend into a “do this or else” situation.
That’s all folks.
<next slide>

21. Thank you! Questions? Thank you for participating. This has been fun.
Can I answer any questions?