ABC Network E-Learning Manager

Purpose – Where do we come from ?

ABC Network stands for «ARTS, BUSINESS & CREATIVITY»

It is designed to help your teams improve dialogue, increase their creative abilities and

foster innovation.

A unique method

•Already available for the following fields:

• Culture

• Branding

• Management

• Teams

• Service

• Organizations’ environments

• Developing Lateral thinking abilities, generating «Creativity Highways»

• Trigger increased innovation

• Creating the space and field for immediate and future innovations

The manager’s ABC to creativity

Introduction

Hello ! We are Mrs Vice-President and Mr Manager.

We both work in an organization, we each manage a team and we need to improve their

ability to innovate and be creative.

What can you do for us ?

Welcome Mrs Vice President and Mr Manager !

Welcome to the ABC Network program! I will be guiding you through the process of identifying the relevant workshop to achieve

your goals. It is a 4-step approach where you will refine your needs, imagine the different

options, seek for the right artist, and organise your workshop.

With this short journey inside the ABC program, you will understand its logics and

benefits. But there is more than the program, there is the Network! This means that

you can find within this site the right people to help you on one or several steps for

this program.

Understanding your need

The first element to work upon is your purpose:

•Why are you looking for a workshop?

•Why now?

•What is behind the immediate need?

•What lies under your intuition or your decision?

Often the need for more creativity hides a larger challenge, which is not always

clearly visible. For instance, it can be a need for a better internal communication or

a necessity to re-visit the organization’s values or history. It may also come from the

urge to re-invent a business model, a strategy or a product line. All in all, looking to

develop creative abilities is a good symptom for a larger or deeper unsaid or

misguided expectation. Unveiling this will give your workshop a much stronger

efficiency and reach.

Sure, but how do we know we have found the

purpose behind the need ?

You will be able to formulate your expectations in a couple of sentences, and detail your

expected results & deliverables easily.

For example:

•«Help my team work better together, and ensure that any idea is welcomed and

leveraged, regardless of its origin.»

•«Have a team with a stronger collective bond.»

•«Have a group of people with a commonly shared vision of how the history of the

organization can translate in the future.»

•«Have a clear set of actionnable ideas for the next quarter.»

From that step, you can now start to imagine the structure of your workshop.

And now, what do we do ?

We build your workshop’s structure!

Based on your purpose, identify here http://abcnetworkprogram.com/fr/method/ateliers

what relates best with your objectives.

From that, identify existing topics, either for inspiration or for re-use.

Within the ABC Network site or by contacting the program directly, you will be able to

identify and meet with artists.

For keynote speakers, you can tap in,to your own network or contact the program to help

you find one in line with your objectives.

The artists you will find inside the ABC Network site are all comfortable and

experienced working with organizations. This experience is very important for the

success of your workshop.

We have artist and keynote speaker. Let’s design

your workshop!

Preparing the workshop can be done following these 4 parameters:

Where ?

Identify a space. It will require:

- Projection material for the conference

- A dedicated space for the artistic workshop. To

be defined with your artist.

- Material for the artist.

- Refreshments, food

- Flipcharts, markers and pens

- Possibly videorecording materials

-...

Who ?

You will need to identify the people involved in that

workshop, and the number of participants. Think wide: diversity is a key to creativity, and

input from people outside the core team always

proves valuable.

Prepare the invitation accordingly.

When ?

The date, of course, but also:

- Workshop duration: 1 day, 1.5 days, an evening +

a day, 2 days, etc...

Why ?

Your purpose ! This is what you will convey to the

group, give to the artist and to the conferencer.

It is the line you are following, and a strong

validation point at each step of the process,

checking if what is being put together is in line with

the purpose.

Artist, speaker, logistics ready. Now what about

content

First the overall structure: A - B - C

A - Knowledge Sharing:

A speaker will give a 60 to 90 minutes conference to give the audience a shared set of

understanding and knowledge related to the workshop topic and/or to the artistic approach

coming next.

When possible, use a room different from a standard conference or meeting room.

Take away tables, create proximity with the speaker through the room. You want to

create a dialogue with the speaker, it will not work if they are in a «student-teacher»-

type of set up.

How about B ?

B - Artist Workshop:

From two hours to half a day of EXPERIENCING the art. This part is designed to have all

people active, involved, and out of their confort zone. At this stage, the rational brain gives

up, and opens a space for a different approach. The nest is ready for creativity to burst

out.

Trust the artist and her process. Participants will all go through a «groan zone», at

different times. This is key, and a very good step toward liberating their creativity.

Reassure them by telling them it is normal they feel discomfort at some stage.

And C Then ?

C - Harvesting and activating

This step aims at connecting the dots. With step A and B, we take participants to unusual,

unchartered territories. The last step is a reconnection to their known universe, but with a

different approach and vision to it.

It is then we can generate effective creativity, one that is linked to their daily issues.

The use of De Bono technique, and a facilitation focusing on concrete, tangible objectives

and action planning is paramount.

Consider the use of a professional facilitator for that step, at least for your first

couple of workshops. Reconnecting with tangible facts while keeping creativity at

its max is not an easy task.

Ok, great ! But we need tangible elements to

build our workshop : Timing, details, logistics.

Can you elaborate ?

Then let’s look at this step by step, now.

A - Knowledge Sharing

Here is how it works in details for a typical

workshop:

Length: 1h30’

- Format: a conference

- Facilitator’s profile: a historian, a sociologist or a journalist, depending on your

organisation’s type and/or your industry sector.

To prepare this step «A», you will have to identify a speaker, and then brief her/him on the

type of content you are expecting.

Be very open to her/him: a speaker needs to understand the overall context to be able to

be pertinent.

Organize a meeting with the artist: they need to build a connection between steps «A» and

«B».

Request a paper from the speaker, with her/his intention and overall structure. Ask

the speaker for visuals (images, videos) to make the conference more vivid. Cross-

check their intention with your overall purpose, and make sure it is relevant and in-

line.

End of step « A »

Let’s review this step «A»:

•A conference to bring my participants to a shared understanding of the workshop’s topic

•Some preparation time:

• find the speaker,

• brief her/him,

• review speaker’s conference content / structure to match with your purpose

• Organize a meeting between speaker and artist

• Check material and logistics with speaker

B – Artist Workshop

A little background first :

The artist’s workshop has to be a collective experience.

Step «A» is meant to open minds. Step «B» puts their heart and body (feeling and

sensation) at the center of their attention. We are taking them to a non-rationalized space,

where they will be able to help let go their left-brain.

This step is collective, as the group effects is a catalyser and an accelerator in the

process. it is also a great team-bonding experience. Facilitation at this stage is very light :

feeling of uncomfort, «chaos», «disorder» are expected, because we are taking them to

spaces they are not usual with. A

Make sure they are aware that they will be going through uncomfort - and that it is

normal, expected, and even necessary in the process!

Here is how it works in details for a typical

workshop :

Length: 3h30’

•Format: a collective experience

•Workshop’s structure:

• Introduction of the artist and his/her field, connection to the organization’s

purpose), Q&A with participants: 30 min

• Briefing the audience for their upcoming experience: 15 min

• Split audience in smaller groups for experiential workshop : 2 hours

• Group presentation of experience and feedback: 45mn

This is subject to a lot of variations: you may need more time, you may change a lot

the structure - it is to be discussed and detailed with the artist during the

preparation phase

End of step « B »

Let’s review this step «B»:

•An experiential workshop to bring the group to leverage intuition and sensations rather

than brain

•Some preparation time:

• find the artist,

• brief her/him,

• review artist’s workshop objectives to match with your purpose

• Organize a meeting between speaker and artist

•Check material and logistics with artist

•Approve deliverables

C – Harvesting and activating

A key step top have a lasting effect

This step aims at connecting the dots.

With step «A» and «B», you take the participants to unusual, unchartered territories. Step

«C» is a reconnection to their known universe, but with a different approach ans vision to

it.

It is then we can generate effective creativity, one that is linked to their daily issues. The

use of De Bono, together with a facilitation focusing on concrete, tangible objectives and

action planning is paramount.

Ensure you will have sufficient time to cover this step. Sometimes a 1/2 day can be

necessary!

Here is how it works in details for a typical

workshop :

Length: between 1h30’ to 3h30’

•Format: a collaborative and interactive workshop

•Workshop’s structure :

• Introduction on workshop objectives: concrete, tangible results expected

(creative solutions, action-plan, tasks-list, etc.) - 15 min

• A De Bono 6-Hat session to generate ideas - 30 min

• A collaborative session to reach tangible deliverable (action plan, tasks-list...)

- 45 min

• Workshop Closing

Always have a proper closing for a workshop: a clear stop is a necessary

disconnection for participants.

End of step « C »

Let’s review this step «C» :

•Conencting the dots, bridging the gap... Clearly meant to go «back to normal», but with

new ideas and actions.

•Some preparation time:

• Define your deliverables

• Prepare your 6-Hat session

• Check material and logistics

•Anticipate workshop closing