Dear Reader,
Do you sometimes feel like you're herding cats when it comes to strategy?
Trust us, we know the feeling. Getting stakeholders to agree can feel like an uphill battle.
But fear not! We've got a tool to help you navigate the choppy waters of team alignment. Sam Kaner's gradient of agreement scale is a useful tool for visualizing a team's opinions and can help identify areas of agreement, disagreement, and uncertainty.
Here's how it works in a nutshell:
By using the gradient of agreement scale in workshops or meetings, you can create a safe and collaborative space where everyone's opinions and perspectives are heard and valued.
This can help you overcome challenges such as having the HIPPO in the room, not being the decision-maker, or people not sharing their opinion when their bosses are in the room.
Remember, not everyone will always agree, but that's okay!
By using a tool like the gradient of agreement scale, you'll be able to identify the areas where you need to focus your efforts and work towards a common goal.
So what are you waiting for? Grab your team, some markers, and a whiteboard, and let's make your next strategy workshop a success!
We just launched a book club...
Our first book will be Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres in April. Grab the book and join the #book-club channel in the Guild of Working Designers Slack to join!
MEETUP: B2B Survival Guide for UX Designers
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Learn to improve the user experience when your customer is another business.
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Defining UX Strategy
April 17-May 8, 2023
Learn how to build a winning UX or product strategy that aligns design with business.
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Facilitating Workshops
May 15-Jun. 5, 2023
Learn how to design creative working sessions and lead collaborative work.
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💪 Daily ethical design practices
This guide outlines daily ethical design practices including how to peruse well-being, equity, and sustainability.
shared by Joshua Stehr
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📖 The Solutionists: How Businesses Can Fix the Future
The Solutionists sets out what it takes to join the new generation of entrepreneurs and leaders transforming business to create a more sustainable society.
shared by Lizzie Hamblin
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Apply to join the Guild of Working Designers here.
shared by Filipe Monteiro in the Guild
Until next week!
Hannah Baker
Educator & Co-Founder
The Fountain Institute
The Fountain Institute is an independent online school that teaches advanced UX & product skills.
When Your Strategy Slides Hit Silence By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, I’ve shared strategy before, and watched it stall. Not because it was wrong. But because the room didn’t know what to do with it. I wasn’t looking for feedback. I wasn’t asking for approval. I was hoping they’d pick it up and run with it. Instead? Confusion. Silence. They didn’t see what I saw. Not because they didn’t care. But because I’d built the strategy, not the on-ramp they needed to step into it. It’s something I’ve...
Let's Talk about Liquid Glass by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, Goodbye, paper-like design. Hello, moving blobs of liquid glass! Play button blunder from Apple Apple's new paradigm in aesthetics is both cool and potentially awful at the same time. "Rather than trying to simply re-create a material from the physical world, Liquid Glass is a new digital meta-material that dynamically bends and shapes light." -Apple Just when you thought skeuomorphism was dead, it rears its realistic head again. I...
Assumption Olympics: Why I Always Win Gold in Overreacting By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, I once pitched a new workshop format to a team of collaborators. One person nodded slowly and said, “Hmm… okay.” That was it. I smiled. Externally, totally composed. Internally? I sprinted up a mental staircase of conclusions: They don’t like it. They’re being polite. They think I’m not strategic. This was a bad idea. I’ve blown this opportunity. Maybe I’m not cut out for this work. I didn’t realize I was...