Feeling Magnets

Please find some examples of exercises for using WUP™:

Call for tenders

This is a fun, interactive exercise that is always performed in a group of five to ten people. If your group is bigger, we would recommend breaking it into sub-groups. In this case, multiple sets of the WorkUP would be needed.

One person in the group is the client, who is facing various difficulties in their organisation and would like to find a consultant to help them out. Other people are consultants, who are looking to convince the client to give them the contract. The objective of the game for consultants is to collect as many problem cards from the client as they possibly can.

All resource cards are shuffled and distributed between consultants, seven cards per person. The remaining cards are placed face down on the table, forming the stock. All problem cards are also placed on the table as a separate pile, face down.

The client starts the game by drawing the top card from the problem card stock. If the client does not like the card he/she drew, they can discard it and pick another card instead. Only one extra card is permitted in each turn.

Once they have picked up their card, the client exposes his/her problem to the consultants. In doing so, he/she can stick to the actual text, or add extra details to contextualise the problem. The red joker card enables the client to formulate their own problem.

The bidding starts. Each consultant selects the best possible solution from the resource cards they have and tries to “sell” it to the client, arguing their cases. Green, blue and yellow joker cards enable consultants to propose their own solutions. Having listened to all possible solutions, the client selects their preferred one by handing their problem card to the chosen consultant.

Each consultant discards the resource card used for this round and draws a new card from the resource stock. The client picks up a new problem card from the problem stock and the process repeats. The game can continue for five-seven rounds or until one consultant acquires three problem cards (and thus three contracts). This person is the winner.

A variation of this game is to change the client on each turn. In this case, all players begin with seven resource cards, though these cannot be used towards a solution when someone takes on the client’s role (i.e. the client cannot choose themselves as the consultant).

Another variation is to encourage the client to share their feedback on all proposals over and above choosing the winner. The feedback does not need to be long (one or two sentences) and works best in a small group.

As the game progresses, solutions tend to become more and more creative, drawing on the resource cards for inspiration, but often going further than the card suggests.

WorkUP™ workout

This is a structured, reflective exercise that can be done in a group or alone. It requires a good understanding of one’s current organisational situation and a good knowledge of the resource card sub-categories below. You do not need to use problem cards for this exercise.

You cannot adapt and fine-tune your workplace interventions unless you know what is going well in this organisation and what is not, the areas of strengths and those of weaknesses.
As the first step, pick up the three descriptor cards from the game and lay them in front of you. Guided by descriptions in this notice (see Section 4), assess which of these resources are well-developed and which ones would need paying attention do. You can give a note from 1 to 10 to simplify your conclusions.

Based on your diagnostic, select the resource sub-categories that you would like to work on (either from a development or enhancement viewpoint) and review suggested practices. Sort the relevant practices into three piles:

• Not appropriate or relevant;

• Already Implemented;

• Could be implemented

Discard the first pile and look through the second one in detail (already implemented). Are these practices working as well as intended? Are these appreciated by the employees? Are there any strategies that are no longer effective? If so, should these be substituted by another strategy or adjusted in one way or another?

Next, go through the “Could be implemented” pile and select the strategies you find particularly relevant and appropriate for your organisation. How would you go about implementing them? Are there any changes or adjustments that need to be made to ensure successful uptake? Do these practices make you think of any other strategies that you might like to try out?

Finish by writing down an action plan that you are excited about and eager to implement.

My best possible organisation

This exercise is best done alone, with a coach or in a very small group of people who know each other well. You do not need to use problem cards for this exercise.

Stretch your hands out in front of you and imagine the following scenario. In one hand you are holding your organisation as it is right now, and in the other hand you are holding your organisation as you would like it to be, the best possible version of it. What are the differences between these two visions? How do people relate to one another? What new structures are there in place, and which old ones are gone? What is the work culture like and what is different about it? Jot down some key themes and notions that capture these differences. These are the building blocks of your vision.

Now, look through the 18 resources below (see section 4 of this guide) and see if any of these correspond to the important themes that came up for you, and can therefore help you reach your best organisational vision. Feel free to review only those resources that directly connect you to your vision. Select the relevant cards and read through these, putting aside those that do not sparkle your interest.

Looking at the most interesting practices, select five to ten that you feel would help you most in achieving your vision. You might want to use these as they are, or to change these somewhat to fit your specific situation better. It is important to be both creative and pragmatic – you should be able to implement these practices without asking for a permission and you should be excited about making these happen. When will you start?

Hot issue

The Hot Issue session is a short sharp activity for someone to share a current problem or challenge with the team and get a set of ideas, solutions, feedback, thoughts from across the group. It allows an individual to bring a challenge to the table and for others to understand that challenge and then generate unlimited ideas for the individual to take away and consider.

Using problem cards or a problem joker, the problem owner shares their current issue with the group and the group helps him/her to define the category or, preferably, categories that the problem belongs to. Next, the group selects all the practices (20 to 40 approx.) corresponding to these categories and lays these out on the table.

Here the cards would serve as a scaffolding for generation of ideas. The cards can give an impulse that can then be built upon. The objective is to walk away with at least five workable ideas that the problem owner is committed to implement.