is a powerful starting point for rich discussions about strategy and
change. It often points out clear “next steps” that the group needs
to take.
Sometimes the brain dump provides the solution and nothing
more is needed. I facilitated such a session with a group of train-
ing professionals at a Fortune 500 company. Each of the five peo-
ple thought that they were in for a long afternoon of political
intrigue, negotiating, bargaining, and positioning. Their task was
to design and agree on a core curriculum for training the em-
ployees and leaders of the company. In their minds, I would be
facilitating a meeting with debates, conflict, and possibly even
breakdowns.
The result was quite the opposite. I suggested the brain dump
exercise as a way to start. I called the exercise “creating an ‘is’
map”—that is, a map showing us what the territory looks like right
now, what “is.” We went through the process that I just described.
About an hour later, when all the ideas had been sorted into head-
ers and then organized, a solution popped out. The headers had
been arranged chronologically, with a clear map of how to pro-
ceed. First, additional research with employees and leaders must
be conducted, then courses have to be designed to deliver the de-
sired outcomes, measurement systems have to be in place to moni-
tor the progress and success, and a feedback loop has to be estab-
lished so that employees and leaders can participate in continuous
improvement. This solution may seem unremarkable or fairly
obvious to the reader, but it came as a tremendous relief to the five
professionals involved. They didn’t end up in a war with one an-
other. They didn’t even end up in a skirmish. Instead, they were
motivated to divide up the work and focus their energy on the real
task ahead: marketing this proposal to the senior leaders. Which,
I might add, they did successfully. Here is a letter I received, com-
menting on the process:I wanted to take a moment and express my appreciation for all
of the support you have provided to the Education Design and“T” Is for Tools and Techniques 21114-25 ware 211 1/19/01, 1:16 PM