I’ve had the privilege of leading over 100 workshops throughout my career, collaborating with renowned companies like SAP, Porsche, Nike, and RedBull. Bringing people together to collectively tackle challenges is something I’m genuinely passionate about. I’ve seen the transformative power of workshops.

However, I’ve also noticed a concerning trend that I’d like to address. 🚩

As the world becomes increasingly complex, we seem to be leaning on workshops for every decision. This often stems from uncertainty and the fear of making the wrong decisions. Instead of taking decisive action, we find ourselves caught in a loop of endless workshops. This is particularly true in product development, where we must strike a balance between thoughtful planning and actually building things. ⚖️

Many workshops were initially designed to help teams better understand problems and avoid costly errors. But with the rise of advanced tools and automation, development costs have been significantly reduced. This raises an important question: is it more cost-effective to conduct a series of workshops with highly paid professionals or to deploy a small, nimble team that can quickly ship, learn, and iterate? 🤔

Before initiating any workshop, I now ask myself these 6 crucial questions:

1️⃣ What is the desired outcome of the workshop?

2️⃣ How will this outcome lead to tangible action?

3️⃣ Is there a more effective way to achieve the same outcome?

4️⃣ What are the costs associated with this workshop

5️⃣ Will we derive or make a decision from the workshop?

6️⃣ And finally, is a workshop the best solution for our current challenge?

While workshops are undoubtedly valuable, it’s important not to let them impede our progress. Let’s find the right balance and continue driving innovation forward! 💡