We need an extension program! For those of us working as enablers of change, this can be something we hear when our colleagues are designing a new project. In the past, we might have been asked to add this in once the R&D project components had been developed. But hopefully these days we would be contributing this at the beginning of the process, and ideally co-designing it with end-users… Read more »Designing an effective extension program
Sometimes as Enablers of change we just need a few more ideas to help us plan, design and run our activities. Where do we go when we want more resources and ideas for facilitating? In previous episodes we’ve given you our top five journals, journal articles, blogs, and podcasts. These resources aren’t any of those and so are a bit of an eclectic mix around facilitation and running small… Read more »Five useful facilitation resources
Are you thinking of running a hybrid event where you have attendees both online and physically present in one or more venues? You might think it will give you the best of both worlds, but in this episode we will show you why it is often the worst of both worlds—and what you might be able to do about that! In agriculture our perspective is often that hybrids are usually… Read more »Why hybrid events are often horrible!
Thanks to COVID-19, the prevalence of online meetings has dramatically increased. But unfortunately these are often unsuccessful. In this episode we explore one simple technique to make online meetings more successful, which is strangely connected to people pulling on a rope! One aspect that is often overlooked with online meetings is the role that each attendee plays in ensuring the meeting’s success. Over a hundred years ago, Max Ringelmann,… Read more »One simple technique to improve online meetings
It is now relatively easy to create breakout rooms in several webinar platforms, but what is the ideal group size for them? In this episode we’re going to explore whether it is two or twenty-two, or somewhere in between. John was recently in an online meeting where he was placed in a breakout room with about 20 other people, which was a rather unsatisfying experience for him and we… Read more »What is the ideal group size for a breakout room?
How can we keep the meeting we’re facilitating on-track when everyone keeps going off-track? This is a common problem with both physical and online meetings, and can really derail your progress. In this episode we’re going to talk about jellyfish, those floating blobs of jelly in the ocean, and show you how you can use them to help keep your meeting focused and have some fun too! We all… Read more »Using jellyfish to help keep our meetings on-track
How do you go about designing a robust yet flexible facilitation process? Hopefully you’re not just cobbling together a few random activities, like brainstorming and using dot stickers to vote on the best ideas, and hoping this will do. In case you need some structure and process, in this episode we’re going to explore the FIDO process and help put some bite into your facilitation! Bob Dick wrote the… Read more »Put some bite into your facilitation with FIDO
In this Enablers of change episode we’re going to revisit the Diffusion of innovations theory and explore some of the criticisms it’s received over time. We covered what the theory was in an earlier episode, so if you’re not familiar with the theory, it would be a good idea to start there! In that episode we explored some of the research that helped Rogers describe the diffusion of innovations.… Read more »What’s so wrong with the Diffusion of innovations theory?
You’ve probably heard about the Diffusion of innovations theory and perhaps you’ve realised that you’re not quite sure what it is and what it means for us as enablers of change. You may have heard of Rogers, but have you heard of Ryan and Gross, who actually conducted the initial research? In this episode we’re going to revisit the Diffusion of innovations theory. It’s been central to a great deal… Read more »What is the Diffusion of innovations theory?
What’s one simple thing you could do to improve your productivity and make better decisions? In this post we’re going to explore the benefits of scheduling breaks into your day. John enjoyed reading Daniel Pink’s book When: The scientific secrets of perfect timing. It draws upon research from psychology, biology and economics, to reveal the best time to do various activities. Are you a coffee drinker? If you are,… Read more »Take a break and increase your productivity