A proposal
- We propose…
- Done by…
- For…
- Starting from…
Turning a seminar’s commitments into dated proposals
Mutuelle LisandreInvented name
A few months earlier, the managers of an IT department had made commitments. This day had to show what had really changed, then move forward on two issues: productivity and the relationship with the business. In the morning, teams shared their practices. In the afternoon, they turned six challenges into concrete proposals, each with an owner and a starting point.
- Sector
- Mutual health insurance, IT department
- Size
- A community of several dozen managers
- Format
- One day
- In the room
- The managers and leaders of an IT department, about ten teams, with newcomers who had not attended the previous seminar.
Context
- A first seminar had set commitments for each team. They needed to check whether those had held.
- The IT department has to become more productive, control its costs, take on AI and become a real partner to the business.
- The journey was designed with a partner firm. Flow Design handled the run sheet, production, signage and facilitation on the day.
The challenge
Stop the second seminar from repeating the first. It had to start from the ground, from what had changed, and end with proposals precise enough to be launched, not with a new list of intentions.
The design
Key ideas
A replay for newcomers
At the start, a reminder of the previous seminar lets newcomers catch up without slowing the others down.
Practices before ideas
Each team presents a practice it has put in place, its effects on the team, quality and customer relations, and why it is worth passing on. The day starts from evidence.
Gains and pains
In the afternoon, six challenges split into two themes, productivity and customer relations. Each group works on expected gains and pains, then frames challenges as “How might we…”.
Bees and keepers
Halfway through, four “bees” from each group go and visit the others while two “keepers” stay behind to welcome visitors. A “phone a friend” option lets them call in an expert from another group.
Proposals as gifts
Each group keeps three proposals and writes them on cards: we propose, done by, for, starting from. Then a ninety-second pitch.
An in-house welcome team
Staff from the organisation are trained to run the welcome, the cloakroom and wayfinding. The seminar is also run by its own people.
How the time was used
- Open
- Explore
- Decide
- Celebrate
MorningOpen
Welcome and replay
Badges, cloakroom, then the reminder of the previous seminar.
Explore
Practices put in place
By team: the practice, its effects, why pass it on.
Explore
Sharing in plenary
Practices travel between teams.
NoonOpen
Lunch
Teams regroup by challenge.
AfternoonExplore
Gains and pains
Six challenges, two themes, questions framed as “How might we…”.
Explore
Bees and keepers
Some visit, others welcome, with a phone-a-friend if needed.
Decide
Three proposals
On cards: what, by whom, for whom, starting from what.
Celebrate
Pitches
Ninety seconds per group.
The seminar in miniature
01MorningIn plenary
An in-house welcome
Badges, cloakroom, wayfinding: the welcome is run by the organisation’s own staff, trained for the day. Before the first session even starts, managers are greeted by colleagues. The seminar is also carried by the people who live it.
02In plenary
The replay
On the big screen, a reminder of the previous seminar and the commitments each team made. Newcomers who missed it the first time catch up without slowing the others down. Everyone starts from the same page.
03In plenary
Practices in place
One table per team. Each presents a practice that has really taken hold since the last seminar: capacity planning built together, AI in daily work, protected team time… Its effects on the team, quality and customer relations, and why it is worth passing on. Then the practices travel in plenary: the day starts from evidence.
04NoonIn the foyer
Lunch
In the foyer, people leave their home team behind. Tables regroup around the afternoon’s challenges, so that each group mixes teams who do not work together day to day.
05AfternoonIn plenary
Gains and pains
Six challenges split into two themes, productivity and the relationship with the business, each taken up by two islands. Each group lays out the expected gains and the everyday pains, then reframes it all as “How might we…” questions. Complaints become challenges you can tackle.
Expected gains
Pains
How might we…?
06In plenary
Bees and keepers
Halfway through, four “bees” from each group fly off to gather ideas from the other islands, while two “keepers” stay behind to welcome visitors and walk them through the work. A “phone a friend” option also lets a group call in an expert from another table.
07In plenary
Three proposals
Back at its island, each group sorts what it has gathered and keeps only three proposals. Each one goes on a card, like a gift: what we propose, who does it, for whom, and starting from when. A proposal that says “done by” is already half launched.
We propose: …
Done by: …
For: …
Starting from: …
08In plenary
Pitches
On stage, ninety seconds per group to present its three proposals to the whole management community. A short, tight format: each challenge leaves with owners, beneficiaries and a starting point, not with another list of intentions.
The materials, redrawn
Bees and keepers
- Keepers: stay and host
- Bees: go and gather
A proposal like a gift
Then a short pitch per group
Deliverables and follow-up
- A collection of each team’s practices, with concrete examples: capacity planning built together, an accountability charter, AI in daily work, protected team time, moments to share successes.
- Proposals for each challenge, each with its owners, its beneficiaries and a starting point.
- All the day’s production: templates, signage, badges and run sheet.
What we take away
- A follow-up seminar starts with evidence. Sharing what has been done gives credibility to what is about to be promised.
- A proposal that says “done by” and “starting from” is already half launched.
- When a partner firm owns the journey, our job is to make the day flow and the production flawless, so the substance comes through.
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