Making change happen

“…distil and process the insights…”

When you’re downloading a whole heap of new and valuable information, space is imperative. Every time we run an event like our recent study trip to Berlin a key piece of feedback is that there always needs to be time to distil and process the insights.

You see, the real value is not in the studio’s visited, the information heard, or the exercises done. It is in the application of these things once back at home.

Everyone is heading back to a busy office, a mountain of emails and a bunch of tasks to be completed. People are busy.

So to have a space in the moment, to synthesise everything and work out what the important actions are back at base BEFORE you get home… well that is absolutely crucial to affecting real change.

So on Day three of our visit to Berlin, participants get a good chunk of time on the final day to reflect, digest and plan their response to all they have seen, heard and experienced.

We give people a framework for planning what they’ll do and how they’ll communicate once they get back home, as well recap some of the headline insights from each of the agencies visited; More Sleep, A Colour Bright, Ogilvy and AJ&Smart, the last visit of our trip – also on day three.

Just to dive into AJ&Smart for a second, they’re a brilliant company who run design sprints. Really, really effective design sprints.

Businesses like Google, Red Bull, eBay, T-Mobile and AXA come to them to create digital products and make things happen more quickly and more effectively.

If you’ve got a few minutes have a peek at this video by their Jonathan, one of their founders.

Delegates told us that at AJSmart and all the other companies, there were so many potentially game changing ideas and insights that the prospect of acting on them was potentially overwhelming! That’s why they all found that space to reflect and plan so important. And from all the positive changes that have happened since at each of the companies, you can see it’s worth it!

The next time you’re provoked, have a go at doing the following:

• Distil – What struck me the most & how do I land it in my context
• Develop – Some messaging to share, engage, involve & release others
• Craft – A plan, setting out names, actions & timings against the above

We’re all keen to see change happen in different areas of our lives. For some, these last few days have been a space to pause, be inspired and make brave decisions.