Square Wheels®

# 

# LARGE Group Delivery Option

There are any number of ways we might structure large group interactions
to benefit by a Square Wheels presentation. It works about as well as
anything I have seen, lends itself to other processing technologies
(like Open Space) and is quite flexible. I will outline three different
structures briefly.

The basic situation is for a large group -- let's say 20 round tables of
6 people each. You might also want to have a few extra tables set at the
back just in case. We'll come back to this later.

A key, though, is the *round* tables. This interaction does not work
nearly as well with rows ("classroom style" or in an auditorium, where
the set of the room generates an expectation of lecture, I think.). For
a variety of reasons, I prefer round tables of 5 to 6 chairs. Crescents
work well at the large rounds (normally seating 10 to 12 for lunch). A
BIG screen and lots of wall space are also positives.

Seating is generally open and random, not assigned.

**The Work Session**

Prior to the session, we would work with a task force or the leadership
team to define 25 to 30 key issues (aka Square Wheels). The goal is to
identify as many *real* issues of potential improvement or concern as
possible. These would be the subjects of work for groups of 5 to 6
people in the working part of the agenda.

Plenty of wall space and walk-around room is also useful.

The session would start with an introductory Keynote kind of overview or
presentation on Square Wheels, organizational issues, themes of quality,
productivity and/or teamwork. There are lots of ideas about this on the
website, in other SW newsletters, etc.

The goal of this segment would be to introduce the basic themes, play
with the concepts, and generate a sense of teamwork, participation and
involvement. This chunk will take from 60 to 90 minutes and linked to
desired outcomes.

At the end of the intro, instruct the groups on how the rest of the work
session will be structured so that they return ready to work. Set clear
expectations that they are expected to share their ideas to help address
issues and opportunities.

Break here

Teams reassemble and find the aforementioned **Key** Square Wheels
posted around the room on easel pad sheets (2 sheets for each). On each
table would be copies of the complete list of these Key Issues, numbered
and paired (2 of each) in sequence clockwise around the room \-- the
idea is to make the location of each relatively easy to find.

Thus begins the Open Space Feeding Frenzy!

One option allows individuals to move freely and reform teams on the
specific issues / areas of interest by having people standing at the
easel pad page / Square Wheel of their choice. Another option has you
asking each tabletop to discuss the possibilities and then select one on
which they would like to work as a team. Either way works fine but if
you want people to meet *new* people in the organization, you can
suggest that those people sitting at a tabletop NOT work together.
Otherwise, old friends tend to sit together. That is okay as a work
dynamic; either way.

(As a general rule, I do NOT like assigned seating. The more paranoid
among us may spend the whole time wondering why *you* assigned *them* to
sit with *those* people and not focus much attention at all on the
subject matter \<grin\>.)

If you are working as a team, ask each of the tables to identify a
particular **Key Issue** that they would like to work on and to then go
to that worksheet, remove it from the wall and take it back to the
table.

Another option simply has individuals selecting an issue on which they
would like to work. Since there are pairs of issues posted on the walls,
you could then allow teams of no more than 6 people to get together,
take that easel pad sheet and find an open table. (You should ask each
person to either put their personal things along the walls or to take
them with them when they go to the walls. For practical reasons, limit
the number of people on a team to 6; since there are 2 of each Key Issue
around the room, a group of 10 might split into two groups of 5 people
each.

In all likelihood, we would expect a few of the tabletop members to move
toward the same theme but it is designed to be totally random. People
can select what they want to work on.

From that selection process, this new team of 5 or 6 people will find a
tabletop and begin to generate 3 or 4 Round Wheel solutions (not just a
single one). They will have about 45 minutes for this activity but we
will give them as much time as they need.

You may want to use the **Fast Networks Exercise**. You can find this on
our website. ([click
here](http://www.squarewheels.com/scottswriting/mission.html))

Generally, this scenario works well and generates a high level of
involvement. On occasion, however, one or more teams may not find an
issue that they really want to work on. What I do is wander around and
confirm that they have a topic of interest. If not, allow them to create
one of their own.

The end result is that we have 25 (or so) tables of 5 to 6 people each
working on an issue of their choice, generating ideas about what can be
improved. We will also give teams the option of either working on the
Key Issue they selected OR producing one of their own that they find of
more interest. This prevents a team from having to work on something in
which they have little interest.

Once this gets near completion, we give each person a number of Red dots
-- 5 or 6 in all likelihood. Voting on any issue other than their own,
they can cast their votes around the room for any issue that they feel
"most important" to address. Once teams begin voting the red dots, we
will then distribute Yellow Dots to each table -- these votes would be
tied to the "most political / most difficult" and would represent "The
Mud" that we would be expected to address should these issues be
selected.

Looking at the patterns, we see the most important and see the ones that
have the most concern. You can also have them vote Blue or Green Dots on
solutions.

Each person would then be given a "name badge" (yellow sticky) that they
can stick to The Issue that they would like to focus on themselves. You
have a lot of options

There are a couple of other ways to arrange this scenario but this is
the basic flow I build on.