Actionable Books

The Design of Business

Published by Harvard Business Press

---

When we find something we’re successful at (either as individuals and as companies), we can tend to focus our energies there; refining, tweaking and making incremental improvements. The Design of Business shows us the importance of balancing mastery with innovation.

This workshop is designed to help your team shift their thinking to ways in which they can help grow the profits of the business, by making the pursuit of mastery and innovation fun and personal.

Workshop Exercises

1 Lecture (10 minutes) | “In and Out”
A recap of the article, and brief explanation of inner growth (refinement), outer growth (innovation) and the importance of doing both.

2 Group Exercise (15 minutes) | “Personal Algorithms”
Companies, divisions and people are more profitable when they are able to refine “heuristics” into “algorithms”. In this exercise we look at the heuristic and algorithmic elements of your team members responsibilities. Includes discussion.

3 Group Discussion (15 minutes) | “Back to the Beginning”
Encouraging innovative thinking amongst your team members by taking a look at the business success (and challenges) of the last couple years. Asking questions to get their curiosity piqued.

4 Solo Exercise & Discussion (15 minutes) | “Bringing It Home”
Taking the two concepts from the previous exercises and making it actionable for your team members’ current roles in the organization. Brainstorming creative ways to better serve your customers and improve internal efficiencies.

Optional:
5 Wrap Up (5 minutes) | “Get Outside”
Innovation often comes by bringing existing ideas into a new business. We explore different ways to expose ourselves to new ways of thinking. Staff members are encouraged to commit to trying something new this month.