Steps for the Activity

  1. (5 minutes) Take three pieces of flipchart paper draw up three buckets - one on each sheet. Call the first Incremental, the second Disruptive and the third Game Changing.
  2. (10 minutes) Individually write on post it notes all the activities that have stood out for you over the last year or so - these may be completed projects, current projects or things that are coming up
  3. (35 minutes) As a group discuss where you think the different activities you have written on your post its notes might sit. Here are some definitions to help you:
    • Incremental: An activity that will create incremental change but wont push us in a fundamentally different direction
    • Disruptive: An initiative that is likely to create really change i.e. a marked change in the way we are working that pushes us firmly in the direction of one of the shifts
    • Game changing: Initiatives that change the rules of the game - they are likely to be radically people powered, system changing ideas

    Some projects might not fit in any of them, and some buckets might be empty. The important thing is to be really strict with yourselves about where you put things. Think carefully about whether an activity really is game changing or is it’s actually achieving Incremental or Disruptive change

  4. Take one of the initiatives that is in the Incremental pile and brainstorm ways in which you could make it disruptive or even game changing.

Materials

  • Markers
  • Post-its
  • Flip Chart

Discussion

Allow the group to collectively agree where they think the different activities, past and present, sit across the buckets. If everything is in the game changer bucket then challenge them on whether this really is the case. Get them to be quite strict with themselves about this. You might ask them to come up with an imaginary project that they think would be really game changing.