#139: Workshops: When the Best Analysis Is Actually Human Collaboration with Jody Weir

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04/21/20 • 58 min

Sometimes, the best way to get alignment, generate new ideas, hash out different perspectives, or just effectively collaborate is to shift a gathering of peers from being a "meeting run by the organizer" to a "workshop run by a facilitator." Both meetings and workshops should have clear objectives, but workshops, when planned and run well, shift the mindset of the participants even before they arrive in the meeting room (which may make sense to have as a room at an off-site location). On this episode, we chat with master facilitator Jody Weir from THE ICONIC about her experiences, tips, and techniques for running an effective workshop. If you haven't committed to run one by the end of the show, then Michael failed in his role as podcast facilitator. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Previous Episode

#138: Pants-Optional Spreadsheeting: When the Analyst Works Remotely

These are interesting times in which we work, are they not? For many analysts, "remote work" is what they call "every weekday" or, for those who don't have things fully figured out, "every day that ends in 'Y.'" For other analysts, the current pandemic has forced them into being an unplanned — and not necessarily desired — full-time remote worker. Juggling kids, silencing pets, finding a horizontal work surface, and grappling with which pair of sweatpants to don are all the sorts of challenges (opportunities?!) that remote working can bring. On this show, we explore our experiences and thoughts and tips on the topic. Except for Tim, who thinks remote work is like in-office work: "Leave me alone, and just do your job!" For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Next Episode

#140: The Analyst as Cartographer: Customer Journey Mapping with Monica Weiler

The promise of digital—and the steady shift of consumers' interactions with brands to that medium over the course of the past two decades—is that we can now see so much more of what our customers and prospects DO. But, how much does that tell us about who they really are, why they do what they do, and how they feel as they do it? What are they thinking and feeling as they cross between channels, task shift to and from interacting with your brand, and try to move their lives forward in whatever way that matters to them? Customer journey mapping tries to answer those questions: establishing different archetypes and mapping journeys through a combination of qualitative research and quantitative analysis. Would you like to journey further into the topic? Then give this episode a listen as we explore the subject with Dr. Monica Weiler from Stratos Innovation Group! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.