Michael Fearne

[Michael Fearne]

Sorry that last post was a little more direct than I intended. Danger of belting out a post on your way out the door at 5pm!

Anyway what I was trying to say (somewhat ineloquently) was that in client interactions I’ve found the best thing to do is get them building and experiencing LSP.

That’s the evidence you and they are looking for. A client forming their own judgement on whether the method will work for them in their situation.

By doing lots of LSP (even mini sessions) you get the added benefit of improving your skills in it and building up a portfolio of examples. “I used it with this client, for this reason and got these results”. More great evidence for future potential clients.

You’ll also get more confident talking about the method as well.

With the client having first hand experience of the method, hearing your recent examples and your confidence they’re more likely to say yes.

And it starts to create this virtuous cycle where more people say yes, which gives you more examples and more confidence, which leads to more people saying yes.

You just have to kick start that cycle. And that can be hard. I had to do free sessions for a while and now it still takes effort to keep that cycle going. But the rewards are immense when you see how well the method works and the results the clients get.

[Michael Fearne]

Great discussion in here, thank you everyone.

I wouldn’t put much stock in Dan’s views, numbers or anything else. Clearly has a chip on his shoulder and an agenda to push with his book. I’m not wasting any more breath/words on him.

As to how to talk about LSP and the challenges that some of you are facing in getting clients to use LSP, I’m not surprised.

Think about it for a minute, we’re trying to get business people to do something different, play with LEGO at work and achieve a real business outcome. That sounds ludicrous! It should be difficult to convince people.

We know the method works, but the answer is not about outcomes or scientific evidence or big data. All of those are noble goals, should be pursued and can play a role in the bigger LSP story. But they aren’t the thing that will change your client’s mind.

The key to getting people to use LEGO Serious Play is to get them experiencing LEGO Serious Play.

I’ve had the most success with clients when I’ve run mini sessions with them so they could experience LSP for themselves.

Bring the LEGO to your meetings with clients and run a quick session. Tell them you’ll run a “Lunch and Learn” for their team to test it out. Use the word “pilot” to take the risk out of it.

It’s a lot more work up front to do that but it works surprisingly well.

But there are some people / clients who still won’t want to do it. And so I move on to other clients. I have that luxury. There are plenty of other people/clients out there that are innovative and looking for a method to help them.

So if you’re having trouble with LSP and clients there really is only two elements to it. Either the way you’re talking about it or the clients you have. Both are under your control and changeable.

Don’t wait for the “research” train to come in. I know work is happening and I’ll be happy when it arrives, but in the meantime I want to run LSP sessions and help people.

[Michael Fearne]

Hi Marc,

Nice to meet a fellow Australian wanting to get trained up in LEGO Serious Play.

To give you the full picture of LSP training in Australia, to my knowledge there are three main trainers here.

MCI – Denise who responded above.

Pivotal Play – That’s the company that I run. We’re based in Melbourne and run both client workshops and also train / certify people to run the workshops themselves. You can find out more at http://www.pivotalplay.com.au

Play Academy – And lastly there is Catherine Ryan who runs the Play Academy, also Melbourne based (www.playacademy.com.au).

I know all the programs relatively well. I’ve taken Denise’s course, I obviously run my one and I’ve spoken in depth with Catherine.

The good news is they are all great! And you’ll come out from any of them being able to run some fantastic LSP workshops.

My advice on making the choice is always to chat with the facilitator who will be taking it. See if they match your vibe. Ask questions about tailoring the program to suit your needs / use cases. And lastly what support is there ongoing to make sure your workshops are a success.

On the location, obviously Denise is local. I’m happy to fly up to Sydney and run it at no extra cost to you. And as for Catherine you’ll have to chat with her.

Good luck and whichever course you chose I hope to see you here and in the Facebook group sharing all the awesome things you’re using LSP for!

Cheers

Michael Fearne

[Michael Fearne]

Sounds good everyone. I’d love to be involved. Best email is: michael@michaelfearne.com

Thanks

[Michael Fearne]

Hi Rob,

I’ve used the Build to Express Kits. They’re great. In some respects they’re better than the starter kits. They have more of the little pieces like tools and a big base plate. But they don’t have the big duplo blocks that the starter kit does.

Overall they are a fine substitute when the starter kits aren’t available.

Cheers

Michael

[Michael Fearne]

Great to see you took the plunge Rob! Count me in. I’ll send you my details.

[Michael Fearne]

Hi Luc,

The good news is you’re getting meetings, you’re doing demo’s and they are understanding and seeing value in the method… up to a point.

From what you said the real problem is taking that next step and showing how it can solve major strategic issues. If you can show that, then the other issue of the method being perceived as a toy should melt away.

Is one option to do a 1/2 day or full day with a group that is just below this “top management”. Prove the method with this group, addressing a major strategic issue they are facing. It’s “safer” for the client and allows them to see the value and overcome the reservations they have about bringing it to top management.

On the other hand, sometimes you just need to cut your loses with clients. Some clients are just not ready and perhaps never will be. Trying to force through a solution doesn’t really lead to long term productive partnerships.

The judgement on when to push and when to put your energy into other clients is a defining one in business.

Hope that helps.

Michael

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