What is it?

This is a practical, hands-on workshop that teaches a team how to use rapid experiments and real feedback to improve the way they work.

Why is it useful?

This workshop helps your team stop guessing, start testing and build smarter habits that lead to real, measurable improvement.

Objectives

• Learn how to apply Lean Startup principles to personal and team improvement
• Identify and challenge unproductive habits through experimentation
• Practise designing and testing simple, low-risk changes (MVPs)
• Use feedback and data to guide better decisions
• Commit to one individual and one team experiment for the week ahead

Resources Required

• Time: 2 hours
• Number of People: 4-20
• Sticky notes or index cards
• Whiteboard or flip chart
• Markers
• Timer
• Printed handouts (process & summary of Lean Startup principles)

Process

Part 1: Welcome and Setup (10 minutes)

1. Purpose of the session: “Today’s about learning how to test ideas quickly, learn from real data, and grow as a team by working smarter—not just harder.”
2. Lean Startup ideas in plain language:
   • MVP (Minimum Viable Product) = simplest test of an idea
   • Build-Measure-Learn = fast learning loop
   • Validated Learning = using real feedback to improve
   • Pivot or Persevere = adjust when needed
   • Innovation Accounting = set clear metrics to track progress

Part 2: What’s Holding Us Back? (20 minutes)

Activity: Individual Reflection + Group Discussion

1. “What’s one thing in your work you keep doing even though it may not be working?”
   • Write privately on sticky notes.
   • Share a few examples.
   • Cluster them into themes: communication, tools, meetings, unclear priorities, etc.

Part 3: Rapid Experiment Design (30 minutes)

Activity: Turn Problems into MVPs

1. Break into small groups or pairs.
2. Choose one common challenge from earlier (e.g. “meetings feel unproductive”).
3. Questions:
   • What’s the smallest thing we could try this week to improve it?
   • How would we measure if it worked?
4. Design a simple “experiment” to run this week. Example:
   • Change team check-in from 30 mins to 15 mins.
   • Measure: Did we still cover what we needed? Did energy improve?

Part 4: Build-Measure-Learn Simulation (30 minutes)

Activity: Quick Innovation Challenge

1. Task: “Design a new team ritual that boosts learning or connection.”
   • 10 minutes: Create a fast MVP (sketch it, name it, define how you’d test it).
   • 10 minutes: Pitch it to another group and get feedback.
   • 10 minutes: Reflect on what you’d change (the “pivot or persevere” moment).

Part 5: Commit to Learning (20 minutes)

Activity: Personal and Team Commitments

1. Questions:
   • What’s one thing I will experiment with this week in my work?
   • How will I measure if it’s helping?
2. As a team:
   • Agree on one experiment to run together.
   • Set a time to review what you’ve learned.

Part 6: Close and Reflect (10 minutes)

1. Questions:
   • What surprised you today?
   • How did it feel to think like an experimenter?
   • What do you want to take forward?
2. Wrap up with this reminder: “You don’t have to have all the answers—just a way to learn fast.”