Instructions

When you don’t feel comfortable speaking up, you can choose an icon to speak for you.  Look through the questions on the icons to find the questions you would like to ask your group, and than ask your associates to imagine what that icon would say in your situation.  For instance, Steve Jobs is a good icon to use when you are concerned about quality and Warren Buffet about risks.  Then simply ask, “What would Steve Jobs say about our product?” 

Use the icons at the start of a project or with a team to understand each person’s default behaviors and identify potential conflicts.  Each person chooses three cards: one that best represents her, one that she would most like to work with on the project, and one she would least like to work with. Each discusses their picks and agrees to actions for working together.

At the end of the meeting, each participant, including the meeting leader, chooses a card, either randomly or deliberately, and takes turns providing feedback in the manner of the personality. Alternately, the meeting leader can choose cards at random and ask participants for feedback in that leader’s perspective.

During brainstorming, choose cards at random and generate ideas as the icons.  Alternately, meeting members can choose one or more icons to role play during the meeting in order to generate ideas.  

Each person sifts through the icons and chooses a personality who represents their point of view. This can occur before or during the beginning of the meeting. Each party takes a turn presenting their icon, and they discuss what the icon would say or do in the current situation, making a note of different values, beliefs, and approaches.  If no compromise or resolution seems apparent, choose other icons who exemplify common values to discuss to help bring resolution.

Review the learning objectives listed under the icons to choose what to learn and from whom.  Once chosen, review the activities alone, activities with others, and the behavior sections to find the activities and behaviors to help you learn that skill.  Note that presentation and meeting facilitation skills are broken out under the behaviors section.