Format

The Peers ThinkTank takes the form of a facilitated on-line think tank session on a specific critical business issue.

The goal of the session is to give new tools, ideas and perspectives to leaders to increase their and their organization’s performance.

The Peers ThinkTank Process

  1. Leaders (Peers) are asked to take a position in relation to a thought provoking article on a critical business issue 
  2. Leaders are asked to express their opinions and experiences supporting their opinions in real time using a group intelligence application (ThinkTank by Group Systems) so that their peers can learn and benefit from them
  3. The leaders are invited to challenge each other's points of view and explore possibilities
  4. The 2.5 hour session ends by reviewing the participants’ level of learning and transformation

Each Peers ThinkTank session counts:

  • 10 to 20 participants or peers
    • All participants are peers in similar roles, expertise level, level of authority, responsibility and accountability
    • No consultants are present in the Peers ThinkTank sessions
    • The participants’ requests for participation in the session are evaluated (sometimes requiring a short interview) in order to insure an enriching experience for all participants
  • 1 subject matter expert (the writer of the start-up article)
    • The subject matter expert does NOT participate to the session as a peer
  • 1 facilitator to guide the participants
    • Very often, the subject matter expert will be the facilitator
  • 1 facilitator assistant
    • To help with the technology and the process of the session

Peers ThinkTank Session Guidelines

Expand your mind, challenge your thoughts, experience and ideas
Come to the session with the objective to expand yourself and gain new insights

Share from your own experience (with specificity)
Each participant's contribution is based upon what he or she has experienced, not upon what he or she has read or heard

Express your thoughts clearly and concisely
It is the responsibility of all participants to express their thoughts as clearly and concisely as possible, so that everyone is able to build on the ideas contributed by others earlier in the session

Support your opinions and ideas with specific and concrete personal examples
The peers’ specific examples must be from their own experience (not from what he or she has read or heard)

Challenge your peers’ focus, ideas, beliefs and thoughts, NOT their experiences
All of our experiences are real. They are made real by our focus and beliefs. What can be challenged are the focus and beliefs that made these experiences real. Challenge your peers by offering how a new focus or perspective may have changed the outcome. Support your “challenge” with a specific example from your own experience

Participate in the entire session
It is important and rewarding to participate in the whole session, even if there is disagreement. No one should leave early or cease participating before the end of the session

Act on your session’s insights and ideas
An idea or insight is as good as what you do with it. The only way to get the most of the Peers ThinkTank session is to take action and deploy the insights and ideas that came out of the session