Power of Imagination Studio: A Further Development of the Future Workshop Concept

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adaptable methods

tle is transformed into a community bus eating up money, demonstrating the idea of cost reduction . . . and the imagining continues.



Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Power of Imagination Studio?

The starting point for a Power of Imagination Studio—a unique style of Future Workshop—is a serious topic indeed. A studio moderation team acts as a midwife, responsible for the

process that shepherds the birth of something new. Participants create the content, the topics,

and categories that come into being during the process. Once these are born, the participants are

responsible for the ongoing life of the results.

The process works from the belief that the people affected have the capacities they need for

change. They are the experts responsible for finding a solution and changing their lives and work

environments. External consulting—even trendsetting technical lectures to “prep” participants—

is unnecessary. All are treated as equals regardless of position, age, or experience.

A space is provided for a wide spectrum of applications: bringing together different opinions

and strengths, awakening slumbering creativity, or supporting self-organization in social groups.

Participants mix in different groups and connections, working with questions that matter to them.

The Future Workshop (“Zukunftswerkstatt”) originated in the peace efforts of its inventor,

Robert Jungk. The Power of Imagination Studio builds on the Future Workshop concept by using

the individual and collective shifts that come through creativity.

How Does the Power of Imagination Studio Work?

The theme of the process is established beforehand with the specifics unfolding as participants travel through three phases.

In phase one, participants name their issues and problems, freeing themselves of this burden. The complaint and criticism phase brings worry, dissatisfaction, and fears into the foreground

so that they can be understood and form the basis for starting anew. This work generates appreciation for the way things are that can move a paralyzed situation symbolically toward the future.

The second phase is the imagination and metopia phase, in which “thought landscapes” and

ideals are formed. Metopia,1 derived from the Greek word for “implementable nonexistent place,”

is an idea about a near future falling under the participants’ influence, but not fitting within the

horizon of rational analytical thought. Artwork, games, and stories are invented and presented

through the use of theatre and the arts. The group selects the most unusual, incomprehensible,

and fanciful mental images for the most exciting step of all. The chosen ideas are carefully “translated” into ordinary language. Thus, a bridge fashioned from wood, yarn, and fragments of glass

symbolizes improved cooperation, a translation of their desire for greater collaboration as the

future they wish to create.

The third phase requires the best of participants’ thinking and negotiating skills. In the

implementation and practical phase, parallel groups work through the chosen themes, clarifying



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269



their strengths and intentions and planning their next steps. Good planning is critical, as it gives

participants the time to complete a planning instrument that can guide them after the gathering.2

Periodically, participants review each other’s plans, making any necessary corrections to their

goal or creating a new one.3 At the end of the process, creative and sustainable projects exist with

established work groups and plans on how to proceed (see figure 1).



Figure 1. Power of Imagination Studio Process



The Role of Emotions and Attitudes

This group process works through experiencing “aha’s”—surprising insights—and

through discovering common dreams. This happens not only intellectually, but also emotionally.

Participants become aware that they can change the future, in fact, that they can envision several

viable alternatives. They open up creative space together, negotiate agreements on specific steps

and changes, and anchor personal interests in common objectives.



Table of Uses

Typical Setting



Time Required



Project Steps



Participants



Organization

Improving cooperation between volunteer and fulltime workers



6 months



Consulting, conference design, invitation concept,

initial talks with the regional head



2 customers ϩ 2 facilitators



Teambuilding / method

design



1 customer ϩ 2 facilitators



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adaptable methods



Typical Setting

Organization

Improving cooperation between volunteer and fulltime workers (cont.)



Specialists from Different

Education Associations

Developing a training concept for dealing with

money/debt



Department Head and

Project Managers of a Consulting Firm

Strategy day: security and

profile development



Residents, City Council, and

Politicians

District planning in a major urban city



Time Required



Project Steps



Participants



Invitation design



25 key customers ϩ 2 facilitators



3 days



Workshop



130 participants ϩ 8 facilitators



3 months



Documentation ϩ evaluation



1 customer ϩ 2 facilitators



4 months



Half day: initial talks, first

workshop, conference design, invitation concept



1 customer ϩ 6 multiplicators ϩ 2 facilitators



1 day



Second workshop



65 specialists ϩ 3 facilitators



2 months



Documentation ϩ evaluation



1 customer ϩ 2 facilitators



2 weeks



Initial talks, topic probe,

concept



2 customers ϩ 2 facilitators



1 day



Workshop



15 managers ϩ 2 facilitators



3 weeks



Documentation ϩ evaluation



1 customer ϩ 1 facilitator



2.5 months



Design with local administration and town residents



2 customers ϩ 2 facilitators



Weekly half-day mobile office in the district



250 residents ϩ 4 facilitators



Half day



First workshop (issue definition)



60 residents ϩ 4 facilitators



2 days



Second workshop (project

development)



70 residents ϩ 6 municipal planners ϩ 5 facilitators



2 months



Consulting/support for 8

project groups



70 residents ϩ 2 facilitators



Half day



Third workshop (project

presentation)



80 participants ϩ 3 facilitators



4 weeks



Evaluation



10 municipal planners ϩ 4

facilitators



power of imagination studio



About the Authors

Petra Eickhoff (zukunft-2004@web.de) has her degree in business management (Leipzig) and

lives in Cologne (Germany). She is a trainer for business, service, and logistic, professional, and

preprofessional development. She is an executive of an association for democratic future design

and cofounder of the Future Workshop group, Jena (Thuringia). Her interest is philosophical and

political issues about social society after opening of the German Wall. She is certified as an operational trainer and team coach. Topics: Supporting self-organizing groups, strengthening women

starting businesses, designing participatory and international conferences.

Stephan G. Geffers (zukunft-2004@web.de) has his degree in computer science (Berlin) and lives

in Cologne (Germany). He is a senior consultant for technical and human networking and a

cofounder of the Future Workshop facilitators’ circle (North Rhine-Westphalia). He worked with

the inventors of the Future Workshop, Robert Jungk and Norbert R. Muellert, from 1986 to 1988.

He is a certified project manager, and has written reports for federal government, urban authority, and business management. Topics: Technology assessment, environmental city development;

media learning, school identity programs; techniques of macro-visualization, and international

dissemination of participatory concepts.



Where to Go for More Information

Reference

Jungk, Robert, and Norbert R. Muellert. Future Workshops—Ways for Reviving Democracy/Use

Fantasy to Break Routine and Resignation. 1st ed., Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe, 1981;

3rd ed., Munich: 1989. [In German.]

Organizations

Robert-Jungk-Bibliothek fuer Zukunftsfragen (Library of Future Concerns)—www.jungk

-bibliothek.at

Publisher of ProZukunft magazine, Robert-Jungk-Platz 1, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria.

Vernetzung von Zukunftswerkstätten—www.zwnetz.de

An invitation to network in everything related to social creativity, engagement, and the participatory and democratic shaping of the future. Platform for ideas about Future Workshop and

Power of Imagination Studio.

Conceptual support: Annegret Franz, Axel Weige; translated by Jonathan Mark Dowling.

1. Utopia is defined as an impossible place. A metopia can be implemented as a transition toward a desired

state and is always within a field of potential development. [Open Theory Project: “Jetzt erst recht! Auf der



271



272



adaptable methods

Suche nach einer anderen Zukunft” (Right now: In Search of Another Future), Annette Schlemm, maintainer, 2005.]

2. During the planning cycle, participants decide: (1) their goals; (2) their resources for reaching their goals;

(3) the steps of their plan; and (4) their agreements (contract) for implementation.

3. This approach was adapted from Whole-Scale Change (chapter 11).



27

robert “jake” jacobs



Real-Time Strategic Change

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the

people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise

their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from

them, but to inform their discretion.

—Thomas Jefferson



Collaborating Instead of Competing

In New York City, 1.1 million children require care after school, on weekends, holidays, and during the summer. Several city agencies have overseen these critical, yet complex services. They

have relied on multiple funding streams. There has been great need for consistent, high-quality

care. Collaboration in the past had been low. Out of School (OST) programs in the city have

been principally provided by several hundred nonprofit agencies and community-based organizations. Each of these multiple stakeholders has competing needs, since there is a fixed sum of

money to allocate. Though all are well intentioned, they have suffered from a lack of alignment.

The need to make fast and lasting change has been clear.

During a six-month process, representatives from each of these stakeholder groups met

in a series of large group Real-Time Strategic Change (RTSC) events, subgroup working sessions, and leadership team meetings. They realized they shared common challenges. They

learned they could better serve the children of the city by collaborating instead of competing.

They agreed on a vision, goals, and guiding principles for all OST care throughout the city.

Today, city agencies, foundations, and nonprofit service providers have developed a coherent

OST system that provides a consistent level of excellent care for the children of New York

City.



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adaptable methods



Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Real-Time Strategic Change?

RTSC is an approach that enables people to claim the future they deserve—faster than they

ever believed possible. Its focus and methods have evolved in three generations over the past

decade:

• First Generation: Characterized by a focus on RTSC events. These large group, “roll up the

sleeves” working sessions were attended by 10–2,000+ people. The purpose of RTSC at this

stage was to build organization-wide alignment, commitment, and action that created lasting change.

• Second Generation: Characterized by extending the focus from events to also include the

application of RTSC as a way of doing business on a daily basis. Six core principles formed

RTSC’s foundation—the solid and fixed basis of the approach. The six RTSC principles

supported lasting change because they provided guidance in any situation—for change

work and for daily work as well.

• Third Generation: Characterized by extending the focus from events and principles to also

understanding these principles as key polarities. The more effectively organizations manage these polarities or dilemmas, the faster and more sustainable the future they deserve.

Why Does It Work?

RTSC shines a spotlight on six of these dilemmas that when taken together, enable people

to create their future, faster. Each of the RTSC principles manages a specific tension or polarity

(table 1).



X



Principle



Tension/Polarity Managed



Higher Purpose Achieved



Reality as Key Driver



Internal and External Realities



Informed Decisions



Empower and Engage



Participation and Direction



Clarity and Commitment



Preferred Future



Best of the Past and a Compelling Future



Excitement and Energy



Build Understanding



Inquiry and Advocacy



Aligned Action



Create Community



Allegiance to Your Part and the Entire Organization



Effective Collaboration



RealTime



Planning for the Future and Thinking and Acting as if

the Future Were Now



Claiming Your Future, Faster



Table 1. The Principles of RTSC



real-time strategic change

When and Where Is It Used?

RTSC helps to make big things happen fast. If the situation fits the following three criteria,

Real-Time Strategic Change is a path to pursue:

1. Multiple stakeholders have competing needs

2. Aligned action is required

3. Results need to be achieved in radically reduced time frames

How Does It Work?

There are three phases to RTSC work: Scoping Possibilities, Developing and Aligning Leadership, and Creating Organizational Congruence. Figure 1 shows how RTSC becomes part of an

organization’s daily work. Each phase of work leads to desired ways of doing business that ultimately deliver sustained results.



ke

ho

lde

rs



Real Time



Preferred

Future



Desired Ways

of Doing

Business



Scoping

Possibilities



Int



ern

al



Sta



Create

Community



Real Time

Strategic

Change

Creating

Organizational

Congruence



Developing

and Aligning

Leadership



Empower and

Engage



Reality Is a

Key Driver

The Organization/Community



Build Common

Understanding



Figure 1. How RTSC Works—Achieving Sustainable Organizational Performance



275



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adaptable methods

Scoping Possibilities is about crafting a clear, considered plan for the future. It energizes

people with many possibilities for moving forward. This expansive mode complements the focus

people require to create a unique pathway that fits their organization’s culture, needs, and constraints. For most organizations, creating their own road map is significant evidence of doing

business in a new way and symbolizes the power and possibilities of the collective.

Developing and Aligning Leadership is about building leadership competencies and commitment required to succeed. These capabilities can be grown in a number of possible settings: largescale events, smaller retreats, action learning initiatives, individual reflection and coaching sessions,

and training, as well as through daily work with other leaders and the larger organization. These

efforts focus on developing a preferred and consistent leadership style, strategy alignment, and a

range of skills including leading and supporting implementation of desired ways of doing business.

Creating Organizational Congruence is about engaging the entire organization in developing a solid fit between strategies, actions, processes, systems, practices, and culture. This phase

begins with communicating to people the purpose, scope, scale, and plan. Support initiatives for

change typically include RTSC events as well as teams, task forces, processes, and methods suited

to the particular initiative. Over time, what gets learned in this phase translates into better ways of

thinking and acting on a daily basis.



Table of Uses

Typical Setting



Key Events



Number of Participants



Presenting Issue:

Mobil’s 1,200-person Gulf of

Mexico business unit was

trapped in a vicious 5-year cycle:

Poor performance led to less corporate investment that resulted

in fewer growth opportunities

that in turn became a cause of

its poor performance.

Outcomes:

• Business unit reorganized

around core processes

• Return on fixed assets increased 18 percent



Scoping Possibilities

• 2-day Retreat to set goals and

parameters

• 5-day Change Effort Road Map

Meeting



• Top management and union

leaders (22 people)

• Microcosm of the organization

(37 people)



• Cycle time reductions saved

$30 million

• Capital spending overage

dropped from $70 million to

zero



Leadership Alignment

• 2-day Leadership Alignment

Event

Creating Organizational

Congruence

• 3-day ‘‘Big Event’’ to prioritize

actions to save the business

• 3-day Project Planning Meeting

to translate priorities into 6

key business processes



• Formal and informal leaders

needed for effort to succeed

(300 people)



• Entire organization except for

skeletal crews to keep wells

working (1,000 people)

• Representatives from ‘‘Big

Event’’ and project planners

(40 people)



real-time strategic change

Typical Setting



Key Events



Number of Participants



• A new business was generating

$12M and had led to a 30 percent reduction in a major recurring expenditure

• 5 deep-water leases were secured—a first for the business

• A culture of mistrust and parochialism was transformed to

one of collaboration



• 4 months to complete planning

and implementation of changes



• Core team members (50 people) plus relevant others depending on changes to be

made (1,200 people)



About the Author

Robert “Jake” Jacobs (rwj@rwjacobs.com) has a 20-year track record helping organizations

achieve fast, lasting, systemwide change. His clients have included American Express, Corning,

Ford, Home Depot, Marriott, Mobil, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Shell, and the City of New York.

Jake’s first book, Real Time Strategic Change: How to Involve an Entire Organization in Fast and

Far-Reaching Change (Berrett-Koehler, 1994), taught readers the principles and practices of Large

Group Engagement. He coauthored his latest book, You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: How to Involve

Others to Get Things Done, which was reviewed in the New York Times as “a complete blueprint on

involvement” and “the best of the current crop of books on this topic.”



Where to Go for More Information

References

Jacobs, Robert. Real Time Strategic Change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1998.

Johnson, Barry. Polarity Management. Amherst, MA: HRD Press, 1992.

Weisbord, Marvin. Productive Workplaces. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1987.

Organization

Robert W. Jacobs Consulting—www.rwjacobs.com



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28

catherine perme and alan klein



SimuReal

Action Learning in Hyperdrive

Where you sit is where you stand.

—Anonymous



Reorganize People

Columbus Regional Hospital wanted to reorganize its medical and administrative personnel

around several service lines. The management team was concerned that staff members would see

this as a veiled attempt to reorganize people out of their jobs. They wanted real input from their

staff and wanted their staff to view this situation from a systemic rather than an individualistic

point of view. As a result, they chose SimuReal to help develop several viable alternatives for their

restructuring plan.

A cross-functional Design Team focused the task for the SimuReal event and created a map

of the organization (a bird’s-eye view of formal and informal relationships) from which the

starting seating plan would be created. Finally, a cross-functional, “diagonal slice” of the organization formed an Integration Team. They participated in the event and took the various strategies and ideas generated and refined them into a workable plan.

The participants arrived to find a large room with circles of chairs marked with names of

various parts of the organization. These circles would serve as their beginning points. The participants were informed that they had the entire day to work together through three Action Periods, during which they would be free to work on the task in whatever manner suited them.

Following each Action Period would be a short Analysis Period, during which the entire group

would step back and reflect on what happened, share observations and insights, and make suggestions for the next Action Session.