This consensus arrangement activity requires the participants to discuss checklist items related to effective business planning. In striving to arrive at a consensus, the members of the group better understand the cost and benefits of different pieces of advice.

Synopsis

The participants individually study a checklist for effective business planning. They rearrange the checklist items in order of their usefulness. Working as a group, the participants share and discuss their individual sequence and arrive at a consensus sequence. They compare their sequence with that of a group of experts and make appropriate changes.

Purpose

To prioritize checklist items for effective business planning.

Participants

Minimum: 2
Maximum: 8
Best: 4 to 6
Larger numbers of participants can be organized into smaller groups.

Time

20 to 40 minutes

Handouts

Alphabetical Checklist. Alphabetized list of seven pieces of advice for effective business planning.
Expert Checklist. List of seven pieces of advice for effective business planning, arranged according to experts’ opinion of their usefulness.

Equipment

Timer
Whistle

Preparation

Prepare a checklist. Review books, articles, and research reports on effective business planning. Interview experts on this subject. Write seven pieces of practical advice making sure that each one is different from the others. Arrange these pieces of advice in an alphabetical order. Print copies of this document as a numbered checklist.

Ask experts to rearrange the checklist items. Enlist the help of experts on corporate planning. Ask them to rearrange your list of seven pieces of advice according to their usefulness. Print copies of this expert checklist.

Flow

Distribute copies of the Alphabetical Checklist. Give a copy of this handout to each participant.

Review and rearrange the pieces of advice. Ask each participant to independently study the pieces of advice and rearrange them in order of their usefulness. Suggest that the participants estimate the different costs and benefits associated with the implementation of each checklist item. Also ask the participants to take into account how frequently a piece of advice is likely to be used in their business situation. Announce a 3-minute time limit for this task.

Arrive at a consensus. At the end of 3 minutes, ask the participants to work together in groups of 3 to 7 members. Invite the members of each group to discuss their independent sequences of the checklist items and come to a consensus. Suggest a 3-minute time limit for this task.

Present the consensus sequence. Ask a representative of each group to present the consensus sequence of checklist items. Invite the group members to explain the logic behind their sequencing.

Compare with the Expert Checklist. Distribute copies of the expert checklist and ask the members of the group to compare their sequence with the experts’ sequence. Also ask the group members to guess the logic used by the experts.

Adjust the sequence. Ask the group members to align their sequence with the experts’ sequence. Assign a suitable time limit for this task.

Justify the final sequence. At the end of the time limit, ask the participants whether or not they changed their sequence to better align with the experts’ sequence. Also ask the group members to justify their final sequence.

Conduct a debriefing discussion. Use a set of questions to encourage the participants to reflect on their activity and share their insights. Facilitate the discussion and add your own comments when appropriate.

Play Sample

Alphabetical List. Here’s the checklist we used during a recent play of this game:

1. Derive goals for your department from the organizational strategy and critical success factors. Plan to achieve these goals.

2. Establish specific deadlines, measures, and resource requirements for each item in your plan.

3. Focus on potential risks. Anticipate what can go wrong. Adjust your plan to handle these crises.

4. Request your managers, employees, and people from other units to provide inputs to your plan.

5. Identify desired results. Plan backward from these results.

6. Make sure your plan is realistic and achievable.

7. Review and update the plan against actual results once every month and every quarter.

Expert List: Here’s how our panel of experts rearranged the sequence of items on the checklist:

1. Establish specific deadlines, measures, and resource requirements for each item in your plan.

2. Request your managers, employees, and people from other units to provide inputs to your plan.

3. Derive goals for your department from the organizational strategy and critical success factors. Plan to achieve these goals.

4. Focus on potential risks. Anticipate what can go wrong. Adjust your plan to handle these crises.

5. Review and update the plan against actual results once every month and every quarter.

6. Identify desired results. Plan backward from these results.

7. Make sure your plan is realistic and achievable.

Debriefing Questions. Here are some of the questions we used durng the debriefing discussion:

· What types of costs and benefits influenced your decisions?

· Did you pay attention to probable frequency of application of each checklist item?

· Which checklist items are you using in your current planning activities?

· Why are you not using some of the checklist items in your current planning activities?