Activity Library

Every plan rests on assumptions—about customers, markets, technology, and team capabilities. Most stay invisible until they prove false. Assumption Mapping makes them explicit, then systematically tests which ones are riskiest. Used by startups to validate business models and by enterprises to de-risk major initiatives, this technique prevents the painful discovery that your brilliant strategy was built on shaky foundations.

A structured exercise where participants deliberately argue against accepted viewpoints to challenge assumptions, expose weaknesses, and ultimately strengthen ideas. The term comes from the Catholic Church's historical practice of appointing someone to argue against canonization. In business, it's a powerful tool for avoiding groupthink, vetting decisions, and building more resilient strategies.

A systematic technique for identifying the root cause of problems. Teams move beyond surface symptoms to discover underlying systemic issues through iterative questioning.

A mental model developed by organizational psychologist Chris Argyris that reveals how we unconsciously climb from observation to action. We see data, select what to focus on, add meaning, make assumptions, draw conclusions, and act—often in seconds, without realizing it. By making this process visible, teams can catch faulty reasoning before it leads to bad decisions or conflicts.

A practical workshop where participants learn to identify common reasoning errors that undermine arguments. From ad hominem attacks to slippery slopes, these fallacies appear everywhere—in meetings, media, and everyday conversations. By learning to recognize them, teams make better decisions, build stronger arguments, and avoid being manipulated by faulty reasoning.

A proactive risk management technique where teams imagine a project has already failed, then work backwards to identify what went wrong. By assuming failure upfront, teams surface hidden risks and blind spots that traditional planning misses. Developed by psychologist Gary Klein, this method uses "prospective hindsight" to increase the ability to identify future problems by 30%.

A creative problem-solving technique where teams brainstorm ways to make a problem WORSE, then flip those ideas into solutions. By thinking like a villain first, teams break out of conventional thinking patterns and discover innovative solutions hiding in plain sight. This counterintuitive approach is especially effective when teams feel stuck or when traditional brainstorming has failed to produce breakthrough ideas.

Edward de Bono's powerful parallel thinking method where everyone adopts the same thinking mode simultaneously. By "wearing" different colored hats, teams systematically explore facts, emotions, risks, benefits, creativity, and process—preventing groupthink and ensuring all perspectives are heard. Used by Fortune 500 companies worldwide to improve decision-making and reduce meeting time by up to 50%.

A method of collaborative dialogue where participants explore complex ideas through open-ended questions rather than debate. Named after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, this technique builds understanding through inquiry—there are no winners or losers, only deeper insight. Participants learn to question assumptions, consider multiple perspectives, and articulate their reasoning while genuinely listening to others.

The classic strategic planning framework, now supercharged with AI customization. SWOT helps teams systematically assess internal capabilities (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external factors (Opportunities and Threats) to inform decision-making. While the framework is simple, the quality of insights depends entirely on asking the right questions for your specific context—which is where AI customization transforms a generic exercise into a powerful strategic tool.