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SCARCITY TRAP

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Ecocycle

Analyze the Full Portfolio of Activities and Relationships to

Identify Obstacles and Opportunities for Progress

SCARCITY TRAP

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1-2-4-All�

1-2-4-All

Generate and sift many ideas in rapid cycles

What ideas, actions, or next steps do you have in mind?

Equal time & opportunity for everyone

Self, pairs, foursomes, whole group

Face to face in pairs and foursomes

1 minute alone, 2 in pairs, 2 in foursomes, 5 in whole group

Invitation

Space, Materials

Participation Distributed

Groups �Configured

Step �Sequence

1-2-4-All

Engage Everyone Simultaneously in Generating Questions, Ideas, and Suggestions (12 min.)

What is made possible? You can immediately include everyone regardless of how large the group is. You can generate better ideas and more of them faster than ever before. You can tap the know-how and imagination that is distributed widely in places not known in advance. Open, generative conversation unfolds. Ideas and solutions are sifted in rapid fashion. Most importantly, participants own the ideas, so follow-up and implementation is simplified. No buy-in strategies needed! Simple and elegant!

1-2-4 All: A Liberating Structure from Media Changemakers on Vimeo.

Five Structural Elements – Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation

Ask a question in response to the presentation of an issue, or about a problem to resolve or a proposal put forward (e.g., What opportunities do YOU see for making progress on this challenge? How would you handle this situation? What ideas or actions do you recommend?)

2. How Space Is Arranged and Materials Needed

Unlimited number of groups

Space for participants to work face-to-face in pairs and foursomes

Chairs and tables optional

Paper for participants to record observations and insights

3. How Participation Is Distributed

Everyone in the group is included (often not the facilitator)
Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute

4. How Groups Are Configured

Start alone, then in pairs, then foursomes, and finally as a whole group

5. Sequence of Steps and Time Allocation

Silent self-reflection by individuals on a shared challenge, framed as a question (e.g., What opportunities do YOU see for making progress on this challenge? How would you handle this situation? What ideas or actions do you recommend?) 1 min.
Generate ideas in pairs, building on ideas from self-reflection. 2 min.
Share and develop ideas from your pair in foursomes (notice similarities and differences). 4 min.
Ask, “What is one idea that stood out in your conversation?” Each group shares one important idea with all (repeat cycle as needed). 5 min.

WHY? Purposes

Engage every individual in searching for answers
Avoid overhelping and the overcontrol-dependency vicious cycle
Create safe spaces for expression, diminish power differentials
Express “silent” conversations and expand diversity of inputs
Enrich quality of observations and insights before expression
Build naturally toward consensus or shared understanding

Tips and Traps

Firmly facilitate quiet self-reflection before paired conversations
Ask everyone to jot down their ideas during the silent reflection
Use bells for announcing transitions
Stick to precise timing, do another round if needed
In a large group during “All,” limit the number of shared ideas to three or four
In a large group, use a facilitator or harvester to record output not shared
Invite each group to share one insight but not to repeat insights already shared
Separate and protect generation of ideas from the whole group discussion
Defer judgment; make ideas visual; go wild!
When you hit a plateau, jump to another form of expression (e.g., Improv, sketching, stories)
Maintain the rule of one conversation at a time in the whole group
Do a second round if you did not go deep enough!

Riffs and Variations

Graphically record insights as they emerge from groups
Use Post-it notes in Rounds 2 and 3
Link ideas that emerge to Design Storyboards, Improv Prototyping, Ecocycle Planning
Go from groups of 4 to groups of 8 with consensus in mind. Colleague Liz Rykert calls this Octopus!

Examples

Use after a speech or presentation, when it is important to get rich feedback (questions, comments, and ideas), instead of asking the audience, “Any questions?”
A group of managers used two rounds of 1-2-4-All to redesign their less-than-stimulating weekly meeting.
For a spontaneous conversation that starts after the topic of a meeting has been announced
For a group that has been convened to address a problem or an innovation opportunity
For unlocking a discussion that has become dysfunctional or stuck
In place of a leader “telling” people what to think and do (often unintentionally)
For a group that tends to be excessively influenced by its leader
Read Craig Yeatman’s story in Part Three: Stories from the Field about using 1-2-4-All to help manage a merger decision, “Inclusive High-Stakes Decision Making Made Easy.”

Attribution: Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless

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Sequence of Steps & Timing

Generate a list of activities or relationships (5 mins)
Introduce the visual metaphor of the Ecocycle and explain using different language depending on context (5 mins)
Invite individuals to place listed activities & relationships on a personal Ecocycle worksheet (5 mins)
In pairs or quartets, share placements, discuss, and try to arrive at deeper understanding (10 mins)

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Sequence of Steps & Timing

Pairs or quartets bring your placements to a shared Ecocycle diagram (10 – 50 mins)
Debrief as you go about each activity:

What do you notice about how each group placed the activity? Discuss discrepancies.

Once all activities are placed, debrief the full Ecocycle and move into action planning:

What do you notice about the balance of the entire portfolio?
What are the implications for your work / development moving forward?
What is needed to advance any individual activity AND maintain flow across the full portfolio?

Steps for intact teams only

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In regard to your _______ [e.g., innovation initiative ] generate a list of activities AND people involved in your work.

Number activities and give letters to relationships.

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Draw a small ecocycle and label it as follows:

SCARCITY TRAP

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Ecocycle

Analyze the Full Portfolio of Activities and Relationships to

Identify Obstacles and Opportunities for Progress

SCARCITY TRAP

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Place the items on your list where you think they are at this moment in the Ecocycle.

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What do you notice about the placement of the individual activities or relationships? Are any patterns emerging?

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Take a step back: What do you notice about the balance of your activities or relationships across the ecocycle?

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Overall, what are implications for action and next steps?

To evaluate movement forward, how often could you revisit the Ecocycle?

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SCARCITY TRAP

3

6

9

3

6

9

Ecocycle Time Series:

3, 6, & 9 month assessments

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Ecocycle Planning in Action