Ideas about Using Our Flexible Action Planning Tool

Examples of ideas that participants in the February 2 TAP Talk came up with on how to use this tool are below:

Notes from February 2, 2012 TAP Talk Small Group Discussions

Question: How could you use the bubble sheet thinking tool in your work in the sector? How will this information support your work / how might you use this tool?

Table 1:
• Creative thinking of new strategies
• Develop other tools to launch new strategies
• Opportunity for focused dialogue for action
• focused brainstorming too
• Help you respond from new information to shift strategies
• honest assessment - creates an opportunity for focused introspection
• Allows people to move from individual introspection to collective to mission focused action
• Clarify goals to match and align action
• Creates a balance between quality and quantity frames
• Sparks innovation by all

Table 2:
• Stakeholder exercise- board members, staff, volunteers, community, funders, donors, constituents/clients, committees.
• This will give all stakeholders a voice
• Can be used to re-evaluate goals that are already in place and change

Table 3:
• Facilitate group that has identified a problem and how to reach a solution
• Good starting tool which direction isn’t clear, starts through process
• Help plan event
• Use to help access goals already made
• Help through process to better articulate goals
• Use tool to have everyone on the same page with a goal
• Enhance leadership

Table 4:
• Decide where org is before getting started w/brainstorming “whole” context
• Board/program/personal development, Board recruitment
• Current status
• Personal development strengths and skill sets
• Look at task to be done
• Where does expertise lie
• Commitment to honesty and/or reality

Table 5:
• Give it as a planning session
• Using it in a crisis situation where change is needed
• Strategic planning, on-going process change
• Re-organize bubbles in a way that fosters visualization
• Encourages engagement at all levels
• Structured way to speak; reigns in emotion for dicey situations
• Inclusiveness ensures transparencies
• Demonstrate the evolvement of change (storyboarding, etc..)
• Use it as a part of a continuous improvement process
• Can be used for narrow and broad issues

Table 6:
• Focus on Mission
• Collecting perspectives
• Formulate a plan (action steps)
• Reassess the strengths
• Helps to improve the process

Table 7:
• To work with individuals to capture their ideas
• Access capacity in all individuals within the group
• Strategic planning process
• Educate
• How does individual role contribute to the group
• Motivation
• Communication

Table 8:
• Promoting Indigeneous Culture to the community
• Lack of exposure close mindedness, lack of access
• Provide education, community connection, cultural connection and inclusiveness
• Community awareness creation, youth education, promotorias

Table 9:
• Take brainstorming worksheet to L.C.D.
This becomes about ownership
This empowers people and allows them to make decisions
Also allows you to find out what ideas people have
• A good way to break down complex issues
• Communications bottom up
• Celebrate failures, they lead to success

Table 10:
• Bubble sheet used to stay on track
• Set a standard for the separate divisions to maintain cohesiveness
• Strengthen group goals by getting buy-in
• Organization tool for free-flowing ideas and helps establish guidelines for coping/adaptation skills
• Lets creative presentation of ideas be placed into formatted layout for others to understand.
• Helpful tool to organize broad brainstorming, especially in board meetings (present before-hand)

Table 11:
• Acknowledge specific challenges and function effectively
• Site causes of disfunction (discovery) i.e. procrastination
• Define strengths
• Lack of understanding
• Terror- the bubble sheet can provide an open/safe way for co-workers to express concerns/fears- ultimately be able to deal with problems “head on”
• Building on successes – capacity building, activating positivity, appreciation leads to motivation
• Relationship “Human” investment
• Communication policies build into the organization

Table 12:
• Useful in engaging a group in thinking about goals
• Good vehicle for unifying understanding of overall vision of organization
• Useful for facilitating ownership and two-way communication related to vision, direction, and goals.

Table 13:
• Help broaden vision
• Use with a community group
• Understand each person’s connection/importance with the goal
• Looks at reasons for problems
• Focus on the organizations and personal roles (strengths/weaknesses)
• Tool helps move through a barrier; work together
• Looks at areas to improve

Table 14:
• Group involvement with decision making and goal setting
• Very flexible tool , personal goal vs company goal, strategic planning
• Moves between the complexities
• Builds on strengths
• Reveals expertise
• Confidence builder
• Intergenerational
• Creates group buy in
• Taps info different personalities and their knowledge
• Fluid
• Inspiring and unifying
• Comprehensive


Table 15:
Brainstorm: how to engage group in goal setting
1. Result collectively taking initiative and work together
2. Cause of what is happening now – individual responsibility for destination no clear direction
• Specifics goal aligned with mission
• Acct. ego resp – no buy in connection w/how meets own needs
3. Strengths
• Diversity creates total strength
• Education
• Expanding capacity to ask the right ???
4. Action Step
• Creating commitment
• Roadmap
• Budget/strateig planning
• Creating alliances for profit/nonprofit
• Resources available diversity, delicious crumbs
• New location for meeting
• Stories, testimonies
• Empowerment
• Creating experiences for activities
• Bd orientation workshop/expectation

5. Challenges
• Resistance to change/perceived loss
• Stuck
• Diversity brings challenges …
• Supply/demand
6. Changes
• Openmindedness
• How to get where we want to go
• Bod come together collaborate …
• Positive attitudes
• Passion for making change
• Synergy better



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