Workshop Exercises: Discuss

Sailboat

Reflect on your true goals and what is keeping you from achieving them

Also called: Sailboat Retrospective

Alternative plays: Speed Car

Follow-up plays: Fishbone Diagram, Force Field Analysis, Future Press Release

Timing: Planning

Origin: Luke Hohmann

Prep time
5 minutes

Run time
60-90 minutes

Group size
4-10

Why: Stimulate reflective thinking and identify strengths, achievements, obstacles, and ways to navigate future risks

When: At the end of a sprint or when there is a need to reassess the team's direction, performance, and potential roadblocks

Instructions for running this play

Set the scene. Invite your team and relevant stakeholders. Emphasize openness, constructive criticism, and growth mindset, while avoiding blame and negativity.
Visualize the Sailboat. Sketch a sailboat or use a digital template. Draw a Sailboat sailing in the sea (your team or project) and an Island (the final destination, goal, or vision) and two or more of the following symbols:
- The sun – good things that can come out of this
- Wind (or sails) – what drives them forward?
- An anchor – things that can slow the team down or bring them to a halt
- Rocks, icebergs, cliffs, or pirates – risks or potential pitfalls along the way
- A treasure – potential unexpected wins
  
  Consider whether you need all of the symbols. The sailboat and island are mandatory.
Identify Goals, Drivers, and Obstacles. In a 5-10 minute Silent Storming exercise, ask participants to write input on each of the symbols you decided to include in the drawing and have them Playback their sticky notes while putting them on a shared board.
Group and Categorize. Choose one or more participants to group similar sticky notes together. Discuss fairness of the groupings in the group and adjust as necessary.
Prioritize and Plan next steps. Vote on key areas to focus on. Discuss how to amplify the winds, cut the anchors, and avoid the rocks. Plan how to celebrate the sun and strive towards the goals. Conclude with an agreed action plan.

Master and adapt the play to fit your context and needs.

Consider adapting the sailboat metaphor to your team's particular context or interests. How about a spaceship, submarine, or a skateboard?

Other symbols could include "currents" for external factors or "weather conditions" to symbolize the overall team morale

Run better workshops with Learning Loop card decks.

Every card deck includes workshop patterns, so your team can put the methods to work in your next session.

Running behavioral design workshops? The Persuasive Patterns Workshop Playbook (PDF) shows you how to design and run them.

Sources