cool tools

We are constantly asked: how do you #GSD (get s** done)? What's the recipe to get your team to be more open minded and creative? What works?

There is no magic sauce (sorry); we suggest you try and test different approaches. That's what we do. Some approaches work better than others, and there is no drama if one method does not work, we just toss it!

Here are 3 tools we like to use, and the different purposes:

- Are you looking to get your team to come with ideas really fast? Cut down the time you spend in meetings, talking in circles? We love liberating structures. The one exercise we like is 25/10 crowdsourcing, but there are many more, and they are quite impactful. Check out the website - all exercises are free to download.

- Is your team diverse and spread in different locations? We LOVE working virtually, and it's super easy! We use slack.com a lot, it's a great space to share information, tag people and keep track of (only) very useful information you want handy.

- Working on several projects and can't keep track? Or need to update them quickly or see the status? Stop writing boring reports and make it user friendly, so that everyone on your team can access the information fast and easy. We use trello.com - it's a great way to organize your work.

- Ever been in a long meeting and got out of it trying to remember what you talked about? Too bad that meetings are still being run based on a 3-4 page boring, flat agenda, followed my long minutes that nobody reads.

BUT pictures are retained in a much higher rate than words (it's science!) - so next time why not grab that marker and sketch your ideas or thoughts? You'll be amazed by the results! You (or your audience) will have a more fun, productive meeting. Visual thinking is used extensively not only in design agencies, but in executive and business circles. We love XPlane, check it out!

From our experience, the most important thing is to be willing to try. Don't let your limiting beliefs (or bureaucracy) determine how you work. Your time is precious, so make your work productive and fun. Think different, and just DO IT!

Good luck! :)

Tell us what you use, or ask us questions. We love sharing!