Don’t Drain the Battery
Decisions take willpower, and you only have so much to spend each day. You can think of willpower like a battery that starts the morning charged but loses a sip with every decision (a phenomenon called “decision fatigue”). As Facilitator, you’ve got to make sure that charge lasts till 5 p.m.
Wednesday is one decision after another, and it’s all too easy to drain the battery. By following the Sticky Decision process and steering the team from inventing new ideas, you should be able to make it to 5 p.m. without running out of juice.
But you’ll have to be mindful. Watch out for discussions that aren’t destined for a quick resolution. When you spot one, push it onto the Decider:
“This is a good discussion, but there’s still a lot to cover today. Let’s have the Decider make the call so we can move on.”
And:
“Let’s just trust the Decider on this one.”
Smaller details—such as design or wording—can be pushed off until Thursday:
“Let’s leave it up to whoever makes this part of the prototype tomorrow.”
If anyone, even the Decider him- or herself, starts to invent solutions on the spot, ask that person to wait until after the sprint to explore new ideas:
“It seems like we’re coming up with new ideas right now. These ideas are really interesting, and I think you should make note of them so they don’t get lost—but to get the sprint finished, we have to focus on the good ideas we already have.”
That last one is especially tough. Nobody loves stamping on inspiration, and those new ideas might appear stronger than the ones in your sketches. Remember that most ideas sound better in the abstract, so they may not be that good. But even if one of those new ideas is the best idea ever, you don’t have time to back up in the process.
Your winning sketches deserve a chance to be tested. If those new ideas and improvements are truly worthwhile, they’ll be there next week.