Design the experiment that will move your culture forward

Once you’ve identified exiting cultural tensions, you’ll need to choose one or two and design a solution to start fixing them. The Culture Experiment Canvas provides a clear path to turn your hypotheses into simple, actionable, measurable experiments.

This exercise could take 20-30 minutes depending on the complexity of the tension as well as on the team dynamics. 

Focus

Start by prioritizing your existing tensions. Focusing is key. Choose one and design the respective experiment. Describe the cultural tension you want to solve. Be clear and descriptive but keep it simple.

Choose the right culture experiment

Brainstorm different ideas. Select one based on simplicity, impact, and quick win potential. Write it down.

Describe the idea to make it specific. Be as accurate and concrete as possible.

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Describe the culture experiment

Flesh out the experiment. Use the canvas to design a clear and measurable test setup. Define the what, how, when, and duration of the experiment. Assign responsibilities: who will implement it? Who will oversee the experiment? Who will participate? Who will measure the results?

Establish a clear beginning and duration as well as metrics --both quantitative and qualitative.

Learnings

Once the experiment is finished, capture the key observations and learnings. What are the key findings? Any surprises, contradictions, or resistance?

Compare qualitative and quantitative results against pre-defined metrics.

What's Next?

Based on the learnings, the team must define a course of action.  If the experiment failed to solve the tension, discard it. If there's potential but it's still not there, focus on tweaking the experiment based on the findings.

If the experiment was successful, the team can choose to scale it and implement it at a larger scale.

Define clear next steps.

Canvas created by Gustavo Razzetti, Fearless Culture. Design: Moira Dillon. Copyright © 2019 - Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit (author name, link to the original canvas, and provide a link to the license) and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

Additional Resources

Why Tensions Keep Your Team at the Top of the Game

The Positive Impact of Negative Emotions

Cultural Tensions Canvas

Culture Design Canvas

Your Emotional Culture Is Powerful--Just Listen