Do it yourself doubting with the dubio-cube!

Please note, there is an updated version of this post (click to go there)

What connects our organisation? In what ways are the members of our team connected? How can we make a diverse team more aware of the value of its diversity? Some posts back, I described how I think it’s important to know how what I’m good at, the choices that I make and what I find important relates to my company’s identity (See post: “How does my personal identity compare to my organisation’s identity?“).

Now, I will try to make this a little bit more practical, and propose a tool that can help me to find out more about what connects me and my teammembers and the organisation as a whole. It can probably be used individually or in a team, e.g. as an exercise at the beginning of a strategy/planning meeting. A word of warning: This idea is still in beta-stage, I’ve tried it myself, but not yet with a group.

1. The first step is to print a couple of dubio-cubes (say 5 per person) with the outline of a cube that can actually be assembled (see image below). Trying to assemble a cube based on the image below will not work very well, as it was drawn by hand. Later, I will provide a more accurate image that you can download.
2. Based on personal preference, the second step is to pick the side of the cube that you like most, based on the question “What would success look like for me/my team/my organisation”. Some people might prefer to start with the how-side, others probably want to start with the why-question (See also “What is your what-, how-, why-perspective?“).
3. Try to fill in your chosen side with an example of a passion, need or value in case of the why-side, or a method or tool in case of the how-side. It can be any example you like, and it doesn’t have to be an example from your own job, it can also be from elsewhere in the organisation.
4. After you filled in your preferred side of the cube, fill in the other five sides if you can. Some will be hard, but try to -at least- fill in the what-, how- and why- sides. Additional question for the what-side is “how much?”. Try to make the what a bit more specific by adding words like a few, nothing or everything. Don’t think too long about it though.
5. Repeat steps 2-4, and fill in more cubes, up to the point that you have at least five cubes. To stretch yourself a bit, you can try to have a different starting-side for a couple of cubes.
6. Next, assemble all cubes and put them all together in one place.
7. Now for the most interesting part of the excercise, try to figure out if you can find cubes that have a connection with another cube (can be your own, or that of a team member). Do we have a match? Or do some different how’s lead to the same what?

Dubio cube: What would success look like for me/my team/my organisation?

If you have enough cubes, you should be able to place them next to or on top of each other based on their connecting sides. If you always put the why-side up, each layar you put on top of the first will lead you closer to your team’s purpose. Just keep on asking why. Probably you can extend the exercise by trying to make as many layars as possible. Ideally, I think this exercise should lead to a pyramid or triangle shaped building that represents your team’s strategy. I will explain further in the next post.

Q: Dear reader, what do you think of this idea? Do you think you would be able to build ‘a pyramid‘ that represents your team’s strategy?