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Sticky Steps
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What is Sticky Steps?
Sticky Steps is a card from the Workshop Tactics deck by Pip Decks.
With a clear step-by-step plan, you can turn seemingly unachievable or difficult goals into tangible realities.
Start with a clear goal from Sailboat or Newspaper Headline. Afterwards, use Who, What, When to create an action plan.
When to use Sticky Steps
- Unclear project objectives
- Complex projects with multiple dependencies
- Need for strategic alignment among team members
- Difficulty in visualizing the path to a goal
- Inefficient use of meeting time
- Need to break down large goals into actionable steps
- Desire to improve team collaboration and communication
How to use Sticky Steps
- Write the goal on the far right of your workspace. The goal is your desired end-state.
- Ask the following question to the group: “What would have to happen just before this for us to succeed?”
- Put the answer on a sticky note to the left of the goal.
- Ask the same question again for the sticky note you’ve just placed: “What would have to happen just before this for us to succeed?”
- Repeat this process until you have stepped all the way back to today.
- Plan how you will start on the first thing you need to do (i.e., your left-most sticky note).
Tip: as you step backwards through your plan, you might find certain steps that need to happen simultaneously. This may cause your plan to split and branch out to two paths running side by side.
This is fine, but at all times try to consider if each step is absolutely necessary for achieving the desired end-state. The more linear your path, the easier it will be to achieve your goal.
