20/20 Vision

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Produce a single strictly ordered vertical list of initiatives ranked by perceived organizational benefit.

Use it when: When a team has too many competing projects and needs an unambiguous rank order based on strategic value.

Skip it when: When initiatives cannot be compared against common criteria or when execution sequence is dictated entirely by technical dependencies.

Group arrangement: Whole group of 5 to 10 participants working on a shared vertical board

Timing: Gamestorming lists 30 to 90 minutes. UWT standardizes to 75 minutes for a set of 6 to 10 initiatives.

Materials and tools

• Sticky notes in two contrasting colors (one color for initiatives, one color for benefit notes)
• Thick felt markers (one per participant)
• Clear wall space or large whiteboard with at least 2 meters of vertical clearance
• Painter's tape if working on painted walls

Before participants arrive

1. Write 6 to 10 proposed initiatives on sticky notes beforehand, one item per note.
2. Shuffle the notes to eliminate any pre-existing implied ranking.
3. Clear two adjacent wall spaces: one for benefit clarification and one for the vertical ranking column.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we will establish 20/20 vision on our initiatives through forced prioritization. Every item has value, but we cannot do everything at once. We will first clarify the benefits of each item, then rank them one by one in a strict vertical order from highest priority at the top to lowest at the bottom. No ties are permitted. If we reach an impasse on any placement, we will take an immediate majority vote to decide.

How to run it

1. Introduce and inventory 5 minutes

   Read the opening script. Post the shuffled initiative sticky notes randomly on the working wall. Check whether any critical initiative is missing from the 6 to 10 target items. If someone identifies a gap, hand them a note, have them write the title, and add it to the unranked pool, keeping the total pool to at most 10 items.

2. Clarify perceived benefits 15 minutes

   Take each initiative one by one. Ask participants to state its primary organizational benefits. Scribe distinct benefit statements onto contrasting sticky notes and place them directly beside the initiative. For example, next to 'Customer portal', write 'Cuts support ticket volume by 30%'. If opinions differ, note the different perspectives without prolonged debate.

3. Seed the initial pair 5 minutes

   Move to the second wall space. Pick two initiatives at random from the pool. Ask the group: 'Comparing only these two, which one provides greater benefit toward our goals?' Post the higher-priority item higher on the wall and the lower-priority item beneath it. If opinions split evenly, take an immediate show-of-hands majority vote to decide which sits on top.

4. Insert and rank remaining items 40 minutes

   Take the next random initiative. Guide the group through an insertion sort by holding it next to the midpoint item in the sorted column. Ask: 'Is this higher or lower priority than this item?' Move up or down accordingly and repeat until its exact relative spot between two items is settled. Do not allow horizontal ties. Use an immediate show-of-hands majority vote if discussion stalls. Repeat until all initiatives are ranked.

5. Debrief and conclude 10 minutes

   Step back and review the full column from top to bottom. Present the debrief questions to the room. Invite 3 to 4 participants to share observations, ensuring quieter members have space to speak. Record any final action notes next to the board.

Debrief questions

• Which pairwise comparison caused the most debate, and what trade-off did that highlight?
• Looking at the final stack, is there any item placed unexpectedly high or low that needs a reality check?

Finished output: A single strictly ordered vertical list of 6 to 10 evaluated initiatives agreed upon by the team.

Remote

Use an online collaborative whiteboard with two frames: one for listing initiatives and benefit notes, and one vertical frame labeled 'Highest Priority' at the top and 'Lowest Priority' at the bottom. The facilitator moves sticky notes along the vertical axis while participants deliberate over audio or propose moves in chat.

Hybrid

Maintain a single digital whiteboard projected in the room and shared on screen. The facilitator mirrors physical moves immediately on the virtual canvas. Remote members speak through room audio or use chat, and the facilitator counts in-room and remote votes equally during tiebreakers.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may suggest items, scribe benefit notes, or participate purely via chat.
• Any participant may pass on contributing to a specific comparison turn without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

The group deadlocks on whether Initiative A is more important than Initiative B.

Remind the team of the majority vote rule. Ask: 'If we could only do one this quarter, which one is vital?' Call an immediate show of hands and place the item based on the majority.

Participants try to place two sticky notes side by side to create a tie.

Disallow horizontal ties. Explain that resource constraints require a strict sequence, and ask what distinct criterion breaks the tie.

Terms used here

• Forced prioritization: A ranking method where items cannot share the same rank, requiring every item to sit strictly above or below another.
• Binary comparison: An insertion sort technique where each new item is placed into a sorted list by comparing it one by one against existing items.
• Majority vote rule: A quick show-of-hands vote used to break an impasse on any pairwise comparison so sorting continues without stalling.