Gamestormin' for the Unions in D.C.

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Produce an aligned statement of organizational purpose, a list of tested assumptions, and actionable operational ideas for a team or union.

Use it when: Strategic planning sessions where an organization or union needs to examine why it exists, test underlying assumptions, and develop creative tactics for members.

Skip it when: Brief standups, crisis triage needing immediate technical answers, or groups seeking a fast tactical update.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 3 to 5 participants working at dedicated flip-chart stations.

Timing: Source specifies 90 to 120 minutes (2 hours). UWT sets a 120-minute facilitation schedule to allow all four core exercises and reflection.

Materials and tools

• 5 flip-chart pads on stands or clear wall space
• 8 packs of 3x3 inch sticky notes in assorted colors
• 25 chisel-tip markers
• 4 rolls of painter tape to post completed chart pages on room walls
• Printed handouts of the Phoenix Checklist and SCAMPER prompts (1 per participant)
• 4 pre-drawn or printed Empathy Map templates on flip-chart paper
• Room projector and screen (for hybrid option)
• Laptops or tablets with access to a shared digital whiteboard platform (for remote or hybrid option)

Before participants arrive

1. Label four wall stations with flip charts using painter tape: Station 1: Golden Circle, Station 2: Phoenix Checklist, Station 3: SCAMPER, Station 4: Empathy Map.
2. Set up a fifth flip chart at the front of the room labeled Summary and Action Commitments.
3. Distribute markers and sticky notes across each table station.
4. Distribute printed Phoenix Checklist and SCAMPER handouts at the tables.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we will move through four specific frameworks to explore our core mission, test our assumptions, create practical solutions, and understand the people we serve. We will spend 25 minutes on each exercise, working in small teams at the charts. Let us begin with our purpose: why our organization exists.

How to run it

1. Establish the Golden Circle 25 minutes

   Read opening script. Draw three concentric rings across the full height of the Station 1 flip chart, sized to hold multiple sticky notes: label Why at the center, How in the middle ring, and What in the outer ring. Teams write notes defining why the union exists beyond running daily operations. Spend 15 minutes drafting in tables of 3 to 5 people. Spend the remaining 10 minutes total hearing one brief Why note read aloud per table.

2. Challenge Assumptions with the Phoenix Checklist 25 minutes

   Direct groups to the printed Phoenix Checklist prompts. Each subgroup selects one persistent problem and posts answers to three prompts from the handout: Why is it necessary to solve this problem? What information do we have that might be incorrect? What are the boundaries of the problem? Teams post notes on Station 2, mark uncertain assumptions with an exclamation point, and underline their top three operational risks.

3. Generate Options with SCAMPER 25 minutes

   Distribute all seven SCAMPER lenses across the tables so every letter is assigned to at least one group. Teams brainstorm practical fixes for the problems identified in step two. Participants place their ideas on the Station 3 chart under the matching heading. For example, under Eliminate, write: Remove duplicate intake forms to save two hours weekly. Each table completes at least three ideas across their assigned lenses.

4. Map Stakeholder Empathy 25 minutes

   Affix the prepared Empathy Map charts at Station 4, divided into four quadrants (Says, Does, Thinks, Feels) plus Pains and Gains along the bottom. Groups focus on a specific member or constituent profile. Participants post observed daily experiences of that constituent, marking unmet needs that could be solved by the SCAMPER ideas.

5. Synthesize Insights and Next Steps 20 minutes

   Participants walk the room for 8 minutes to read all four station charts silently. Reconvene at the plenary summary chart for the final 12 minutes. Ask 3 volunteers to share one concrete task resulting from the sequence. Record these actions, their specific volunteer owners, and target completion dates directly on the fifth flip chart.

Debrief questions

• Which assumption surfaced in the Phoenix Checklist proved most fragile?
• How does our core Why change which SCAMPER idea we should execute first?
• What critical need appeared on the Empathy Map that our current services overlook?

Finished output: Four populated wall charts detailing core purpose, tested assumptions, SCAMPER solution ideas, and an empathy map, plus a fifth summary chart with assigned next steps.

Remote

Use an online whiteboard configured with frames for Golden Circle, Phoenix Checklist, SCAMPER, and Empathy Map. Split participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 5 people. Subgroups write digital sticky notes in their designated frame, then return to the main room to paste selected summary items onto a central board.

Hybrid

Assign remote participants to a dedicated digital team or pair each in-person table with an open video device. An in-person volunteer at each table scribes notes into a shared digital whiteboard mirrored on a room projector so all participants see both physical and virtual postings in real time.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may record ideas silently on sticky notes or speak them aloud for a table peer to scribe.
• Individual participants may choose silent roles such as timekeeper or chart scribe, and may pass on speaking during plenary sharing; table report outs are a collective group task delivered by a willing volunteer.

If the session gets stuck

Groups get stuck in the Golden Circle debating routine operational tasks rather than organizational purpose.

Ask: 'If this union vanished tomorrow, what distinct hole would remain for the workers?' Move operational tasks to the outer What ring.

SCAMPER brainstorming produces vague slogans rather than actionable proposals.

Require that each note starts with a concrete action verb and specifies an exact tool, process, or role.

Terms used here

• Golden Circle: A visual framework examining purpose by moving outward from Why (belief), to How (actions), to What (services).
• Phoenix Checklist: A question set designed to isolate problems, test boundaries, and identify unknown variables.
• SCAMPER: A creative thinking prompt set: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse.
• Empathy Map: A visual tool mapping what a constituent says, does, thinks, feels, suffers, and desires.