Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 68b84e9b98102c9982e2e32ccd1f003481898d6f8f4c6394bef0b2122c3222b9

# Envelopes

Teams write concrete workplace actions for specific principles onto index cards and circulate them inside envelopes. In the final round, each team opens an envelope, reviews all accumulated ideas, and distributes 100 points across the cards to evaluate relative merit.

**Time:** 30 minutes. Based on the 30-minute minimum duration documented for Envelopes and Leadership Envelopes in Thiagi GameLetter (November 2009).
**People:** 6 to 24. 3 to 4 parallel teams of 2 to 6 participants

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Translate abstract guidelines or principles into concrete workplace behaviors and evaluate their practical quality.
**Use it when:** Use when a team needs to move beyond high-level values or principles and collect practical, everyday examples across several operational areas.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the group has fewer than 6 participants, when participants do not share a common operational context, or when the team needs to draft binding organizational policy.

## Materials and tools

- 4 letter-size envelopes, each labeled on the front with one distinct principle or stimulus prompt
- 16 index cards (4 cards per team)
- 4 pens (1 per team)
- 1 countdown timer
- 1 whistle or chime for signaling transitions
- 1 table at the front of the room for card consolidation

## Before participants arrive

1. Select four specific principles or prompts (for example, the leadership practices provided in participant materials).
2. Write one distinct principle clearly on the front of each envelope.
3. Arrange seating into three or four separate team tables configured in a circular pattern around the room to make envelope handoffs straightforward.
4. Place one envelope, four blank index cards, and one pen on each table.

## Say this to open

Today we are moving from high-level principles to concrete behaviors. Each table has an envelope with a principle on the front. Your team will have 3 minutes to discuss that principle and write specific, practical workplace actions on an index card. When the timer sounds, place your card inside the envelope without sealing it, and pass the envelope clockwise to the next team. You must not look inside any envelope you receive until our final evaluation round.

## How to run it

### 1. Brief and introduce first round (4 minutes)

Explain the goal and mechanics using the opening script. Direct participants to read the prompt on their envelope. Emphasize that responses will be evaluated later for clarity, practicality, and relevance. Start the 3-minute timer.

### 2. Conduct round 1 generation (3 minutes)

Teams discuss the prompt on their envelope and write short behavioral statements on their first index card. When the whistle blows at 3 minutes, teams insert the card into the envelope, leave it unsealed, and pass the envelope clockwise to the adjacent table. Ensure no team opens the envelope received.

### 3. Conduct round 2 generation (4 minutes)

Teams read the new prompt on the exterior of the envelope they just received without looking inside. Start the 3-minute timer. Teams write fresh application examples on a second index card. At the whistle, they insert the card into the envelope and pass it clockwise.

### 4. Conduct round 3 generation (4 minutes)

Repeat the generation step with the third envelope. Teams inspect only the outside stimulus, generate concrete actions on their third card, place it inside at the whistle, and pass the envelope clockwise.

### 5. Evaluate accumulated cards (6 minutes)

Instruct teams to open their current envelope and extract all three response cards. Teams read every card and distribute exactly 100 points across the three cards based on clarity and practical impact. Teams write the assigned point total clearly at the top of each card.

### 6. Share card ratings (5 minutes)

Call on each team in turn. The presenting team reads the envelope prompt, then reads the cards in ascending order from lowest points to highest points, stating the points awarded and a one-sentence rationale for their evaluation. Collect cards on the front table.

### 7. Debrief application insights (4 minutes)

Facilitate a short room debrief. Ask 2 or 3 participants to comment on notable patterns across cards or to name one practical idea from another team that they can apply immediately.


## Debrief questions

- Which principle was easiest to translate into concrete daily behaviors, and why?
- What criteria distinguished the highest-scoring cards from the lower-scoring ones?
- Which specific idea written by another team could you put into practice this week?

**Finished output:** Four populated envelopes containing scored behavioral application cards totaling 100 points per envelope, visible for team review.

## Remote

Set up a shared digital workspace with four labeled boards or folders representing the envelopes. In each round, breakout rooms access only the prompt header for their assigned board and type actions onto a digital card without viewing existing cards (using hidden text or private frames). In the evaluation round, rooms reveal all cards in their board, negotiate a 100-point split, and present back in the main room.

## Hybrid

In-person tables handle physical envelopes. Remote participants form their own distinct sub-team using a digital envelope interface mirrored on a screen. A room co-facilitator copies physical cards to the digital space and transfers the remote team's card into a physical envelope during the round handoffs.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may choose whether to act as team scribe, discussion contributor, or scorekeeper.
- Teams and individuals may pass on reading aloud during the reporting step by nominating a peer or asking the facilitator to read their cards.
- Written prompts and instructions should be projected visually as well as printed on envelopes.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants peek at the existing cards inside the envelope before writing their own.**

Remind the room before each handoff that cards must remain hidden so ideas stay fresh and uninfluenced. If a team peeks, prompt them to generate an entirely different angle that was not mentioned on the existing cards.

**A team allocates points that do not sum to 100 during evaluation.**

Provide a quick check during step 5. Remind the room that the sum across all cards in the envelope must equal 100, such as 40-35-25, forcing genuine comparative appraisal.


## Terms used here

- Framegame: A structured activity framework deliberately designed to separate process from content, allowing facilitators to swap in different topics while keeping the same game rules.

## Participant material: Sample Leadership Principles for Envelope Covers

Envelope 1: Model the Way (Set personal examples through daily actions that demonstrate core team standards).

Envelope 2: Inspire a Shared Vision (Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities).

Envelope 3: Challenge the Process (Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and looking abroad for innovative ways to improve).

Envelope 4: Enable Others to Act (Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships).

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in THIAGI GAMELETTER (November 2009), published by The Thiagi Group, featuring the framegame 'Envelopes' and application activity 'Leadership Envelopes' authored by Sivasailam (Thiagi) Thiagarajan.

The original corpus entry was a table of contents containing the shell title 'TGL: November 2009'. The full issue text revealed that this issue contains the framegame 'Envelopes' and its worked example 'Leadership Envelopes' by Sivasailam Thiagarajan (Thiagi). UWT retained the core mechanic (writing responses on cards, blind envelope circulation, 100-point comparative evaluation, and ascending-order readout). UWT structured the session into a concise 30-minute run sheet, scaled team counts to 3-4 parallel groups, and provided explicit remote, hybrid, and facilitation options.

[The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/november2009.html)

[The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/november2009.html)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-november-2009/