Two Months in One Week

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I remember the first time I was involved in organising a hackathon.

I was still very skeptical that meaningful progress could be made in just a few days, let alone the kind of progress that we were aiming for at the time.

… but in the end, not only did we make meaningful progress, we achieved more than we set out to do.

What I’ve learned from that experience is just how big a difference it can make to have people come together and collaborate for a few days in a highly motivating, even if challenging environment. Here’s why those kinds of multi-day workshops can work so well:

• Focus: people normally do quite a lot of multitasking. Most roles require people to work on multiple projects, or with multiple departments, or using multiple tools, etc.
  
  That lack of focus leads to slower progress on any given one of those things. Having a single focus and eliminating distractions can do wonders for productivity.
  
  A key thing to keep in mind here though is that during a workshop, people really need to put themselves on “Do Not Disturb” mode in order for it to work.
  
  i.e. Not answering any emails or responding to any asks that fall outside of the scope of the workshop unless absolutely critical.

• Intense collaboration: the short duration means it’s extremely easy to fall behind. But the interesting result of being in that position is that you and everyone you’re working with tends to be on high alert, which speeds up collaboration and consensus by a tremendous amount.
  
  It’s worth noting, however, that this can be quite taxing on people’s energy on top of being quite stressful.
  
  That’s why it’s important that workshops don’t last for more than a few consecutive days (i.e. 3-5). It’s also very helpful to balance the work with team building activities in the evenings or after the workshop ends.
  

• Clear deliverables and timelines: for this sort of event to work, it’s mandatory to be clear about what specifically needs to be done each day, by when, and what’s the value. People can’t properly focus or collaborate effectively in the absence of clarity.
  

• Pre-work and setup done in advance: when you’re working within a very limited timeframe, the last thing yo want to discover is that you don’t have the necessary access, licenses (etc) to be able to complete your work.
  
  Requirement gathering and ensuring that everything is ready to go from a setup perspective is critical to success. I’d also advise that you plan to finish this step well in advance of the workshop.
  
  Give yourself a good amount of time as a buffer because those kinds of things tend to take longer than expected to resolve.
  

• Rewards: you’re asking everyone who is actively participating in the workshop to perform at their very best for what can feel like a marathon.
  
  Having some rewards lined up for success can be a helpful (not to mention fair) motivator.

In conclusion?

Running a successful multi-day workshop requires a lot to be done in advance… but is it worth all of that work? I certainly believe so, and here’s why:

• results can be staggering → it truly is remarkable what people are able to achieve when they are challenged under the right conditions;

• It’s great for building wider company momentum and achieving results worth celebrating

• It can be a great team building activity on top of being a productive work event

I’m a really big fan of those kinds of events and I’ve been thinking about writing a more detailed step-by-step guide on how to organise a multi-day workshop to share for free with all of my subscribers, both on Linkedin and email.

Is that something you’d be interested in? Let me know in the poll below:

Until next week,
Cata