Facilitating innovation in times of need, the world of ‘futuring’, examining greys in a black and white world - these are big topics, but Dan Levy explores them with guile and clarity.

This is little wonder, as Dan is a deeply-experienced in a variety of fields. Moving from sports media to UX design and later to facilitating strategy and innovation, Dan’s CV is a rich, broad spectrum of fascinating experiences.

He joins me in this episode to talk about a little bit of everything - from the nuts and bolts of how and why he facilitates innovation workshops to creating wild ideas in the process of ‘futuring’.

It’s a real smorgasbord of thought-provoking nuggets. Tuck in!

Find out about:

• How lateral thinking, design, and a little inspiration from his son led Dan to start his business
• Exploring the grey areas and shades in a world obsessed with black and white choices
• Understanding innovation as an outcome, not a process
• Why facilitating innovation in-house should come before outsourcing it
• Exploring ‘futuring’, its role in facilitation, and vice versa
• Dan’s methods for empowering clients to get the right people in the room
• How to deal with dissenting voices in a workshop – and why we shouldn’t simply try to silence them

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Questions and Answers

[01:01] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?

[01:53] What is “your world”?

[03:35] Which is more important in facilitation – confidence or expertise?

[09:34] What’s the story behind your company’s name – More Space for Light?

[13:23] What role do shades play in our lives?

[18:20] What are the opportunities and challenges in facilitating organisational innovation?

[23:23] Can you say a little about The Future of Now – the monthly talkshops you started last year?

[29:45] Where is the line between the urge to outsource innovation and being forced to innovate?

[32:49] What is ‘futuring’?

[34:40] Is it important to invite dissenting voices to a workshop?

[36:09] What makes a workshop fail?

[37:10] Whose responsibility is it to make sure the right people are in the room?

[39:46] Is there a sweet spot for the number of participants in a workshop?

[49:12] What’s your favourite exercise?

[52:40] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?

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