Welcome to another edition of the Thinking Things newsletter, your regular roundup of playful things to think with and think about. 🗓️One quick note, before we get into this 99th edition of the newsletter. I’m planning something epic (or at least wee bit larger than usual), for the 100th
Here we go—another dose of playful things to think with and think about! Types of Deadlines When I saw this, I knew instantly this was going into the newsletter! Here we have a visual explanation—a visual way to think about—various types of deadlines [LI] . And while the
Your regular dose of playful things to think with, and think about! Workshops and Wizards cards (UPDATE) A few issues ago, I shared an early prototype of the Wizards & Workshops cards from James Smart, a small set of fantasy themed ‘kudos’ cards participants can give to each other during
Welcome to issue № 96 of the Thinking Things newsletter, your regular roundup of playful ‘things to think with’ and think about… Cards for Uncertainty I want to kick things off with a question to think with, asked by Zbigniew Janczukowicz at the last Cardstock meetup, a question that left us
Conquest (A Game to Explain VUCA) 😍 Mmm. A board game to learn about VUCA [LI]. More to the point: A board game designed for players to experience Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. Ever wanted to explain VUCA to managers without boring them into a coma? We The Catalyst made a
Here’s your regular dose of playful things to think with, and think about! Archipelago of Possibilities This single photo was enough to derail me from whatever I was doing, and get my mind whirring at the creative possibilities. Look at the canvas map! Where do the cards come from?
It’s another issue of the Thinking Things newsletter 🎉 .This time, with a few more than usual playful ‘things to think with’ and think about… Enjoy! 30 Illustrated Frameworks for Complex Problems I tend to shy away from sharing “roundup” sites, and focus more on singular tools, things, methods, games,
Look who’s back—with more playful things to think with! Ask This Book A Question Ask This Book A Question is described as “an interactive game [emphasis mine] that empowers you to understand yourself in a new way, inviting you on a playful journey of self-discovery.” I love publications
Another issue. More playful ‘things to think with’ and think about! Short Films as ‘Playful Things to Think With’ I’m going to ‘cheat’ a bit, and share something I just published: Short Films as ‘Playful Things to Think With’. Before the Oscar season gets too far off in the
Welcome to a special edition of the Thinking Things newsletter. Instead of my usual, brisk, roundup of 5-6 ‘playful things to think with’, this issue is devoted to a very specific topic … 🥁 learning cards that use a hexagon shape. 🤪 Context: Hexagons are widely used in games. Popular board games such
Hello, and welcome to another roundup of playful ‘things to think with’ and think about! Let’s dive in… Defense Against Dishonest Charts Over the years, I’ve collected various examples of bad charts (most often from certain news outlets and political groups). This is a topic explored in-depth in
More playful things to think with. Though, this issue is a wee-bit longer, given that two of my “finds” this time are articles to think about, and not strictly ‘things’ to think with. 🧠Also… a request! I’m prepping for the 15th anniversary reprint of the Mental Notes card deck;
Finds
🫡Another issue. More playful things to think with. But, I wanted to briefly pause and share a bit about WHY I do this. Why is finding, curating, sharing, and making ‘playful things to think with’ so… missional for me? I wrote a short post answering this question: “Why I Believe
Finds
Happy New Year! 🎉 I am back with plenty more ‘playful things to think with’ and the occasional stray commentary. Assess and Manage Risk Here are two visuals related to risk, both from Olina Glindev (aka “The Visual Agile Coach”). The first, is a simple illustration explaining how to assess risk
Finds
This will be the last newsletter until next year. I normally publish Thinking Things every two weeks, which means the next issue would fall on December 29th, except—I’m going to take off some time off over the holidays🎄. Next issue will go out (checking the calendar) Jan 12th.
Finds
The StoryTelling Leader I recently started following David Hutchens on LinkedIn. As it turns out… I already I own two of his books (Circle of the 9 Muses and Outlearning the Wolves) and his card deck (below) 🤪. Anyway, when it comes to narratives—specifically leadership stories—he knows his stuff!
Finds
This edition of the newsletter comes a couple days later than usual, but for a wonderful reason—I spent 5 days last week playing board games with my friends at BGG Con. 🎲 🤩 Next issue will resume the normal Sunday schedule! 🥸Reminder: If you're participating in the Create A
Finds
📍In case you missed it… Throughout November, I’m hosting another Creative Challenge: Create A Real Life Character Sheet. About 15 people have signed up so far, and there’s space for a few more folks—you should join us! Pebble Talk Here’s a way to avoid awkward small
Welcome, new readers. From time to time, I organize “Creative Challenges,” that fit with the whole “playful things to think with” theme. Previously, there was a One Card Serious Game Challenge, followed by the Make a Zine Challenge. I hadn’t planned on doing another Creative Challenge until next year
Finds
✉️Look for 2 extra special emails heading your way, later this week! 1/ The promised print-and-play Zombie Leadership cards. 2/ An announcement about our next Creative Challenge… Scientific Papers as Comic Strips Yes! Comics as things to think with. Here’s an interview with Kanaka Rajan, who uses “narrative illustrations
Finds
Designing for Magical Gatherings So, interesting sidenote: I was in a webinar earlier this week where I was asked to reflect on especially memorable or meaningful gatherings I’ve been a part of. The common themes for me were things like adventure, discovery, challenge, fantasy, immersion, and so on. On
Finds
Competency Ladders Here’s a ‘framework to think with’ specific to product teams… Context: The lovely thing about ‘horizontal’ software tools (such as MURAL, AirTable, or Notion) is how people are free to create their own—often unpredictable—ways of using that thing. The challenge of these tools is onboarding
Finds
WCAG card deck (and more!) Apparently, this is the week for things to think with related to the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)… First, I had this deck of WCAG 2.2 cards (LinkedIn post leading to a Figma file) lined up and ready to share: Then, I stumbled across
Finds
Branching Scenarios and eLearning In 2020, I did a deep dive into how narrative games could be used for learning purposes, which left me with a deep appreciation for (and small collection of) CYOA books, gamebooks, interactive fiction, solo RPGs, and similar experiences with branching paths. Anyway, this post on