A workshop typically starts with a SotG Quiz which will be used to guide the later discussions. A typical quiz will consist of several questions based around the theme of Personal Responsibility and the mission of the organization and/or specific reasons why the workshops is happening:
– Addressing ongoing obstacles and exploring for hidden issues
– Creative problem solving
– Workplace culture and change introduction
– Employee buy-in of Impact responsibility
After the Quiz, we explain the foundational principles of the Spirit of the Game Foundation as well as our origins. It is an option to include an Ultimate frisbee workshop at this point in the seminar, which can include actually playing the game or just learning new throwing tips.
Next, we do a general brainstorming session about the SotG principles and their potential impact or applicability to various sectors of society such as business, politics, interpersonal relationships, and interactions between NGOs and the private sector.
By the end of the brainstorming session we have compiled the results of the Quiz and we will lead an in depth conversation centered around each question where there was significant divergence of opinions. By offering participants with a minority opinion the opportunity to calmly explain their answer without interruption, we are able to get people to open up and create real dialogue even around controversial subjects.
As a final step, we encourage each participant to write down some concrete action steps they can take to increase their Personal Accountability, both within the organization and in the wider world at large, as well as a plan or timeline for those actions.
Urs Bernhard is an international management consultant and executive coach with over 30 years of international experience across the US, Europe and SE Asia.
Urs has worked with companies such as Siemens, Philip Morris, NCR and AT&T and TATA India. He splits his time between Switzerland and Silicon Valley, as well as working as an Executive Coach in Paris, Singapore and Abu Dhabi for INSEAD.
He is fluent in English, German and French and is a pilot and skipper.
Besides that, he has climbed the Seven Summits, and is in the process of writing a book on how the lessons learned on the mountain translate into the executive coaching world.
Trent Simmons is the founder and President of 10 Million Discs, an international NGO which uses the unique sport of Ultimate frisbee to advance a wide array of social and humanitarian causes around the world.
His background includes a wide variety of start-ups, both operating and consulting, and he has utilized that experience to help 10 Million Discs develop a diverse global network with very low overhead. His vision is to put that network to use, taking Spirit of the Game pilot programs developed and tested in Switzerland and spreading them globally.
Trent is a US citizen, Swiss resident and lives in Zurich with his wife and 2 year old son.