AJ&Smart

Most facilitators are leaving money on the table, and they don't even know it. Ask "how much should I charge?" in any facilitator community and you'll get the same frustrating answer every time: "it depends". And honestly? That's true. But it's not helpful. It depends on your location. Your experience. Your niche. The size of the group. The methods you use. Whether you're running a strategy session or a team retrospective. The problem isn't that the answer is complicated, it's that nobody has actually done the work of putting all those variables together in one place. So we did. We built a quiz that walks through every major factor that affects facilitator pricing and spits out a real price range. One that actually reflects your situation, not some vague industry average. We also put together a video that breaks down exactly why we set it up the way we did, and what the results actually mean for your business. If you've ever second-guessed your rate, underpriced a workshop, or just defaulted to what "felt right", this is for you. 👇 Take the quiz below. It takes about 3 minutes. https://lnkd.in/dT3Hu8cb Check out our Youtube video explaining everything:here: https://lnkd.in/d6jYtG76

This skill separates GOOD LEADERS from GREAT LEADERS. It's facilitation. Big surprise coming from us. I know. But really, most lists of the skills that make a great leader nowadays include things like problem-solving, alignment, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and psychological safety. Which are all either directly related to facilitation or can be improved if you know how to facilitate. So in this video, Dee Scarano will show you why great leaders focus less on having all the answers and more on creating the conditions for teams to think, collaborate, and make decisions together. Especially in a world shaped by AI, constant change, and growing complexity. She'll also explain in detail how modern leadership skills are essentially facilitation skills in disguise. So if you want to improve your leadership skills, give it a watch. Cheers https://lnkd.in/dJjM3xqb

If you're not doing a Norwegian snack review in the middle of your public talks then you might be doing something wrong. A few weeks ago Jonathan Courtney gave a talk in front of 950 people at the Y Oslo conference in Oslo...hmm duh-doy! The talk was actually about why collaboration feels so chaotic, why most meetings fail, and why you have to embrace the chaos. Jonathan also shared a simple structure you can use to fix this. Believe it or not this is one of the clearest and most concise explanations we’ve ever shared on how to explain the value of facilitation. So if you’ve ever felt like your team is stuck in endless conversations, unclear decisions, or just straight-up meeting madness… this talk will hit home. Watch the full talk here: https://lnkd.in/d6UjNgt2 Once you’ve watched it, share in the comments what's the best snack from your country. Maybe next time Jonathan can make a review of those.

This is the simplest exercise to get any team aligned on a long-term goal. A couple of years ago, I was looking for a very easy exercise that would allow me to help teams set a goal for themselves. The problem is that when a team comes together and they try to set a goal or a vision, everyone has a different vision and a different goal. And it's really hard to come down to one clear statement. Until I read the book Sprint and saw the exercise Long-Term Goal and Sprint questions. Now we've been using this exercise for years outside of the Design Sprint context. That's why we've been calling it Long Term Goal and Key Questions. So in this video I'm going to walk you through the Long-Term Goal + Key Questions Exercise step-by-step. You’ll see how we use it at AJ&Smart to quickly bring clarity to complex problems, avoid unproductive discussions, and create alignment among stakeholders with very different perspectives. You’ll learn: How to introduce the exercise to a group How to create a long-term goal statement How to facilitate voting to avoid endless discussion How to reframe obstacles as clear “Can We…” questions How to turn the output into a simple one-page alignment document By the end of this video, you’ll be able to run this exercise confidently and use it to improve team alignment on any project regardless of the industry. Hope you like it! Cheers! https://lnkd.in/eVX2gESn

This Strategy Workshop Sells Itself (jus steal it) In this step-by-step walkthrough video, Amr Khalifeh shows you exactly how to run this strategy workshop using our free Miro template. This workshop is perfect for facilitators, consultants, or team leaders, who want to run better, more strategic workshops or sell strategy as a service. And now you can just steal it from us and make it your own. We developed this Strategy Signal Workshop for three main reasons: 1. To have a really clear way to kick off projects with our clients We got tired of messy project kickoffs and endless back-and-forths with clients. Now, we use the Strategy Signal Workshop to align everyone from day one and make sure we’re all solving the right problem. 2. Strategy workshops create the work that we want to do for the clients. Instead of reacting to random client requests, this workshop helps us co-create a roadmap of projects that play to our strengths. 3. We developed it as a way to shorten the sales cycle when selling workshops to clients. Selling “facilitation” or “collaboration sessions” can be hard to understand. Selling a clear, packaged Strategy Workshop is waaaayy easier. Clients get it more easily. Thanks!!! https://lnkd.in/eJF5ZkqQ

Our 3 favorite ICEBREAKERS to get people drawing, laughing, and communicating ideas. no art skills required. These icebreakers are going to help participants get into the creative mindset they need to be in when they're solving problems and coming up with multiple ideas for a challenge. Whether you’re running a workshop, leading a team meeting, or facilitating a brainstorming session, these icebreakers are a fast and fun way to get everyone engaged and thinking creatively from the very start. Let us know which of these icebreakers you'd try first or if you've participated in one of them. Check out the full video here https://lnkd.in/eZaEuDXs Cheers

This Framework Fixes ANY Chaotic Meeting - NEW YT Video Meetings often feel chaotic and unproductive because there's no structure guiding people from start to finish. People hate meetings because they feel like nothing gets done and they are a waste of their time. And it doesn't really matter if AI can summarize your meeting, if the meeting itself was still a sh*t show because there was no structure. So in this video Jonathan Courtney walks you through our 4C's framework and explains how we use it to structure any meeting to get real outcomes. If you're not familiar with the 4C's framework here's a short overview (you still have to watch the video though 😉) The 4C's is a 4-phase mental and visual map for structuring any collaborative session: 1. Collect Phase – Get everything out in the open - Allow participants to “dump” ideas, problems, and frustrations. - No need for solutions yet — just clarity on what exists. - This phase calms the team because they know everything will be captured. 2. Choose Phase – Decide what’s worth focusing on right now - From the large pool of topics, pick the most relevant or solvable ones. - Helps participants feel safe letting go of unrelated issues because they know it’s parked, not ignored. - Reduces tension and ego-driven derailments. 3. Create Phase – Generate solutions for the chosen topics - Everyone now works on the same challenge with shared understanding. - Prevents people from “creating” for different problems at once. - Facilitators ensure focus stays on the agreed challenge. 4. Commit Phase – Turn ideas into action - Define next steps, responsibilities, and ownership. - End with clear outcomes so no new meetings are needed to “follow up.” That's it. Oh, yeah. This video was shot in our latest Full-Stack-Facilitator Training in Palo Alto, California. If you're interested in coming to the next one in July 2026 check out this page -> https://lnkd.in/dNfvD7hd Check out the video here -> https://lnkd.in/djNjU_SQ Cheers.

Jonathan Courtney and Jake Knapp sat down together this week to talk about creativity, ADHD, and feeling overwhelmed in an episode of The Unscheduled CEO. If you were a fan of Jake and Jonathan (previously known as The Product Breakfast Club) you should definitely give it a listen. It feels like the good ol’ times tbh. Also if you’re a creative person “trapped” in a world of productivity, you might feel understood after listening to this. Cheers https://lnkd.in/eeryKEEp

Most people are wrong about how meetings work (here’s how facilitators can help) Most people assume that you start a meeting with a clear goal and end it with a clear outcome and action steps. But in reality, that’s not how meetings usually work. Most meetings are chaotic because collaboration between people is chaotic. That’s where a facilitator comes in. As a facilitator, you probably won't be able to eliminate all the messiness of collaboration, but you can bring structure, get the best out of every team member, and “conduct” the chaos so that real progress gets made. This video is a clip from our highest level in-person facilitation training, Full Stack Facilitator 2025 in Palo Alto, California, led by AJ&Smart’s CEO, Jonathan Courtney. Check out the video. Jonathan explains it better there. https://lnkd.in/e4aVSNfJ

This video was shot on day 3 of our Full Stack Facilitator Training this year in Palo Alto, California. Jonathan Courtney started the day thinking he was going to be teaching about "the mindset of a facilitator." We kicked off the training with an exercise called "Morning Pages," based on an activity described in the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. But right after this exercise, when participants were sharing their reflections about what they had written down, Jonathan noticed that the tone and mood in the room had changed. Everyone was more emotional and more present. So he pivoted (like a true emergent facilitator—cringe) to talk about one of the most important things that we do before a workshop or training: priming ourselves. In a lot of cases warm-ups, icebreakers and other activities are not possible because they are not right for the session or because you're dealing with very senior people. So the best way to ensure that you have a great workshop is to prime yourself. Thanks to Talia Johnson✨💖 , Aline Kronig-Schmid, Audrey S. Lee, and Kelly Larbes for sharing your own priming techniques. Also, thanks to everyone who attended Full Stack Facilitator. You were all amazing! https://lnkd.in/euUcM85F