xBlog
In 1999, XPLANE created one of the first business blogs. We have been adding great insights ever since. Check out our latest posts, filled with ideas for designing, facilitating, and creating lasting change for people and organizations.
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Three Gangbuster Visual Icebreakers
Three Gangbuster Visual Icebreakers
Updated: September 27, 2021. This article was originally published on January 21, 2015. Our discovery ses...
A Powerful Way to Get Traction on Your DE&I Initiative
A Powerful Way to Get Traction on Your DE&I Initiative
At XPLANE, we aren’t experts in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), but we can help organizations v...
Turn Your Thinking Inside Out: The Path to More Effective Communication and Collaboration
Turn Your Thinking Inside Out: The Path to More Effective Communication and Collaboration
If you’ve ever drawn a picture to explain what you’re talking about, used sticky notes to brainstorm ideas...
Confidently Lead Your Next Change Initiative
Confidently Lead Your Next Change Initiative
This post was updated August 23, 2022 Making change happen is a monumental task. How do you move people from p...
Strategy Execution Needs Human-Centered Design: Five Steps to Turn Plans into Action
Strategy Execution Needs Human-Centered Design: Five Steps to Turn Plans into Action
Strategies that are launched with a complex presentation and “cascaded” down the ranks are bound to fail. ...
Culture and Collaboration in the Post-COVID Workplace
Culture and Collaboration in the Post-COVID Workplace
This interview was conducted by Chuck Frey and was originally published in the NEXT/EDGE newsletter. Cultivate...
The Power of Working With a Design Consultancy
The Power of Working With a Design Consultancy
How would you define “design consultancy”? If you’re like XPLANE designer Catie Cooper, you might be a l...
Why “Customer Centricity” is a C-Suite Commitment: 12 Characteristics of a World-Class CX Strategy
Why “Customer Centricity” is a C-Suite Commitment: 12 Characteristics of a World-Class CX Strategy
What drives retention, referrals, and profitability and accelerates growth? Customer centricity, the classic o...
Without Vision, Your Strategy—and Much Else—is Hopeless
Without Vision, Your Strategy—and Much Else—is Hopeless
A compelling vision of the future can inform much more than just your next strategic plan. In fact, it’s cri...
Tips and Tools for Great Hybrid Workplace Communication and Collaboration
Tips and Tools for Great Hybrid Workplace Communication and Collaboration
As hybrid teams become the new normal, what's the secret (or key) to nurturing robust communication and collab...
A Card Game to Identify Reasons People Resist Change
A Card Game to Identify Reasons People Resist Change
In 25+ years of leading organizations through change, XPLANE has encountered more than 35 distinct barriers to...
Five Steps to Transforming the Customer Experience and Accelerating Growth
Five Steps to Transforming the Customer Experience and Accelerating Growth
Studies show an organization’s focus on customers increases referrals, retention rates, and employee engagem...
How to Foster Trust on Remote Teams
How to Foster Trust on Remote Teams
How much do you trust your coworkers? According to experts, our prolonged run of predominantly remote work is ...
Make Your Workplace a Magnet for Top Talent
Make Your Workplace a Magnet for Top Talent
If you want to attract and retain top talent, it might be time to level up your organization’s employee expe...
A Card Game to Uncover the Issues of Growth, Crisis, or Change
A Card Game to Uncover the Issues of Growth, Crisis, or Change
Faced with a torrent of high-priority needs jostling for your attention? Calm the sea of demands with a card g...
Four Steps to Drive Positive Organizational Change
Four Steps to Drive Positive Organizational Change
When it comes to change, does your organization have a fairly good grip on things or does it feel more like yo...
Finally, a Tool That Can Help Improve Employee Experience
Finally, a Tool That Can Help Improve Employee Experience
As talent pools evaporate and employees leave jobs in droves for greener pastures each year, employers are kee...
To Be an Effective Modern Leader, Cultivate These Five Traits
To Be an Effective Modern Leader, Cultivate These Five Traits
Make no mistake about it—remote work and decentralized teams are here to stay. If you’re a leader at work,...
The Secret to Developing Your Staff and Improving Performance
The Secret to Developing Your Staff and Improving Performance
While domestic companies spend a staggering $100 billion per year on corporate training, only one in four busi...
3 Tips for Better Facilitation
3 Tips for Better Facilitation
The modest superhero of any meeting, the humble facilitator wields great power—helping groups deal with diff...
How to Design a Strategy Execution Plan
How to Design a Strategy Execution Plan
Q: I’ve invested a lot of time and resources to create an exciting new strategy for my organization. How do ...
Understand Employees and Move Critical Initiatives Forward With This One Tool
Understand Employees and Move Critical Initiatives Forward With This One Tool
No matter how intuitive and in touch you are as a leader, there will inevitably be times employee insights are...
Quickly Diagnose Your Organization’s Starting Point for Change
Quickly Diagnose Your Organization’s Starting Point for Change
Crafting an incisive business strategy is only the beginning of organizational change. To really get your stra...
The Right Tool for the Job: Three Simple Steps to Better Communications
The Right Tool for the Job: Three Simple Steps to Better Communications
Like wide-eyed kids in a candy shop, we’re faced with an enticing array of communication tools day and night...