About Workshop Tactics
What is Workshop Tactics?
Workshop Tactics is a deck of cards that helps you run more effective workshops and meetings. Each strikingly designed card contains step-by-step instructions for a workshop facilitation exercise. They are expertly curated, so you know precisely which workshop to run, and when to run it.
The card deck empowers teams to evaluate, understand, generate ideas, prioritise and make decisions - core practices of the most innovative and progressive organisations.
This is no ordinary deck of cards; the Workshop Tactics deck is finished to the highest standard and made with eagle-eyed attention to detail.
What's the story behind Workshop Tactics?
Meetings suck a lot.
I've sat through hundreds of ineffective meetings. You know the ones I'm talking about. The agenda is derailed by the loudest voice. Strong opinions and differences are never settled. The session ends, and you're not sure you are any closer to where you need to be.
Time is precious, and meetings are a great way of wasting it.
Until one day, a new guy – Tom – started at the agency I was working at. In his meetings, we got stuff done. He commanded the room in a humble yet authoritative manner. We all left the room, having accomplished something together. We knew what we had to do next.
It was effortless like he was directing a play that we were all part of. His meetings were the talk of the office. It felt revolutionary, but they weren't really 'meetings'. He was running 'mini-workshops'. We didn't even realise that, because we were too busy getting stuff done.
I wanted to know how he did it. I wanted to know which workshop to run and how to run it – without having to spend years practising.
And that's how the idea of Workshop Tactics was born.
Each 400gsm matte finish card is colour-coded to make it easy to navigate to the category you need.
What is the biggest problem Workshop Tactics solves?
In the age of the internet, there is too much information. If you want to find the best workshops, you have to sift through a lot of noise to find them.
I set out to find the simplest and most effective workshops and put them all in one place, so that - just like Tom - I could pull out the right workshop at the right time.
... and that was my lightbulb moment. Not only curating the best workshops into one place but giving guidance on exactly the most appropriate time to use them.
Workshop Tactics comes with the Workshop Strategy System card to help you pick the right tactic at the right time.
I realised this was something that other people will find useful. Even if you are already an expert, like Tom. A carefully curated set of workshops in your back pocket empowers not only you but everyone around you. Who doesn't want that for their business?
- Charles Burdett
Founder of Workshop Tactics
The Workshop Tactics Team
Charles Burdett
Workshop Tactics was created by Charles Burdett. Charles has years of experience facilitating workshops as a design lead in product teams. He created Workshop Tactics to help others do the same.
Previously a Senior UX Designer at the BBC he helped shape the Bitesize and Teach brands. Before that, he worked at Manchester agency Code Computerlove where he co-created the massively popular Higher Lower Game. He's currently working as a Freelance UX Consultant with Co-op Digital to develop innovations for Co-op Food stores.
David Hill
The beautiful illustrations and artwork are created by David Hill. David is an illustrator and comic artist based in Berlin, Germany. After graduating with a Masters in Illustration from Sheffield in 2014, he moved to Berlin and became a freelance illustrator working in the editorial, game design and children’s literature fields.
He is currently working as an artist with NYC based mobile game company PlayDots Inc. on their social media content and in-game events such as the seasonal hidden-object hunts in Two Dots.