Ways to Use Collaborative Tools for Creative Projects

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺—𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗼. Turn ChatGPT into your 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺: Tackle tough problems by simulating a room full of experts—CEO, CFO, Innovator, Customer, and more. Think like a team. Decide like a strategist. Solve like a pro. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 Role Lens Insights is a powerful way to swarm problems, expose blind spots, stress-test ideas, and generate better solutions. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 • Turns solo thinking into 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗱𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 • Builds 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 for different stakeholders • Surfaces 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀 • Helps you 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀-𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 and 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 decisions fast • Amplifies your 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝘁 1. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 Clearly state the problem, decision, or idea you want to explore. 2. 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 Select 3–5 expert lenses relevant to your challenge (e.g., CEO, CFO, Innovation Expert, Customer, etc.). 3. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 Ask ChatGPT to respond from each role's perspective (e.g., “As the CFO, what risks do you see?”). 4. 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲 Have the roles "discuss" the idea as if in a team meeting. This dialogue reveals tensions, assumptions, and synergies. 5. 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 Identify key themes, trade-offs, blind spots, and opportunities across perspectives. 6. 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 & 𝗔𝗰𝘁 Integrate the learnings into a better, more rounded solution. You can also apply thinking tools like 𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝘀 or the 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝘃𝗮𝘀 to guide deeper analysis. 7. 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 Adjust roles, reframe the problem, or simulate new strategies to explore further. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮 You prompt ChatGPT to form a virtual team with 5 roles: • 𝗖𝗘𝗢: Focuses on vision and market opportunity. • 𝗖𝗙𝗢: Analyzes financial risk, ROI, and funding needs. • 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁: Evaluates uniqueness and feasibility. • 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱: Assesses customer fit and positioning. • 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: Explains the technical approach and scalability. Together, they discuss an AI-driven platform that predicts customer needs in real-time. Through their dialogue, you surface: • 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Personalized, proactive CX is a differentiator. • 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀: Cost of real-time data processing, competitive landscape. • 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀: Build a lean MVP, target e-commerce, and validate with early adopters. You then 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝘀 to explore the idea emotionally, logically, creatively, and cautiously—sharpening the strategy even further. What challenge will you swarm today?

Managing remote UX teams at top tech companies like Dropbox and Google has given me unique insights. Here are some best practices to overcome common challenges. - Virtual Design Critiques: Host regular design critique sessions via video conferencing. These allow for real-time feedback and ensure all team members stay aligned and engaged. - Leverage Digital Whiteboarding: Utilize tools like Miro or Mural for collaborative brainstorming and sketching sessions. These digital whiteboards can simulate the in-person experience and foster creativity among remote team members. - Conduct Virtual Usability Testing: Schedule remote usability testing sessions with real users using platforms like UserTesting or Lookback. This allows your team to gather valuable feedback and iterate on designs without needing in-person interactions. - Implement Design Pairing: Pair designers to work together on tasks via screen sharing and collaborative tools. This practice, similar to pair programming in software development, enhances problem-solving and skill-sharing among team members. - Encourage Creative Breaks: Schedule regular creative breaks where team members can share inspiration, personal projects, or recent design trends. This keeps the team engaged and inspired, even when working remotely. What strategies have you found effective for managing remote UX teams?

Yesterday, my neighbor Allan Adler and I were having coffee in the sun when we unintentionally started brainstorming a new relational leadership model. It maps how strategic/tactical capacities interact with emotions like fear and love to drive collaboration and lasting innovation in teams. 🤓 Sounds geeky right? There's more. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝙄 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧. 🛠️ 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜-𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 Our process looked something like this: 1. We had a dynamic, free-flowing hour-long conversation mapping out different ideas and concepts 2. Instead of one of us taking notes to organize later (the traditional approach), Allan immediately began using ChatGPT and Claude to structure our brainstorm into a coherent essay 3. He leveraged these AI tools to identify relevant examples from other leadership models that reinforced our key points 4. The AI helped surface additional sources we could explore to further develop our concept 5. We quickly ended up with a structured outline that could evolve into a testable model 💪 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 + 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 This experience perfectly demonstrates how AI tools don't replace critical thinking—they enhance it. These tools still require human sense-making abilities, but they dramatically elevate and accelerate creative brainstorming in ways that would have been far less efficient otherwise. By handling the research, synthesis, and editing, AI tools freed us to focus on the creative aspects and quality of our thinking. The technology essentially removed the friction between ideation and organization, allowing our concepts to take shape in real-time. 📣 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗱 Now we have a solid foundation for our "X Factor" model—which explores how the interplay of Creator, Constructor, Controller, and Connector capacities drives sustainable leadership—that we can test and refine "in the wild" by sharing and iterating publicly. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 (𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘣𝘪𝘵.𝘭𝘺/3𝘠𝘍8𝘓𝘜𝘱) 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘕𝘎𝘖 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘐-𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬? #WorkingOutLoud #AICollaboration #LeadershipInnovation #FutureOfWork #NGOleaders Photo by Zach Ramelan on Unsplash