Rose, Thorn, Bud: take stock as a team to work more productively

Conduct a strategic analysis with the Rose, Thorn, Bud design thinking workshop

The Rose, Thorn, Bud workshop is a simple design thinking method to encourage continuous improvement using the flower metaphor. It's an easy way to conduct a strategic analysis on a given subject as a team. When using the Rose, Thorn, Bud template, you associate your successes with the rose, your challenges with thorns, and opportunities with buds.

With this design thinking workshop, get feedback easily and consider ideas to explore in more detail as a team. Using the image of the flower, everyone can express themselves and you find new ideas to encourage continuous improvement and business innovation. Get a bird's eye view as a team with the simple and effective Rose, Thorn & Bud Template!

What are the benefits of using this design thinking method?

Design thinking methodologies are based on a human-centered approach that encourages you to think in a very visual way. Using images, playing, drawing and imagination in design thinking workshops inevitably leads to innovative solutions, product innovation and new ideas.

Working as a team can sometimes be tedious, which is why it’s essential to spice up your methods and continuously stimulate the creative spirit of your team members. Sometimes setting aside business jargon to use images such as the rose while doing a strategic analysis will enable participants to access a completely different part of their brain, which might prove to be more creative.

Perfect in countless situations (regular team catch-ups, stumbling blocks in project management, customer feedback, etc.) and with an unlimited number of participants, this design thinking method is an effective way to get feedback and ideas to explore as a team.

Whether you’re together in person, or some of you are working remotely, inspire your team with this quick and fun workshop!

How to use the Rose, Thorn, Bud template with Klaxoon

Start by inviting your team members to your Klaxoon whiteboard, and then introduce the topic you’re going to think about.

Launch the timer at the top for a 5-minute group brainstorming session:

• In the first “Rose” column, the participants send all their ideas about what is positive about the topic (success, efficient progression, etc.).
• Time another 5 minutes, so the participants can fill in the “Thorn” column with their ideas on what’s not working, obstacles and problems.
• Finally, time another 5 minutes for the “Bud” column, which represents opportunities and ideas that are still to be explored.

Feel free to add 1 or 2 minutes to each category if the participants need it, before a group debriefing on all the ideas that came out of this workshop! You will then be able to use the outcomes of this design thinking workshop to assess your situation, learn from it and bounce back to explore ways of moving forward as a team.