Insights from our strategy workshop at the leadership Summit

At the Burning Man European Leadership Summit (ELS) 2024, our team from the Open Strategy research project had the opportunity to conduct a dynamic strategy workshop with summit participants. The workshop aimed to delve into the intricacies of open strategizing, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of futures ahead. It included a diverse group of Burning Man Project staff, Regional Contacts, community builders and artists. 

Participants were divided into small groups, each tasked with discussing and mapping Burning Man history. First round ended each group shared their insights from the historical milestones with the larger group, highlighting key themes and challenges.  In the second round teams engaged in an exercise where they were to build paths  to hypothetical scenarios. Each group worked on designing a participatory strategy process for a fictional organization, considering potential challenges and solutions. 

We concluded the workshop with a reflection session, where participants shared their key takeaways and insights. Generally teams identified common challenges in the future planning being around managing diverse expectations, ensuring meaningful engagement, and maintaining flexibility in strategy processes.

The insights and ideas generated during the workshop will inform our ongoing research on open strategy. We are excited to continue exploring these themes and sharing our findings with the broader community. Our next steps include conducting interviews with the community leads and Burning Man Project staff.