I love the ecocycle model for its power to move us beyond linear thinking. It's also a mirror that we can look into to see what traps we've fallen into yet again. My tendency is to not enjoy what's in the Mature area while having difficulty letting things die!

Ecocycle is one of the LS models that I often use for solo sense-making. Whenever I get overwhelmed with my commitments, I sit down and map things out on an ecocycle.

Facilitation notes

There's a bit of a barrier to entry because of its unfamiliar shape and vocabulary but with the right introduction, I find that most people are able to embrace the metaphors of earth and the cyclical nature of its seasons as a rythmn that makes sense for all kinds of planning.

Workshop design notes

Since the visual nature of the ecocycle is so striking, it’s nice to keep visible somewhere or even maintain it as a live artefact. That said, it may not translate well to someone who wasn’t involved in creating it. Therefore, action items that come as a result of investment decisions are best harvested into a format that’s more familiar to the wider audience, such as a roadmap or kanban board.

See instructions

This entry is part of an ongoing series of Field notes from my Liberating Structures practice.

LS under development
- Aug 16, 2020 Tiny monsters
- Aug 13, 2020 Narrative reauthoring
- Aug 12, 2020 Spiral journal
- Aug 9, 2020 Mad Tea Party
Microstructures
- Feb 24, 2021 Helping Heuristics
- Oct 4, 2020 Nine Whys
- Oct 4, 2020 Appreciative interviews
- Sep 24, 2020 Ecocycle planning
- Sep 20, 2020 Celebrity interview
- Aug 22, 2020 25/10 Crowdsourcing
- Aug 22, 2020 Open space technology
- Aug 22, 2020 Wise crowds
- Aug 14, 2020 Wicked questions
- Aug 13, 2020 Heard, seen, respected
- Aug 13, 2020 15% Solution
- Aug 13, 2020 Triz
- Aug 13, 2020 Min specs
- Aug 12, 2020 User experience fishbowl
- Aug 11, 2020 Conversation cafe
- Aug 11, 2020 Troika Consulting
- Aug 11, 2020 Impromptu networking
- Aug 10, 2020 1-2-4-All