Workshop Moderator
Certification Course
Where innovation meets efficiency for transformative results
Empower your leadership journey by mastering one of the most innovative and transformational methods for collaborative problem solving — one that compresses the time from notion to execution, and turns meetings into decisions that move the ball down the field.
execute,
Execute,
EXECUTE!
What if your meetings ended with a decision that moves the ball down the field — and nobody made that decision, but everyone did, through collaborative effort?
That’s what company leadership wants most: convert thoughts into action. No more meetings that end in a decision to have another meeting. Design Thinking for Operational Excellence is reshaping the landscape of problem-solving — revolutionizing how businesses devise and deploy decisive responses faster and execute on their strategies more quickly.
The DT4OpEx® Training and Certification Program equips participants with the essential skills and methodologies to enhance operational performance through innovative, human-centered problem-solving. Participants are immersed in the 7-Step Process — from empathizing with users through prototyping, testing, and implementing successful solutions.
Break free from conventional thinking and tap into the boundless realm of creativity. Design Thinking empowers teams to explore uncharted territories and uncover groundbreaking solutions.
Build bridges between diverse perspectives and harness the collective intelligence of your team. Collaboration isn’t just encouraged — it’s at the heart of every brainstorming session.
Transform ideas into actionable strategies and compress time to drive tangible results. DT4OpEx® isn’t just about ideation — it’s about executing innovative solutions that propel your business forward.
The 7-Step Process
A structured, deployable framework that guides you from first contact with a challenge through to a fully documented and shareable outcome.
By mastering and becoming certified in the DT4OpEx® 7-Step Process, participants develop the capability to identify inefficiencies, streamline processes, and optimize workflows to drive operational excellence. The certification serves as a tangible validation of proficiency, enhancing credibility and opening doors to new opportunities for leadership within their organizations.
What each step delivers
Each step of the DT4OpEx® 7-Step Process addresses a distinct phase — from articulating value through to archiving outcomes that compound over time.
Articulate the unique benefits and advantages a workshop offers. Outline the specific knowledge or skills participants will gain, the problem-solving methodologies they’ll learn, and the potential impact on their development. A clear value proposition translates participation into meaningful outcomes.
Identify who should be involved — primary stakeholders, key decision-makers, sponsors, beneficiaries, and subject matter experts. Engaging relevant stakeholders early and fostering collaboration ensures the workshop is tailored to meet the diverse needs of its intended audience.
Define clear objectives aligned with organizational goals and participant needs. Select appropriate methodologies — brainstorming sessions, prototyping exercises, user journey mapping — to stimulate creative thinking. Employ diverse instructional methods that accommodate various learning styles.
Create a prototype to simulate the workshop’s structure, content, and activities before live delivery. Test assumptions through pilot sessions or focus groups. This iterative process allows adjustments that optimize the workshop experience — mitigating risk and maximizing confidence and impact.
Guide, motivate, and inspire participants toward meaningful learning experiences. Create an engaging environment where participants feel supported and encouraged. Share personal anecdotes, real-life examples, and success stories that ignite inspiration — empowering participants to overcome challenges with confidence.
Capture key learnings, action items, and participant feedback. Documentation reinforces retention, enhances accountability by clearly outlining next steps and responsibilities, and facilitates knowledge sharing among stakeholders who may not have attended — maximizing the workshop’s impact.
Create a valuable repository of knowledge that informs future decision-making. Share results with stakeholders to foster transparency and accountability. Analyze workshop analytics for insights into participant engagement, learning outcomes, and areas for improvement — enabling organizations to refine and compound results over time.
3-Day Agenda
An intensive, intimate learning experience designed to maximize personal attention and meaningful peer-to-peer engagement across three progressive days.
Learn the basics & design your workshop. You will learn the most important methods and tools used to run a design thinking workshop successfully — and get a solid understanding of the skills and group dynamics that ensure quality and effectiveness.
Participants leave Day 1 with a deep grasp of DT4OpEx® basics, the Billboard method, and a designed and planned workshop ready for on-stage delivery the following day.
- Welcome and getting to know each other
- Discuss purpose and ambitions of the workshop
- Introduction to Operational Excellence, Design Thinking, and DT4OpEx®
- DT4OpEx® workshop benefits overview
- Design Thinking basics and core principles
- DT4OpEx® workshop tools and methods
- Introduction to the logical elements of DT4OpEx®
- Walk-through DT4OpEx® Billboard example
- Moderator skills and group dynamics
- Engage in a DT4OpEx® workshop challenge and debrief
- Decide on final workshop layout for Day 2
- Distribute presentation slots and tasks for Day 2
On-stage: delivering your own workshop. You will moderate your first Billboard Design Thinking workshop. Each participant moderates one part of the workshop the group designed together on Day 1.
Day 2 is about doing. Participants take on both the moderator and participant role — experiencing the full arc of a DT4OpEx® workshop in a safe environment with feedback from trainer and peers.
- Review Day 1 with discussion period
- Tips for moderating including the Socratic Method and Timeboxing
- Consulting on setup and use of materials and technology
- Instruction on creating the DT4OpEx® journey and preparing a Billboard
- Briefing of Billboard and setting expectations
- Team participants moderate their Billboard slots
- Debrief and feedback from trainer and peers
- Workshop closing and next steps discussion
- Summary and wrap-up of the day
- Preparations and briefing for Day 3
Digital skills & the full workshop lifecycle. You will learn the skills you need to design and run your workshop from first contact through completion — the full 7-Step Method in practice.
Day 3 covers the interpersonal and technical skills necessary from initiation to completion, and prepares participants to deliver their first real-world DT4OpEx® workshop toward full certification.
- Step 1 — Request value proposition
- Step 2 — Qualify stakeholders
- Step 3 — Designing a workshop
- Step 4 — Prototyping and testing an offer
- Step 5 — Delivering a workshop (setup)
- Step 6 — Follow-up and Documentation
- Step 7 — Archiving, sharing, and analytics
- How to engage the owner of the challenge
- Creating and sending a workshop Proposal
- Getting posters and workshop materials printed
- Preparing to deliver your workshop
- Documenting your workshop effectively
- Planning and time commitment expectations
- Open Discussion and Closing
A complete, deployable toolkit.
Everything required to begin designing and moderating your own DT4OpEx® workshops — from the first day of class through to your certification delivery.
Intense, hands-on education and training on DT4OpEx® with an expected outcome of being capable of designing, delivering, and documenting a DT4OpEx® workshop using the full 7-step process. Maximum class sizes guarantee individual attention.
Kindle editions of State of Readiness by Joseph F. Paris Jr. and Billboard Design Thinking — foundational texts that anchor the DT4OpEx® methodology and provide ongoing reference for moderators in the field.
Templates #02, #03, and #04 — ready-to-deploy frameworks for creating your own workshops. These professionally designed tools allow you to hit the ground running and begin delivering real impact within your organization immediately.
Opportunity to become fully certified by designing and delivering your own DT4OpEx® workshop to an end-user, then reporting back and debriefing the experience. The certification serves as tangible validation of your DT4OpEx® proficiency.
With a maximum of 20 students in open-enrollment courses, it is guaranteed to be an intimate learning experience designed to maximize the time and attention given to each student’s efforts.
We recommend a minimum of two students from each company attend to ensure the best quality outcome — especially for the practical exercise tackling a real business challenge.
Leaders ready to move from meetings to momentum.
Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting your journey — this course delivers results for anyone committed to driving operational excellence through collaborative innovation.
Professionals responsible for OpEx or CI programs who want a powerful, repeatable workshop methodology that compresses time from challenge identification to implemented solution.
Internal consultants, change managers, and innovation champions who want to add a certified, structured design thinking capability to their professional toolkit.
People who run teams and are tired of meetings that produce more meetings. Those who want to lead their organization through genuine collaborative problem-solving that produces agreed-upon outcomes quickly.
Companies sending two or more colleagues to create an internal capability — so that design thinking becomes a permanent feature of how challenges are addressed, not a one-time event.
This exciting educational opportunity focuses on unleashing your creative potential through design thinking. Discover innovative strategies and techniques that will empower you to tackle complex challenges with fresh perspectives — and engage in interactive workshops led by industry experts to develop your problem-solving skills.
Best of all, you will use these skills to tackle real challenges in your own organization as your exercise — helping to bring back to your organization a culture of innovation that drives lasting results.