Elevated Thinking

Workshop

Learn how to break down ambiguity, organize information, and turn noise into clarity so you can confidently tackle even the most wicked of problems

90% satisfaction

This workshop includes

Wicked problems are complex, messy challenges with no clear solution, where every attempt to solve them alters the problem itself. When we don't have a way to make sense of complexity:

Teams get stuck in analysis paralysis
Decisions feel rushed or unclear
Root problems get buried under surface-level noise
People default to gut feel or the loudest voice in the room

Cost to the business?

Time, energy, and trust go out the window. Without a method for making sense of wicked problems, teams lose alignment, burn out chasing symptoms, and miss opportunities to solve what really matters.

What's missing?

A structured, repeatable way to get unstuck and move forward with clarity.

In short, a toolkit for organizing messy thinking into clear insight.

Audience

Company-wide

Length

90 minutes

Cohort size

Price

Starting at $7,500

About this workshop

Participants will learn how to structure thinking when the path forward isn’t obvious. Through practical frameworks and hands-on exercises, they’ll develop a MECE mindset (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) and the ability to see the “So What” to organize thinking, surface insights, and make better decisions under pressure.

Skills you'll improve

Agenda

1 - Frame the Problem

Fast hook to show how information overload can overwhelm

We’ll open with a clip or exercise that puts you in the middle of a messy, overloaded situation, so you can feel just how disorienting unstructured information can be.

2 - MECE Mindset

Train your brain to spot structure

You’ll learn how to use the MECE principle to bring order to chaos, cut through noise, and see the shape of a problem more clearly.

3 - MECE in Action

Break down a real messy problem

With the help of a case study, we’ll practice applying MECE to a real business challenge, organizing information in a way that reveals what matters most.

4 - From Information to Insight

Go beyond organizing, start synthesizing

You’ll learn how to move from buckets of data to meaningful takeaways that drive decisions and spark momentum with the use of the Pyramid Principle.

5 - Problem Pyramid in Action

Use a proven tool to structure thinking

In pairs, you’ll apply the Pyramid Principle to a case study to build logic from the ground up and keep teams focused on solving the right problem.

6 - Reflect & Commit

Group debrief and personal action commitments

We’ll wrap by reflecting on what shifted, sharing insights, and committing to a small step you can take to bring this mindset into your work. You’ll also get a prompt to bring your manager into the loop.

90% satisfaction

What Participants Are Saying

“In navigating a tricky situation with an xfn partner, I used Narrative Dialogue to understand where she was coming from and develop a solution to best meet everyone's needs.”

Eliza Worcester

Senior Product Marketing Manager

“I enjoyed learning the Whole Brain Model - it will sharpen the way I engage with different stakeholders and how I position my communication strategy.”

Jessica Rose

L&D Associate

“I worked on a proposal through each workshop and it's helped me to shape the insights and recommendations using to the frameworks we learned.”

Brooklyn Brown

Staff Product Designer

“I've adapted the How/What framework to better coach my team and guide them through problem-solving in more productive ways.”

Stephanie Smith

Customer Success Partner

"I found this to be a very valuable course, and Andrew was fantastic.”

Sara Beatty

Senior Product Marketing Manager

“I'm constantly using soundbites when communicating with my core leadership audience: What do you NEED to know and by when in order to do what?”

Sara Becker

Senior Product Manager

"I learned useful ways to communicate more effectively by understanding your audience and using more structured thinking."

Qi Gao

Senior Data Scientist

“I found the points around sparking curiosity interesting. Getting engagement on documentation can be a challenge since people's attention is pulled in so many different ways.”

James Oliver

Senior Engineer

"I knew what MECE stood for, but I fully grasped how the concept was useful when presenting to a group that might not know as much about something as I do."

Dylan Schwarz

Marketing Analytics Senior Associate

The Curious Lion Experience

Zoom like you’ve never seen

Not your ordinary Zoom call

We combine storytelling, music, energizers, breakouts, and hands-on learning to create an unforgettable virtual experience.

Learn from peers across functions

Cross-functional learning provides context

The best learning happens when ideas are filtered through the unique context of those we work with. Our programs all follow our framework for Cohort Learning Experiences.

Get real work done

A structured process for solving problems

We provide hands-on coaching while your people apply our thinking tools to their actual work to ship during the cohort.

Drive business outcomes

Align learning to your business strategy

With a team of strategy consultants and learning consultants working hand-in-hand, we are able to create learning products that drive real business outcomes (and measure this).

Meet Your
Instructor

Andrew is an expert in learning and development, serving in executive roles at global organizations like KPMG. As the founder of Curious Lion, Andrew and his team have developed 1,000s of leaders at clients like Workday, Pinterest, IMG, and USAA, winning numerous awards for their engaging learning experiences.

Kenny is the Domain Manager for the Web Development Domain at Codecademy. He contributed to a wide range of courses and paths at Codecademy, including JavaScript, Bootstrap, Handlebars, Phaser.js, Go, Swift, TypeScript, and Lua.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this virtual?

The program is built to be virtual first, delivering a Zoom experience like you’ve never experienced before. But individual sessions can be delivered in person.

Can this be tailored?

All our programs have a minimum level of customization by our team of strategy and learning consultants. We can discuss deeper customization in our discovery calls.

What audience is this best for?

We see the most success with a cross-functional audience of experienced individual contributors transitioning to leadership and new leaders.

Why the focus on problem-solving?

The core challenge of leadership is not having all the answers. It’s having the right questions. This mindset is at the heart of problem-solving. We teach new and aspiring leaders how to synthesize multiple perspectives into a strategic narrative and communicate clearly to diverse stakeholders.