Introduction

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1. Overview of 100-Day Challenges

Introduction 1. Overview of 100-Day Challenges

Overview of 100-Day Challenges

What is a 100-Day Challenge?

On the surface: it is very simple. It is a project. Like most projects, it has a team, a goal, and a work plan. And it is time-bound. Typically the time frame is 100 days – from the time the team first meets until it accomplishes its mission. 

So what is the big deal? Why go through this Programme to learn how to guide people through it? 

To answer this question, please watch this video featuring a story you may have heard about. The rescue of 33 miners trapped 700 metres below the surface in Chile in 2010. 

Assignment

Describe a situation you experienced or observed where a crisis elicited unusually high levels of performance: Intense Collaboration, Frequent Innovation, and Rapid Implementation. Be as specific as possible.

So 100-Day Challenges borrow some of the features of crises to inspire higher team performance and new behaviours. Watch the video below to learn about these features.

Videos summary

Here’s a table that summarises the features and builds on what we saw in the two videos.

Crisis 

100-Day Challenge

Sense of Urgency 

Fast: 100 days from start to completion of the project

Success, or even survival, is far from guaranteed

100-Day Goal feels almost impossible to achieve 

“All hands on deck” – all focused on the crisis

Right team is assembled, all committed to the goal

People ignore red tape, hierarchy, and approvals

Evolving work plan, with lots of experimentation built into it – not business as usual

There are attributes of 100-Day Challenges we will discuss later in the Programme. For now, we’d like you to keep in mind that at each stage of the 100-day Challenge journey, we will be focusing on three things and treating these in unique ways that make 100-Day Challenges different from everyday projects.  The three are:

100-Day Team

100-Day Goal

100-Day Work plan

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Thought starter reflection questions

Jot down thoughts on these questions – to the extent they are relevant to your experience at the session:
  • When did the mood in the event shift from “why are we here?” to “this could be interesting – I am excited to be part of this.” What triggered this shift? 
  • When did you have to go “off script” on the agenda or to change the agenda? What triggered this? What did you adjust? How did it go?
  • What was most surprising to you at the event?
  • What new insights did you gain about the issue at hand, and about the way leaders in the system interacted with each other?
  • Where did the conversation get stuck? What got it unstuck?
  • How would you characterise the level of trust among participants in the meeting? To what extent did this shift as the meeting progressed? To what do you attribute this shift, if indeed it happened?

Thought starter...

Reflection Questions 

Jot down thoughts on these questions – to the extent they are relevant to your experience at the session:

  • When did the mood in the event shift from “why are we here?” to “this could be interesting – I am excited to be part of this.” What triggered this shift? 
  • When did you have to go “off script” on the agenda or to change the agenda? What triggered this? What did you adjust? How did it go?
  • What was most surprising to you at the event?
  • What new insights did you gain about the issue at hand, and about the way leaders in the system interacted with each other?
  • Where did the conversation get stuck? What got it unstuck?
These are 100-Day Challenge Mentors. 

They did some work before you received the Challenge Note. This included:

  • Writing the Challenge Note, and making sure that the leaders of all the organisations represented on the team are comfortable with it – and committed to supporting the work of the team
  • Helping the leaders of these organisation recruit you and your colleagues to the team
  • Gathering some baseline data and other information that will help you and your teammates set your 100-Day goal and develop your plan.
  • Making sure all the preparations are made for a successful Lift-Off workshop, when you and your teammates will meet and get your 100-Day Challenge started. This includes venue, facilitation support, food, swags, comms, travel arrangements and whatever else is needed.

 

Mentors will participate in all or part of the Lift-Off Workshop, mostly at the start to provide context and answer questions, and at the end to give you and your teammates feedback about the goal and plan you develop.

During the 100 days following the Lift-Off Workshop, here’s what the Mentors will do:  

  • They will check in every two weeks with the team leaders to see how the team is doing and what support they and the team need.
  • They will keep other organisational leaders informed and engaged during the 100 days, and pull them in to help as needed.
  • They will participate in the last part of the Refuelling Workshop, halfway through the 100 days, to see what additional support the team needs, and to begin to plan with the team for sustainability and scale-up.
  • They will work with the team at the Sustainability Workshop to finalise recommendations on sustaining the results and building on the work of the team.