Securing Alignment Around a Vision for a Clean Energy Initiative in Arizona

Challenge

In 2020, Bain & Co. was looking for an innovative way to inspire ideas during a workshop with The Nature Conservancy. This workshop was focused on the Arizona Thrives initiative, a statewide effort to transition from carbon-based fuels to clean energy.

Action

Bain convened a virtual workshop with stakeholders from across Arizona businesses, government, and other organizations. Tremendousness helped to facilitate the event, a live sketching exercise that brought their ideas to life in a tangible, visible way.

Given the diverse set of stakeholders came with a variety of viewpoints and interests, it was critical to reach alignment early in the process. Live sketching provided a common language that bridged any communication gaps that existed given the variety of backgrounds, industries and interests of the attendees. Most of them hadn’t worked together and many had never met, and the live sketching atmosphere quickly broke down barriers. 

The session also boosted energy, engagement, and creativity among the participants, leading to a number of suggestions worthy of consideration. The drawings made it easy for everyone to quickly understand what was being discussed, allowing them to make their own contributions as they moved toward a shared vision for the campaign. 

Result

Workshop participants aligned around a series of vignettes depicting what would happen if Arizona Thrives does “take action,” versus what the consequences would be if they did not.

The drawings explored the impacts across many sectors including the state’s economy, environment, and community health and well-being. They also provided a clear roadmap for how Tremendousness would move forward with the next phase of deliverables, maintaining both momentum and alignment for the overall project.