CEE Design Sprint: how to learn faster and collaborate smarter

We are sure that you have probably read about, heard of, been in or even run this type of framework, that Jake Knapp invented back in 2010 – Design Sprint. In his book „Sprint: How to solve problems and test new ideas in just five days”, Jake mentioned that magic happens when we use big whiteboards to solve problems, because „as humans, our short-term memory is not all that good, but our spatial memory is awesome.” and, from experience, we couldn’t agree more.

In the last years, many organisations have adopted this idea, as a tool for innovation and problem-solving, and within the CEE region, our primary goal was to create a forward-thinking team of people, that can further shape the culture of Mazars and become Innovation Ambassadors.

Therefore, in September, a team of 25 colleagues from 11 different countries have been involved in 8 online workshops, where they had to work on ambitious challenges in the areas of automation and internal communication. From getting to know what the framework is all about and why it became an unique tool, to gaining an emphatic understanding of the problem and defining it, to then continue with creating ideas and prototypes, and finishing with testing them, our Mazarians have learned to make critical decisions, focus and work towards something realistic, consider all perspectives and ask for feedback, and identify if their ideas are creating value on the long run

It’s been an incredible adventure, and now it’s time to pitch their ideas. The closing event takes place on 1 October 2021, where we are curious to witness their extraordinary results.

Congratulations to all of our colleagues involved. You have proved yourselves, once again, that there is always a way to a better solution, you just have to work towards it and find it. We are all looking forward to applying the methods that you’ve learned to our future projects.

This project was run thanks to the support of management board of CEE and deep involvement of Innovation Team in Slovakia – Michaela Hecht and Andrea Rybarova. As well as main organization and lead from external experts in Design Thinking – Alina Wundsam and Katharina Kozel.

“The Mazars CEE Design Sprint is about living the culture of innovation at Mazars, learning new methods, networking employees throughout Central and Eastern Europe and jointly creating innovative solutions in the areas of automation and internal communication“

Yulia Zaprudska, CEE HR Coordinator