Nemawashi Future Commitments

What participants gain

• Translate abstract 5-year bets into concrete 1-year directional objectives
• Publicly commit departmental resources to cross-functional strategic goals
• Identify and verbally acknowledge critical dependencies between executive peers
• Establish a shared emotional commitment to the execution of the strategy

Materials needed

• A physical 'talking piece' (a meaningful object, perhaps related to the company's origin)
• Commitment canvas worksheets (one per executive)
• Chairs arranged in a perfect circle with no tables in the middle
• A central focal point (e.g., the finalized strategic bets board)
• Pens and clipboards for each participant

How to run Nemawashi Future Commitments, step by step

1. Instruct participants to take their clipboards and arrange their chairs in a perfect circle with no physical barriers between them (5 min).
2. Give executives silent time to fill out their individual commitment canvases based on the agreed strategic bets (15 min).
3. Introduce the talking piece protocol: Only the person holding the object may speak, and no one may respond or interrupt (5 min).
4. Pass the talking piece; each executive states their primary commitment and names one specific peer they need help from (25 min).
5. Conduct a second, faster round where executives acknowledge the requests for help and verbally commit to supporting their peers (20 min).
6. Place the talking piece in the center and ask for any final, brief reflections on the weight of the commitments made (5 min).
7. Collect the commitment canvases to be digitized as the foundational OKRs for the upcoming year (5 min).
8. Formally close the exercise by acknowledging the vulnerability and alignment achieved (0 min).

Facilitator tips

• The facilitator must also sit in the circle and model the deep listening behavior.
• If someone interrupts, gently but firmly point to the talking piece to restore the protocol.
• Use the phrase 'I commit to...' rather than 'I will try to...' to enforce strong language.
• Ensure the physical object used as the talking piece has some gravity or significance to the team.
• In a virtual setting, establish a strict speaking order visible to everyone and enforce the 'mute all others' rule rigidly.

Common challenges

• Executives make vague, non-committal statements - Intervene gently before passing the piece, asking them to quantify or specify the commitment.
• Someone uses their time to complain about past failures - Acknowledge the pain but immediately redirect them to state what they need for future success.
• The circle feels awkward or 'too soft' for a corporate team - Frame it explicitly as an advanced alignment technology used by high-reliability organizations.
• A critical dependency is denied by a peer in the second round - Pause the circle protocol briefly to mediate the conflict, then resume.

Running it virtually

Create a visual circle of participant avatars on a shared screen. Use a 'digital talking piece' (like a spotlight feature on Zoom) and enforce a strict round-robin speaking order.

Expected results

A set of deeply aligned, verbally committed OKR directions from every executive, backed by a profound shared understanding of cross-departmental dependencies.

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