Transformation is rarely a straightforward process. Whether in business, education, or personal growth, true change often encounters obstacles such as isolated teams, a lack of diverse perspectives, and linear thinking. These barriers can lead to stagnation, making it difficult to generate fresh ideas or create meaningful progress.
A Search for Inclusive Strategy Planning
In an effort to break through these barriers in my transformation work with educator preparation programs, I began searching for methods that invite diverse voices and perspectives into strategic planning. That’s when I stumbled across the How to Make Toast Activity – a simple yet powerful exercise that sheds light on how individuals think, process information, and collaborate.
What is the How to Make Toast Activity?
The How to Make Toast Activity is a facilitation exercise created by Tom Wujec to illustrate the complexity of systems thinking and problem-solving. It involves a simple prompt: “Draw how to make toast.” While it may sound straightforward, the results often reveal surprising insights about how we perceive and structure information.
How it Works
There are many ways to engage in the How to Make Toast Activity, but here’s the approach I use to maximize collaboration and strategic thinking:
Draw Your Toast – Each participant receives a blank sheet of paper and a marker. Without any instructions beyond “Draw how to make toast,” they sketch their personal interpretation of the process. This step highlights individual assumptions and thinking styles. (2-3 minutes)
Compare & Discuss – Participants share their drawings with one another, noting differences in detail, sequencing, and approach. Some may focus only on the toaster, while others include sourcing ingredients or cleaning up afterward. This discussion sparks insights into how people visualize systems differently. (5 minutes)
Break It Down into Steps – Each participant takes their drawing and translates each step into a separate sticky note or index card. This forces them to deconstruct the process into individual actions—a key skill in systems thinking and strategic planning. (5 minutes)
Build a Cohesive Process – Working in small groups, participants combine their sticky notes to form a shared, step-by-step toast-making process. They move notes around, remove redundancies, and negotiate sequencing. This mirrors collaborative decision-making in strategic planning, where teams must align on priorities and streamline workflows. (10 minutes)
Watch & Reflect – After finalizing their group process, participants watch the TED.com DrawToast video, which explains systems thinking and the importance of breaking down processes. The video reinforces why visualizing and iterating on ideas is critical for transformation. (5 minutes)
Strategic Planning Connection – To conclude, participants reflect on how this activity prepares them for engaging in strategic planning for transformation:
How did individual perspectives shift when working as a group?
What parallels exist between making toast and breaking down complex organizational challenges?
How can visualizing processes improve clarity, alignment, and action steps in real-world strategy work?
This method helps participants experience the power of collaboration, iteration, and structured problem-solving—essential mindsets for effective transformation planning.
From Making Toast to Strategic Planning
This activity serves as an excellent precursor to deeper strategic planning. By analyzing how different people approach the same task, we gain insight into:
The diversity of perspectives within a group
The importance of clarity in processes
The value of iteration and feedback in problem-solving
How collaboration fosters innovation
Participants often reflect on the experience with comments like, “I didn’t realize how differently people approach the same problem” or “Seeing everyone’s drawings helped me recognize gaps in my own thinking.” These insights are invaluable when tackling larger organizational challenges.
Additionally, observing how people engage in the activity—whether they naturally work together, rely on assumptions, or take a systematic approach—offers a window into team dynamics.
A Real-World Example
I recently facilitated this activity with the leadership team of an educator preparation program that was developing a strategic plan to achieve its transformation goals. During the reflection, they recognized that their team often operated in silos, leading to bottlenecks in workflows and duplicated efforts. This realization underscored the importance of including voices from each department in their planning process. When they transitioned to strategic planning, they applied the same principles from the How to Make Toast Activity, breaking down their yearly milestones into actionable steps and inviting a representative from each department to contribute. This approach led to a more cohesive, transparent process that ensured every department’s role was clearly defined and aligned toward shared goals.
Conclusion
The How to Make Toast Activity is more than just a fun exercise; it’s a lens through which we can examine and improve collaboration, problem-solving, and strategic planning. If you’re looking to transform the way your team approaches challenges, this activity is a great starting point.
Try it out and reflect on your experience:
What steps do you instinctively include when making toast?
How does your process differ from others on your team?
What assumptions did you make, and how could those impact your work?
For more information, check out http://www.drawtoast.com/index.html and watch the How to Make Toast TEDTalk to try it with your team.
Mia O'Suji is the co-founder and Director of Content Development and Programming at CTAPP. She leads organizational efforts related to teacher preparation programming and strategic project planning.
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