/ Workshop Topics

This is a sample of topics (selected from a larger list) that can be effectively facilitated if data indicates that it’d be a promising growth area for your organisation. For each topic, the list has a condensed description of a selection of outcomes/benefits and resources used to build theoretical and applied expertise.

It is not uncommon to work with people who have read dozens or even hundreds of books. However, they are often stuck at the theory–level and only start to gain real practical value when an experienced facilitator (e.g., coach) guides the translation from theory into practice.

I haven’t just read and memorized the theory but observed over hundreds of hours how other people's minds engage with the ideas, what the obstacles are that occur during the implementation, and what the difference is between good and great translations. Our extensive experiences enable us to draw from a rich pool of examples and case studies to make the ideas come alive. A lot of propositional and procedural knowledge doesn’t lend itself to being referenced (e.g., knowledge acquired through 1600+ hours worth of workshops and coaching sessions with deliberate feedback loops and working with peak performers). We have actively implemented them for ourselves and the high-achieving people we work with and thereby gone from theory, to practice, to (some level of) mastery.

However, in the workshop format, we do not see ourselves as lecturers but as experienced facilitators that provide theories, models, frameworks, and ideas and then ask experienced-tuned questions or exercises that help the organisation or participants translate the insights into sustained practical value.

*This document was co-created with Sebastian Schmidt
#1: Purpose
  • Uncovering patterns of interest and passions in one’s biography
  • Clarifying current view on purpose at work and life in general
  • Cultivating a stronger sense of purpose throughout the day
  • Becoming more motivated, engaged, and energized via purpose salience
  • Minimizing life regret
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Joseph Campbell
The Hero's Journey
William Damon
The Path to Purpose

Stephen Cope
The Great Work of Your Life
Abraham Maslow
Future Visions
Todd Henry
Die Empty
Miralles & Gracia Ikigai
The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Simon Sinek
Find Your Why
Bernard Roth
The Achievement Habit. Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life
#2: Behavioural change, habit formation, and motivation
  • Understanding of evidence-based behavior change model
  • Gaining proficiency in installing and following through on habits
  • Improving life seriously by daily activities
  • Obtaining a large menu of techniques to use when something did not work out and thereby avoiding states of low resourcefulness
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
BJ Goff
Tiny Habits
James Clear
Atomic Habits
Stephen Guise
Mini Habits
Tynan
Superhuman by Habit
Charles Duhigg
The Power of Habit
Susane Mitchie
93 Behaviour Change Technique
Piers Steel
The Procrastination Equation
Center for Applied Rationality Workshop & Handbook
#3: Learning, growth, and peak performance
  • Creating a culture of continuous learning
  • Improving existing upgrade activities
  • Implementing mindsets and habits for peak performance
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Anders Ericsson
Peak
David Epstein
Range
Cal Newport
So Good They Can't Ignore You
Shane Parrish
The Great Mental Models
Brendon Burchard
High Perfomance Habits
Josh Waitzking
The Art of Learning
Robert Green
Mastery
Carol Dweck
Mindsets
Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths
Algorithms to Live By
#4: Well-being, work-life balance, and stress management
  • Building a nuanced and data-driven understanding of a flourishing life
  • Increasing the number of meaningful activities
  • Reducing the number of problematic activities and recurring causes of struggle
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Martin Seligman
Flourish (PERMA Model)
Tal Ben-Shahar
Happier
C.D. Ryff
Psychological Well-being
Kelly McGonigal
Upside of Stress
Paul Watzlawick
The Situation Is Hopeless, But Not Serious: The Pursuit of Unhappiness
Ryan Holiday
The Obstacle Is the Way
Rick Hanson
Hardwiring Happiness
#5: Productivity, prioritization, decision-making and focus
  • Increasing motivation via evidence-based approaches
  • Reducing procrastination
  • Establishing more days focused on what matters
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Cal Newport
Deep Work
Atul Gawande
The Checklist Manifesto
Stephen Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Chris McChesney
The 4 Disciplines of Execution
Daniel Kahneman
Thinking, Fast and Slow
David Allen
Getting Things Done
Hal Elrod
The Miracle Morning
Ray Dalio
Principles
Gabriele Oettingen
Rethinking Positive Thinking
Gary Keller & Jay Papasan
The ONE Thing
Tal Ben-Shahar
The Pursuit of Perfect
#6: Relationship with yourself
  • Cultivating more self-compassion
  • Decreasing demotivating self-talk
  • Improving stability of self-worth
  • Avoiding feelings of inferiority or superiority
  • Harnessing a general team humanity spirit
  • Gaining a higher sense of agency
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Kristen Neff
Self-Compassion
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Self-Reliance
Jocko Willink
Extreme Ownership
Steven Hayes
A Liberated Mind: Essential Guide ACT
Matthew McKay
The Self-Esteem Companion: Simple Exercises to Help You Challenge Your Inner Critic and Celebrate Your Personal Strengths
Nathaniel Branden
How to Raise Your Self-Esteem: The Proven Action-Oriented Approach to Greater Self-Respect and Self-Confidence
Carol Tavris
Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me)
Buddha
The Dhammapada
Ryan Holiday
Ego Is the Enemy
Stephen Guise
How to Be an Imperfectionist
#7: Effective communication, feedback, and transparency
  • Giving and receiving more useful feedback
  • Sharing more motivating, inspiring, and vulnerable stories/events
  • Communicating more clearly, appreciatively, and non-violently
  • Using language more deliberately and carefully (e.g., Love is war vs. Love is art)
  • Dealing with growth resistance in others (e.g., cognitive dissonance, ego-attachment)
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Open Philanthropy Project
Reasoning Transparency
George Lakoff & Mark Johnson
Metaphors We Live By
Annette Simmons
How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact
Douglas Hofstadter & Emmanuel Sander
Surfaces and Essences. Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking
Marshall Rosenberg
Nonviolent Communication
Robert Cialdini
#8: Character, integrity, and virtues
  • Identifying relevant virtues and role models.
  • Implementing virtuous habits.
  • Systematizing and deliberately practicing virtues deliberately)
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
David Brooks
The Road to Character
James E. Loehr
Leading with Character: 10 Minutes a Day to a Brilliant Legacy Set
The Second Mountain

Ryan Holiday
Courage Is Calling
#9: Leadership
  • Eliciting and embodying Fathom’s values
  • Improving direct reports
  • Systematization of decision-making
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Raymond M. Kethledge
Lead Yourself First

Robin Sharma
The Leader Who Had No Title
John C. Maxwell
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
Bernard Bass & Riggio
Transformational leadership
Robert K. Greenleaf
Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness
Simon Sinek
Leaders Eat Last
Matt Mochary
The Great CEO Within
Unstoppable Teams
Alden Mills
#10: Corporate culture, values, mission, & excellence
  • Strengthening and promoting Fathom’s declared vision
  • Translating and integrating Fathom’s vision in existing activities.
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Skin in the Game Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
Jim Collins & Jerry Porras
Built to Last. Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Jim Collins
Good to Great
Jim Collins
How the Mighty Fall
Jim Collins
Great by Choice
Peter Drucker
The Effective Executive
Eric Ries
The Lean Startup
#11: Energy and health: eat, move, sleep, meditate, breath
  • Understanding high-impact fundamental habits
  • Prioritizing fundamental habits
  • Implementing and tracking of fundamental habits (cost-effectively)
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Matthew Walker
Why We Sleep
Tom Rath
Eat Move Sleep
Tony Schwartz James Loehr
Power of Full Engagement
Patrick McKeown
The Oxygen Advantage
James Nestor
Breath
John Yates
The Mind Illuminated
#12: Creativity, originality, and innovation
  • Developing systems to enhance creativity
  • Learning more techniques to facilitate creative thinking and problem-solving
  • Speeding up the innovation cycles
  • Nurturing stronger motivation to be creative, original, and innovative
Resources related to this topic
Name
Author
Michael Gelb
How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci
Steven Johnson
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
Steven Pressfield
The War of Art
Steven Pressfield
Do the Work
Steve Chandler
Creator
Austin Kleon
Steal Like an Artist
Jeremy Nixon
Systematizing Creativity