Frequently Asked Questions About Mehdi's 6C Workshop Design Framework
21 answers covering everything from basics to advanced usage.
// Basics
What does the 6C in 6C framework stand for?
The 6C stands for the six sequential phases: Connect, Collect, Choose, Create, Commit, and Celebrate. Each begins with the letter C and must run in that order. The framework originated as four C's created by Adrien Smart and was expanded by the facilitation community into the six-phase version taught by Mehdi En-Naizi.
Is the Connect phase always required?
No — Connect is the only optional phase. Include it only if the facilitator can deliver the warm-up confidently, because a poorly sold warm-up is worse than none at all. When done well, a warm-up scientifically increases group productivity and creativity for the rest of the session, so skip it only when confidence is genuinely lacking.
What inputs do I need to start designing a workshop?
You need four required inputs: the workshop goal (the single outcome the session must achieve), the audience (who participants are and their relationship to the topic), the session length, and the topic or challenge domain. Facilitator comfort level is an optional fifth input that determines whether the Connect phase is included.
What is a foundation scope in the 6C framework?
The foundation scope is the specific, bounded problem or focus area produced by the Choose phase. Every Create activity is built upon it. Without a tight foundation scope, teams pursue scopes that are too large, producing overwhelming and unsolvable projects. Getting this scope right is what makes the later ideation phase actually workable.
Where did the 6C framework come from?
The framework originated as the four C's created by Adrien Smart and was expanded by the facilitation community into the six-phase version. Mehdi En-Naizi teaches this expanded 6C model. The added phases reflect lessons about the most common facilitation failures — skipping alignment before ideation and failing to convert ideas into committed actions.
// How To
How do I decide how much time to give each phase?
Allocate timing during the final review step, once all six phases are designed. Read the sequence as one journey and distribute your total session length across phases so each flows into the next. Ensure the Choose scope is tight enough to make Create feasible and Commit activities are concrete enough to survive outside the room. Adjust proportions to fit whether you have two hours or a full day.
How do I run the Choose phase effectively?
Design activities that force the group to decide what to focus on and what to ignore — such as a prioritisation matrix (impact vs. effort) or dot voting. Exit the phase with one or two clearly scoped problem statements. Remember that Choose also recurs throughout the session wherever decisions need to be made; that recurrence is by design, not a flaw.
How do I design a Celebrate phase that isn't just applause?
Make it intentional by mapping the full arc of the session for participants. Remind them of the journey from raw inputs to committed actions, surface key takeaways from the most important activities, and name that they achieved in hours what would normally take weeks. Use a visual timeline or wall of work. Finish on a high, energising note — but structure it deliberately rather than relying on spontaneous congratulation.
How do I connect a warm-up to the workshop topic?
Choose a warm-up that serves three purposes at once: helping participants get to know each other and you, linking thematically to the workshop goal, and letting you read the room. For a product session, ask everyone to name a product they wish they'd built. For a culture workshop, pair people across departments to share a value they live at work. The thematic link primes participants for later phases.
// Troubleshooting
What do I do if my participants jump straight into problem-solving?
Redirect them back to Collect before allowing ideation. Explain that gathering the important information and aligning on challenges first will make their solutions sharper. Facilitators often feel pressure to reach brainstorming quickly, but skipping Collect disconnects participants from the topic. Hold the sequence — the priming pays off with higher-quality ideas in the Create phase.
My Create phase produced overwhelming, unfocused ideas. What went wrong?
Your Choose phase scope was probably too large. When the foundation scope isn't tight enough, participants face an overwhelming problem space that makes ideation unworkable. Go back and add stronger prioritisation activities — voting, matrices, or explicit trade-off decisions — to narrow to one or two bounded problem statements before Create. Participants cannot fight every battle.
What happens if I skip the Commit phase?
The solutions generated in your workshop die in the room. Skipping Commit is the second most common facilitation mistake. Without concrete next steps, named owners, and deadlines, participants leave energised but unclear on what to do, and implementation never happens. Always build action plans before the room empties so the work survives outside the session.
Why did my warm-up fall flat?
Most likely you sold it awkwardly or called it an 'ice breaker', which triggers negative expectations. If you present a warm-up with confidence, people engage; if you present it hesitantly, you give them permission to opt out. A poorly sold warm-up is worse than none — so either deliver it with conviction or skip Connect entirely.
// Comparisons
How does the 6C framework compare to design thinking?
Design thinking (empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test) is a broad problem-solving methodology, while the 6C framework is specifically a workshop sequencing tool. There's overlap — Collect resembles empathise and Choose resembles define — but 6C uniquely emphasises Connect (warm-up), Commit (action planning), and Celebrate (closing reflection), which address facilitation and implementation gaps that design thinking often leaves out.
How is the 6C framework different from a standard meeting agenda?
A standard agenda lists topics and times; the 6C framework sequences activities to move people psychologically from disconnected to committed. It deliberately primes participants before ideation, forces prioritisation, and guarantees action planning and reflection. An agenda tells you what will be discussed; the 6C framework guarantees the discussion produces alignment, focused ideas, and real-world implementation.
Is the 6C framework better than brainstorming alone?
Yes, because brainstorming alone skips the priming that makes ideas useful. The 6C framework wraps ideation (Create) in Collect and Choose beforehand and Commit and Celebrate afterward. This means ideas start from real information, target a bounded scope, and end as owned actions. Standalone brainstorming often produces disconnected ideas that no one implements.
// Advanced
Can I reorder the 6C phases if my session is short?
No — the order is the point. You can compress or shorten phases for a short session, and you can make Connect optional, but reordering breaks the logic. Collect must precede Create so participants are primed; Choose must scope before Create; Commit must follow Create so ideas become actions. Shorten within the sequence rather than resequencing it.
Why does the Choose phase recur throughout a workshop?
Because prioritisation decisions naturally arise at multiple points, not just once. While the main Choose phase sets the foundation scope, participants make smaller decisions during Create and Commit too — which ideas to pursue, which actions to prioritise. Treating Choose as a one-time moment is a mistake. Its recurrence is by design, keeping the group focused as new options emerge.
What is the facilitator's asymmetric view and why does it matter?
The facilitator holds the full design of the workshop, while participants experience it one activity at a time and lose the overall arc. This asymmetry means participants often can't see how much they achieved. The Celebrate phase corrects it — the facilitator explicitly maps the journey so participants recognise the extraordinary nature of their output, which they'd otherwise miss.
How do I scale the 6C framework for a large group of 40+ people?
Use parallel structures within each phase. In the HR culture workshop example, Connect pairs people across departments, Collect uses small group discussions reported back in plenary, Choose uses dot voting across the room, and Create runs parallel working groups each tackling one theme. Commit has each group present a 30-day experiment with a named owner. The 6C sequence stays intact; only the activity formats scale up.
Can the 6C framework be used for non-creative meetings?
Yes — any structured group session where you need to move people toward an outcome benefits from the sequence. Strategy reviews, retrospectives, planning sessions, and decision-making meetings all gain from Collect (align first), Choose (prioritise scope), and Commit (assign owners and deadlines). The Create phase can flex to mean any generative work, not only brainstorming, depending on the meeting's purpose.