Blog
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Facilitation tools: flip chart, digital whiteboard, polls or cards?
Facilitation tools compared: flip chart and sticky notes, digital whiteboards, polling tools and conversation cards. What each one suits, where it falls short...
18/09/2026
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One-on-one meeting tool: form, HR system or conversation cards?
There are three main options for a development discussion and one-on-one meeting tool: a form, the HR system's review module and conversation cards. A...
18/09/2026
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Workplace development: how to do it in everyday work, not on a development day
What developing a work community means, why most initiatives never get past the development day, four areas worth looking at, and how to involve staff so that...
18/09/2026
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Psychological safety at work: what it is, how to spot its absence and how to build it
What psychological safety means in a team, how to notice when it is missing, how to measure it with Edmondson's seven statements and how to build it through...
17/09/2026
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Retrospective meeting: a 60-minute agenda, common mistakes and tools
What a retrospective meeting is, how to run one in an hour so that it ends in a decision, the mistakes that make retros fade out, and when sticky notes, a...
17/09/2026
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Facilitation: what it means and how to facilitate well
What facilitation means, how it differs from an ordinary meeting, which methods and tools work, and when you need an outside facilitator.
17/09/2026
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Company values: why they stay on the wall and how to close the values gap
What company values are, why they stay on the wall and how to close the gap between words and actions. Research, examples and five steps to close it.
15/09/2026
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Conversation cards for teams: why card-based dialogue beats the whiteboard
What conversation cards do in a team meeting that a whiteboard and a survey cannot, when to use them, how a session runs, and what participants say.
15/09/2026
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One-on-one meeting template: three agendas that fit in 30 minutes
Three one-on-one meeting templates written out in full: a 30-minute weekly agenda, a 45-minute monthly one and a first one-on-one with a new hire.
15/09/2026
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One-on-one meetings: why they matter and how to run them well
What a one-on-one meeting is for, how often to hold one, how to structure 30 minutes and the mistakes that turn it into a status update. A guide for managers.
15/09/2026
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One-on-one meeting questions: 30 questions for managers by situation
30 example questions for one-on-one meetings and development discussions, by situation and by theme. For inspiration, not a checklist: pick a few.
15/09/2026
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Development discussion: what it is, why it matters and how to do it well
What a development discussion is, why it matters and how to hold one that leads somewhere. Structure, questions and the most common mistakes on one page.
15/09/2026
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What is broken in leadership development? Henry Mintzberg and Managers Not MBAs
The hypothesis of Henry Mintzberg's Managers Not MBAs is that the Western way of training and developing leaders is broken in a way that shows up in...
27/08/2026
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A modern development discussion is not form-filling
A modern development discussion is not form-filling but dialogue that genuinely matters
17/08/2026
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Is Strategy Work a Prisoner of the Past? Marco Mäkinen Keynote
Marco Mäkinen's keynote "Is strategy work a prisoner of the past?" from Topaasia's 8th birthday party
17/08/2026
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When should you use Topaasia and when not?
Engagement and getting people talking are not a mandatory law of nature in an organisation. Read when engaging people is worthwhile and when it is not.
13/08/2026
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What is Topaasia used for? 8 use cases
Topaasia is a dialogue tool for situations where you want to get people thinking, talking and forming a shared understanding.
13/08/2026
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How do you turn strategy into teams' everyday work?
Strategy can be led from the top. Executing the strategy, however, happens in the everyday life of the organisation. Read how.
13/08/2026
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Topaasia replaces all the stupid old-fashioned surveys, strategy rollouts and other things people in organisations hate!" Topaasia strengthens with new investors and board members
Topaasia has brought in new investors, and at the same time the company's board is strengthened with significant experience, including Marco Mäkinen. Read what...
28/05/2026
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Deal fever, homework and the three deadly sins, or why do mergers and acquisitions fail? An interview with Kim Väisänen
28/04/2026
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Gamification brings joy and power to learning and development
Gamification brings joy and power to learning and development. Have you come across a situation where people do not find learning together or developing the...
13/01/2026
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Creativity, Agency and the Power of Dialogue – How Topaasia Helps People Act, Not Just Talk
# **Creativity, Agency and the Power of Dialogue – How Topaasia Helps People Act, Not Just Talk** *“Creativity isn’t only about making new things. It’s about...
31/10/2025
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Conversation culture is an organisation's competitive advantage
Conversation culture is an organisation's competitive advantage. "Our conversation culture expresses and creates the reality in which we work. Generating...
27/10/2025
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The Dynamics Compass – Understand the Dynamics of Communities
The Dynamics Compass - A method for understanding the dynamics of communities. Ville Salonen (psychiatric nurse, psychotherapist, work supervisor) is the...
02/09/2025
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Company culture - a short primer
Company culture is the heart of an organisation. It defines how people act, communicate and feel at their workplace. A good culture is not just a nice extra:...
10/10/2024
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A dive into the Laboratory of the Mind with Ari-Pekka Skarp
A dive into the Laboratory of the Mind with Ari-Pekka Skarp. Ari-Pekka Skarp is a psychologist and psychotherapist focused on organisational development, who...
17/05/2024
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Participation: why and how does a modern organisation involve people?
Participation: why does a modern organisation involve its personnel? What is participation and why is participatory leadership the way of today? Participation...
18/03/2024
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8 signs of bad leadership
8 signs of bad leadership. Bad leadership creates bad consequences throughout the organisation. The quality of leadership is a significant factor in the...
15/03/2024
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How to develop as a coaching leader: three key skills
How to develop as a coaching leader: three key skills. This article is a follow-up to our earlier text on coaching leadership. It presented three essential...
12/03/2024
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10 wellbeing day ideas: programme for workplace wellbeing days
10 wellbeing day ideas: programme for wellbeing days. A wellbeing day is a special day organised in the workplace to promote staff wellbeing and coping at work.
11/03/2024
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Four ways to implement your strategy
Four ways to implement your strategy. Strategy implementation means putting the organisation's strategy into practice. When an organisation has a lot of...
04/03/2024
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Coaching leadership - a short primer
Coaching leadership - a short primer. What is coaching leadership? Coaching leadership is a leadership style that focuses on maximising the potential of...
04/03/2024
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Three Different Development Discussion Templates to Help Managers
Three different development discussion templates to help managers. The development discussion is an important part of the interaction between an employee and a...
29/02/2024
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Common mistakes and benefits of development discussions
Common mistakes and benefits of development discussions. This article looks at a leadership method called the development discussion: what is a development...
29/02/2024
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Servant Leadership - a game, in content collaboration with Mikko Bäckström
The Servant Leadership game, in content collaboration with Mikko Bäckström. Mikko Bäckström is an expert in brand building and marketing. During his career he...
02/11/2023
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Participatory strategy work - in content collaboration with Kati Kuoksa
Participatory strategy work - in content collaboration with Kati Kuoksa. Kati Kuoksa is a communications professional who studied for a master's degree in...
12/06/2023
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Why Dialogue Is Crucial for Your Organization’s Success
# Why Dialogue Is Crucial for Your Organization’s Success ## Introduction As a leader, you know that effective communication is key to running a successful...
21/04/2023
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Topaasia 8th Anniversary Afterwork: Esa Saarinen & Marco Mäkinen
The theme of the Topaasia 8th anniversary afterwork was Systems Intelligence and Strategy: theory, practice and a way of thinking. Speakers Esa Saarinen &...
20/12/2022
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How to disconnect and recover from remote work?
How to disconnect and recover from remote work? Topaasia's experiences. Topaasia is a small start-up team that has worked remotely for several years....
31/10/2022
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and how to deal with them
# **The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and how to deal with them** *The Five Dysfunctions of a Team* (2002) is a leadership tale written by organizational...
07/06/2022
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Topaasia Live: Esa Saarinen - Systems Intelligence in Working Life, part 2
Topaasia Live: Esa Saarinen - Systems Intelligence in Working Life, part 2. Philosopher Esa Saarinen and professor emeritus Raimo Hämäläinen have carried out...
14/12/2020
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Topaasia Live: Esa Saarinen - Systems Intelligence in Working Life
Topaasia Live: Esa Saarinen - Systems Intelligence in Working Life. Philosopher Esa Saarinen and professor emeritus Raimo Hämäläinen have carried out...
10/12/2020
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Topaasia Live - Mikko Sarkkinen - Quick and Dirty Testing
Topaasia Live - Mikko Sarkkinen - Quick and Dirty Testing. Topaasia Live is a roughly 15-minute interview format where we chat with great people about topics...
22/10/2020
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Workshop or group discussion remotely? How to run an effective remote workshop easily and inclusively.
Workshop or group discussion remotely? How to run an effective remote workshop easily and inclusively. 1. Learn about a new, easy and engaging remote tool...
13/03/2020
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Brewdog - what can you learn from business punks?
Business for Punks, what can you learn from Brewdog's business punks? James Watt and Martin Dickie are entrepreneurs, business punks and the founders of...
28/08/2019
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A dear child has many names - gälliwashere Oy is now Topaasia Oy
A dear child has many names - gälliwashere Oy is now Topaasia Oy. A dear child has many names, but only one can be official, so: RIP gälliwashere Oy 2014-2019....
25/06/2019
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How to easily run an effective retrospective, also remotely
How to easily run an effective retrospective, also remotely. In this blog you will learn: -What is a software development team's retrospective? -What are the 6...
09/05/2019
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7 reasons to hold retrospectives, whatever your industry
In this blog you will learn: What is the retrospective familiar from software development? How does a retrospective differ from a pointless one-hour meeting?...
09/05/2019
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Alone with your thoughts? How to use Topaasia games solo for sparring your thinking, ideation and prioritisation.
Alone with your thoughts? How to use Topaasia games solo for sparring your thinking, ideation and prioritisation. This article explains how you can use...
17/01/2019
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How to use Topaasia games in pairs in development discussions, one-on-one coaching or sparring sessions.
How to use Topaasia games in pairs in development discussions, one-on-one coaching or sparring sessions. Originally designed for the needs of teams and groups,...
09/01/2019
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Dealer's Guide
Dealer's guide. Hi! This is a continuously updated version of the Topaasia® dealer's guide for the physical Topaasia card games. (Last updated 22 April 2020)...
21/12/2018
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gälliwashere Oy Turns 4!
Gälliwashere Oy turns 4! Time flies. 21 November 2014 is gälliwashere Oy's birthday, and this year it whizzed past under the feet of daily work. We have come a...
13/12/2018
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Topaasia® General Deck - a versatile tool for team development and problem solving
A versatile tool for solving team problems and developing teams. The General Deck is a game in the Topaasia family range that answers a question our customers...
01/11/2018
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gälliwashere Oy brings notable investors on board!
Topaasia takes working life in a direction where I myself want to work." gälliwashere Oy brings notable investors on board! Topaasia is a serious game that...
20/09/2018
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For Team Interaction - An Interview with Team Coach Joonas Laine
For team interaction, an interview with team coach Joonas Laine. Topaasia games have gained a new ambassador. We interviewed an advocate of teamwork from...
12/09/2018
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Podcast visit: Using serious games in facilitating dialogue
Podcast visit: Using serious games in facilitating dialogue. To kick off the autumn we took part in the first podcast interview of our lives, hosted by Seymour...
10/08/2018
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How does Topaasia® take into account the eight practices of innovation?
How does Topaasia® take into account the eight practices of innovation? This post is one of the "homework assignments" born during a juicy mentoring experiment...
17/05/2018
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The story of gälliwashere
The story of gälliwashere. This is a short story about gälliwashere's three-year history and what has been done in that time and why. You will also get answers...
07/05/2018
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Why is calling a stranger exciting?
Calling a customer as a first contact is an awfully big part of my work, more precisely, making cold calls. I consider it important, useful, fun and...
15/11/2016
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5 lessons from 1.5 years of product development
I want to distil into this short, simple text the things I have learned from developing the Topaasia® card game concept over the last 18 months. This is...
23/09/2016