How Rapid Behaviour Prototyping Became Teamvine
Déjà Vu in London
Meeting with one of our enterprise clients this week triggered a powerful déjà vu.
Same challenges, different context:
- Organisation-wide restructuring
- Accelerating change
- A drive for standardisation
- All underpinned by legacy systems and tangled matrix structures
It transported me back to 1996 – the crucible moment Business Mirrors were forged (now reborn as Teamvines).
Champagne, Chaos & Behaviour on the Clock
Picture the scene. My employer had just closed a major acquisition. Corks were popping. Celebration was everywhere.
A week later, the deal-makers were gone, and I was summoned to the CEO’s office. His challenge was sharp:
“We need this team to gel fast.”
That day, I coined the phrase Rapid Behaviour Prototyping – a way to surface, test and reshape behaviours at speed, in a safe environment, before they calcify.
From Cardboard to Cloud
What began as physical Business Mirror simulations evolved – post-Covid – into Teamvines:
Multiplayer. Digital. Interactive.
Built for modern teams working in hybrid and global contexts.
“Elegant,” Said MIT
An MIT professor once described our toolset as elegant. I was momentarily thrown – until I looked into what he meant:
“An elegant system solves a complex problem with surprising simplicity, efficiency, and beauty. Every part exists for a reason; nothing is wasted.”
That definition hit home. And yes, it pleased me no end.
The Health Warning
In the wrong hands, an elegant tool becomes just another novelty game.
In the right hands – those of a skilled facilitator – it becomes a mirror that reflects not only participant behaviour but the deeper, often hidden dynamics of the organisation itself.
So what distinguishes an outstanding facilitator from an average one?
- Restless curiosity, not judgement
- Appreciative questions, not feedback loops
- Deep listening, not surface-level talking
- Patient urgency, not pressured frustration
- And above all: a system-sensing mindset
11 Paradoxes of Change
One global pharma client captured the complexity of their experience using a Teamvine simulation. They called it “The 11 Paradoxes of Change” – a list of tensions that leaders must walk every day:
- Build close relationships – and keep a suitable distance
- Lead visibly – and step into the background
- Trust your team – and monitor what’s happening
- Be tolerant – and clear on how things must work
- Champion your department – and stay loyal to the whole firm
- Plan rigorously – and flex at a moment’s notice
- Speak your mind – and stay diplomatic
- Dream big – and keep your feet on the ground
- Build consensus – and cut through when it stalls
- Be dynamic – and be reflective
- Be sure of yourself – and stay humble
Elegant tools surface these paradoxes in minutes, not months.
Why This Matters to L&D Leaders
- Speed – Rapid Behaviour Prototyping compresses months of team learning into hours
- Scalability – Our digital format suits remote, hybrid, and in-person teams
- Stickiness – Insights are participant-owned, not facilitator-imposed
- System-Sight – Teams see not just themselves, but the organisation they’re shaping
And About Those Five Frogs (When you know you know)…
“Five frogs sat on a log. One decided to jump off. How many were left?”
Answer: Five.
Because deciding and doing are not the same thing.
This riddle has echoed through every corner of my career.
Organisations declare change:
“We’re agile.”
“We’re people-first.”
“We lead with purpose.”
But transformation happens only when people jump. When they act into a new way of thinking, not just think about acting.
That’s where Teamvines lead.
They create a safe space where people practice the jump – behaviourally, emotionally, systemically.
Your Next Move
✅ Explore our simulations at Our Solutions
✅ Book a live pilot – let us show you what “elegant” looks like in action
✅ Accredit your facilitators – unlock the power of participant-led change inside your own organisation
Because sometimes, what your organisation needs most… is simply to jump.
Stay curious, stay humble and keep prototyping behaviour at the speed of business!
