🤖 Emotionless Efficiency
Welcome to a no-drama zone! In this retro, we leave feelings at the door and focus on pure facts, processes, and improvements—like efficient robots. Let’s optimize our workflow with logic and reason only!
Template Columns
🔧 Process Initiators
List factual actions or habits we should logically implement to improve our efficiency.
Base column: Start🛑 Logic Loops
Identify routines or behaviors to halt that hinder rational progress and productivity.
Base column: Stop⏩ System Persistence
Highlight structured practices and methods that are working and should continue.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Emotionless Efficiency retrospective helps teams optimize workflow by setting aside emotions and focusing only on processes, logic, and actionable improvements.
When to use this template
Use this retro when your team needs to remove emotional blockers and refocus on concrete process improvement, efficiency, or during times of rapid change.
How to facilitate
Open the session by clarifying the focus on facts, actions, and process improvements and ensure everyone understands that emotional discussions will be set aside for this retro.
Briefly explain each column: actions to start for efficiency, routines to stop for rational progress, and methods to continue due to proven effectiveness.
Give everyone a few quiet minutes to write cards for each column based only on observations, measurable outcomes, or clear process points.
Invite each team member to share their cards, clarifying the logic behind each suggestion without personal judgments or emotional context.
Facilitate a group discussion to cluster similar items, prioritize the most impactful process improvements, and agree on clear next steps.
Wrap up by summarizing key action points and asking the team to reflect on the value of an emotionless review periodically.
Pro Tips
Encourage the use of metrics or examples to back up process improvement suggestions.
Remind the team that criticizing processes is different from criticizing people; keep it constructive and impersonal.
Schedule time for a more feelings-focused retro in the future to balance perspectives.
If new actions are unclear, prompt with questions like 'What did we try? What was the result?' for clarity.
FAQ
How do we keep the discussion purely factual and non-emotional?
Set clear expectations at the start and gently redirect if emotional language arises. Give examples of factual vs. emotional feedback.
What if someone feels uncomfortable with the emotionless format?
Acknowledge that this is an intentional, temporary focus. Remind everyone it’s about process optimization, and feelings can be validated in other forums.
How do we make sure process improvements discussed actually happen?
Assign clear owners to each action item and follow up in the next retro to track progress.
At a glance
- Duration
30–40 min
- Team Size
3-8 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective