Celebration Grid

Celebration Grid is a Management 3.0 practice associated with Jurgen Appelo. It helps a team reflect on recent events by distinguishing three behaviours: mistakes, experiments, and practices. The grid crosses these behaviours with two outcomes: success and failure, to highlight what has created value and what has produced learning. Frequently used in retrospectives, it shifts the focus from finding blame to celebrating successful practices and experiments, even when they fail.

Walkthrough

1. 1

   Frame the intention and the observed period

   5 min

   The facilitator opens by explaining that the goal is not to judge individuals, but to understand collective behaviours and what they produce. They say: "We will look at recent events and place them in a grid to see what we should celebrate, repeat, or learn from." The group chooses a clear timeframe: last sprint, last project, last week, or a significant sequence. This limit prevents delving into the team's entire history and makes examples concrete.

   Tip — Have a participant rephrase the period: if everyone is not discussing the same timeframe, the grid quickly becomes a confusing inventory.

2. 2

   Draw and explain the grid

   5 to 8 min

   The facilitator draws a grid of six boxes: three columns and two rows. The columns are, from left to right or clearly separated: mistakes, experiments, practices. They clarify: "Mistakes: we did something wrong that we already knew how to do; experiments: we tried something new; practices: we applied what works." The two rows represent the outcomes: success and failure, so that each event combines a behaviour and an outcome.

   Tip — Write the definitions directly under the column titles; this avoids semantic debates during the placement of events.

3. 3

   Collect recent events

   8 to 12 min

   The facilitator distributes post-its or opens a shared board and asks for one event per note. They give the instruction: "Note observable facts: a decision, an action, an incident, an attempt, a deliverable, not a general opinion." Participants work alone at first to avoid the influence of dominant voices. They can write positive, negative, or ambiguous examples; the important thing is that they are recent and debatable by the group.

   Tip — If the notes are vague like "poor communication," immediately ask: "What specific event makes you say that?"

4. 4

   Place the notes in the six boxes

   10 to 15 min

   Each participant comes to place their notes in the box they think is appropriate, or they drop them in the shared board. The facilitator asks for each sensitive note: "Was it something we already knew how to do, something new, or a proven practice? And was the outcome a success or a failure?" The group can move a note if the discussion shows a better interpretation. The goal is not to find an absolute truth, but to make visible the choices and their effects.

   Tip — Do not let a discussion exceed a few minutes: note the disagreement on the post-it and move on, otherwise the grid turns into a tribunal.

5. 5

   Read the lessons from the grid

   7 to 10 min

   The facilitator invites the team to observe the overall distribution: full boxes, empty boxes, repetitions, surprises. They remind the key message: "We learn most in the experiments column, whether the experience succeeds or fails." Successes from practices show what should continue to be done, while mistakes signal points to secure. Experiments, even failed ones, become sources of learning to be acknowledged rather than hidden.

   Tip — Visually mark the experiments column, for example with a colour or a box, to materialise the learning centre.

6. 6

   Explicitly celebrate what should be celebrated

   5 to 8 min

   The facilitator asks the group to identify what deserves celebration in the grid. They say: "We celebrate successful good practices because they create value, and we also celebrate experiments, even those that failed, because they create learning." Participants can name individuals or sub-groups involved, ensuring to link the recognition to observable behaviour. This step anchors the idea that the team values not only the final result but also the ability to learn.

   Tip — Phrase the celebrations in complete sentences: "We celebrate the fact that we tried... because..." rather than quick applause.

7. 7

   Transform observations into team decisions

   8 to 12 min

   The facilitator concludes by having the group choose some concrete actions arising from the grid. They ask: "What successful practice do we want to reinforce? What mistake do we want to avoid repeating? What new experiment do we want to launch?" The group selects a few actions to remain realistic and assigns a responsible person or a first step to each. The session ends with a summary: continue what works, learn from what fails, and protect the experimentation space.

   Tip — Deliberately limit the number of actions retained; a rich grid that ends without a simple decision loses much of its impact.

Variants

• In a short retrospective, prepare the grid in advance and ask participants to place only two or three events each. The debrief then focuses on the most filled areas and on a single follow-up action.
• In a large group, first have sub-groups work on their own grid, then consolidate only the common trends in plenary. This avoids visual clutter and encourages everyone's voice.
• Remotely, use a collaborative whiteboard with the six boxes already drawn. Ask for a silent writing phase, then have notes placed and discuss movements while sharing the screen.
• For a team not used to discussing failure, start with less sensitive or anonymised events. Once the mechanism is understood, gradually invite more engaging examples.