WHAT IT IS
This year, we're borrowing from the way product teams launch new things.
Every December I run a workshop to review the year and plan the next one. In past years we painted, and we built with LEGO Serious Play, the method the LEGO Group created for its own strategy work.
We'll focus on one thing. It might be a project you want to launch, an initiative you want to lead at work, a decision you've been putting off, or something you've been meaning to start for a while. We'll work on it as a two-hour sprint, using three methods from some of the best product teams in the world:
1
DESIGN THINKING
From IDEO and Stanford's d.school, which starts with the person you're designing for. This time, that person is you.
2
THE SPRINT
From Google Ventures, which takes a big question from idea to tested prototype in five days. We'll run a condensed version.
3
WORKING BACKWARDS
Amazon's practice of writing the launch announcement before building anything, the approach behind Kindle, Prime and AWS.
WHO IT'S FOR
This workshop is for you, if...
You have one project, idea or decision you keep coming back to and want to finally move forward on in 2027
You'd like to close out the year with some reflection, without writing another long list of resolutions
You're a manager, senior leader, founder, business owner or someone in a career change, and you want to think it through with others in a similar place
You learn best by doing, and you'd like structured time and good company to work on your plans
What you'll leave with
Your One Big Hairy Goal for 2027
The project, initiative or decision you've chosen to focus on, written as one clear question you can come back to through the year.
A First Version of Your Mission Roadmap
A rough plan for how you'll approach it, including your first two or three steps for January, shaped by the questions and ideas from your group.
An Accountability Buddy
A partner you have spoken to about your plan who knows what you're working on and will check in with you as you get started in the new year.
Details
📅 Date: Tuesday December 8th, 2026
🕒 Time:
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2:00 to 4:00 PM Dublin/London (GMT)
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3:00 to 5:00 PM Central Europe (CET)
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9:00 to 11:00 AM New York (ET), 6:00 to 8:00 AM Pacific (PT)
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5:00 to 7:00 PM Türkiye (TRT)
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6:00 to 8:00 PM UAE (GST)
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Optional extra 30 minutes for a full year review, until 4:30 PM GMT
📍 Location: Live online via Zoom
✏️ What to bring: Paper, a pen and some sticky notes
💰 Investment:
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Free for Leadrise Community members
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Early Bird: €37 until November 24
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Standard: €57
The Launch Pad is also the first gathering of the Leadrise Community, a monthly co-coaching group for professionals who want to keep growing alongside others. Members attend all four quarterly workshops free. If you buy a ticket and join the community by December 31, I'll take the ticket price off your first payment.
ABOUT YOUR FACILITATOR
Merve Hokamp
Merve is an ICF and EMCC accredited business and executive coach, keynote speaker, corporate facilitator and trainer, former Google leader, INSEAD MBA, VC advisor and the founder of Leadrise Coaching.
Before launching her practice, Merve spent 11 years at Google in leadership roles across sales, customer success and operations. Today she coaches leaders, founders and business owners navigating growth, transition and change, including people from Google, Amazon, Stripe, McKinsey, Accenture, Coca-Cola, Heineken, and startups and scale-ups across 37+ nationalities.
She has coached people through promotions, career pivots, business launches, relocations and major life transitions, and has lived through many of them herself: six countries, more than one career change, starting a business, and becoming a parent along the way.
The Launch Pad is built the way she runs her own work: start from one honest question, make something real in the room, and leave with someone who'll check in with you. Nothing to prepare beforehand.
TRUSTED BY LEADERS FROM WORLD CLASS COMPANIES
Merve delivered a standout session that was both deeply thoughtful and highly practical. She is excellent at connecting strategic leadership concepts with the real, day-to-day challenges people face inside a complex organization like Google. The room was fully engaged throughout — people were reflecting, questioning, and leaving with concrete actions they could immediately apply. Merve’s presence is calm, sharp, and credible, and her experience as a former corporate leader herself clearly shows in how well she understands our context.
Sharon D., Director, Google
New York, USA
