Meetings
Sailboat retrospective template
Island, wind, anchors and rocks. A retro that checks the route to a goal and names the risks ahead.
What it is
The sailboat retrospective turns the team's situation into a picture. The island is the goal. Wind is whatever pushes the boat toward it, anchors are what slowed it down, and rocks are the risks ahead that could sink it. That's the common four-part version, and this board adds a fifth frame for actions. Rocks asks about trouble that hasn't happened yet, so the format looks further ahead than most retros.
When to use it
- At the start of a quarter or a new goal, to check the route before you set off
- Two or three weeks before a big release, while there's still time to steer around a risk
- With a new team that needs to agree on where it's heading
- When "what went wrong?" feels too personal. Pointing at an anchor on a boat is easier
How to run it
- 01
Write the island together
Spend five minutes agreeing on one goal and put it in the Island frame. Every other note refers back to it. Skip this and people describe different trips.
- 02
Fill wind, anchors and rocks in silence
Give everyone eight minutes, one idea per note. Anchors already slowed you down. Rocks haven't hit yet, so write them as risks.
- 03
Read out and group
Go frame by frame, starting with Wind. Drag duplicates together, or select the notes and let the AI cluster them into themes.
- 04
Steer around one rock
Pick the heaviest anchor and the most likely rock. Write one action for each in the Actions frame, with an owner and a date.
Opens a new board from this prompt:
"Sailboat retro for a six-person product team two weeks before a mobile app release"
Related templates
All templatesMeetings
4Ls retrospective
Liked, learned, lacked and longed for: a retro that also captures what the team learned.
Meetings
Starfish retrospective
Keep doing, more of, less of, stop doing and start doing. A five-part retro for turning habits up or down.
- Try the AI whiteboard
Or describe your own board
Type one sentence and the AI drafts frames and notes for any format.