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IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHOPS

Hackathon solutions that actually get implemented.

Implementation workshops for the ~18 institutions in the Ministry of Digital Affairs Hackathon, 21–22 November 2026. Delivered by Irka Pawłowski using the Iron Method, her proprietary approach to moving priorities into implementation.

Proven at ING Bank Śląski — one leadership workshop became 100+ initiatives across 17 departments.

See the case study ↓
18 institutions taking part
2 cohorts — a leader and an operator from each
3.5 h per cohort
1 implementation plan per institution, started in the room
02 THE PROBLEM

The hackathon produces the solution. Implementation is where it stalls.

No owner

The solution goes back to the institution with no one accountable for what happens next.

No capacity

It competes with day-to-day work that is already at its limit.

No path

Governance, compliance, data protection and procurement stop it before it starts.

The quality of the idea is rarely the problem. The missing piece is a structure that moves it into execution.

03 THE WORKSHOP

Implementation starts in the room.

One workshop, run for two cohorts, working on each institution's actual hackathon solution — implementation work from the first minute.

Who takes part

Each institution comes as a pair. Neither can substitute for the other.

Leader Authority to enable implementation. Decisions, capacity, removing barriers.
Operator Practical knowledge to carry it out, and to keep it going afterwards.

When

Cohort 1 21 Nov, evening
Cohort 2 22 Nov, morning
Approximately 3.5 hours each

Each pair leaves with

01

The outcome

  • The outcome that needs to be implemented
  • A scope that can move into execution
02

The ownership

  • Ownership and decision authority
  • The people and functions required
03

The conditions

  • Critical organisational dependencies
  • Constraints and potential implementation blockers
  • Capacity and resource requirements
04

The first moves

  • Immediate actions, and responsibility for those actions
  • An understanding of the Iron Method and the toolkit for applying it

Three and a half hours is enough to leave the room with the initiative already moving — owned, scoped, and with its first actions assigned. The institution carries it from there.

04 WHY IT WORKS

A proven methodology, applied at scale.

The workshop runs on the Iron Method, Irka's proprietary methodology for moving strategic priorities into implementation. It has been developed and proven across transformations at Capgemini, Google and ING. At ING Bank Śląski's Risk Division, it took one leadership workshop to 100+ initiatives across 17 departments and 350+ people.

01

Start with one real priority, not a programme

At ING, one priority from a single leadership workshop became an implementable solution in two weeks.

02

Put authority and delivery in the same room

Directors sponsored the work and operators delivered it. 79% of participants strongly valued working directly with directors.

03

Use the people you already have

No transformation team was set up and no outside implementers were brought in. The work was done by ING's own people.

04

Build capability, not dependency

60+ internal leaders developed, and 10 self-organising communities. The programme kept running after Irka left.

05 THE IRON METHOD

The Iron
Method

It’s not a playbook. It’s a flexible, layered framework made to expose weak points, tighten systems, and build things that hold under pressure.

  1. 01

    Illuminate

    Illuminate what’s really going on. Get past surface symptoms. Find where it hurts.

  2. 02

    Anchor

    Anchor priorities, context, and accountability. Create alignment without hand-holding.

  3. 03

    Rewire

    Rewire habits, tools, and structures. Replace legacy mess with things that work.

  4. 04

    Navigate

    Navigate change with actual strategy, not slogans. Build in feedback, trust, and resilience.

  5. 05

    Forge

    Forge long-term systems that evolve instead of unravelling. Scale with integrity.

Developed and proven across transformations at Capgemini, Google and ING. In the workshop, each institution takes its own hackathon solution through it — which is why the session produces an initiative that can move, rather than a plan that waits.

06 CASE STUDY · ING BANK ŚLĄSKI, RISK DIVISION

From one workshop to a transformation capability.

  1. 2018

    Leadership workshop

    The CRO and directors of 17 departments agree one shared priority.

  2. 2 weeks

    First implementation

    A team of existing staff develops an implementable solution.

  3. 3 cycles

    Scaled

    The Risk Innovation League carries the approach across the division, with 9 projects completed in cycle 1.

  4. 2 years

    Institutionalised

    100+ initiatives, a Warsaw Risk Hub, and changed procurement rules.

350+ employees
17 departments
100+ initiatives
3 Risk Innovation League cycles
10 Risk Communities
60+ leaders developed
~30% efficiency improvement

No new transformation team · No external implementers · Existing people, knowledge and resources

Read the full case study
07 BEYOND THE WORKSHOP

The workshop is the start of implementation, not the end.

Start with implementation. Build the programme from evidence.

The ING transformation is the precedent. It began with a strategic workshop, one priority was selected, existing staff were mobilised, and implementation began immediately. Only then was the approach expanded into a longer programme.

  1. One workshop
  2. One priority
  3. Existing staff
  4. Two weeks to an implementable result
  1. 01

    Hackathon

    Solutions developed for real institutional challenges.

  2. 02

    Implementation Workshop

    Authority and delivery capability put around each solution.

  3. 03

    Execution

    The work continues inside the institution.

  4. 04

    Implementation Programme

    Where support is needed, work through the barriers met in execution.

  5. 05

    Institutional capability

    The internal ability to do this again, without outside support.

The objective

The objective is not another successful workshop. It is to create the conditions under which the solutions from this hackathon can begin moving inside the institutions that have to implement them.

ING shows the transition can start quickly. One strategic workshop led to an implementable solution within two weeks. The following two years showed what becomes possible once that capability is developed across the organisation.

08 WHY IRKA AND IRONLABS

The person who designed it is the person who delivers it.

Irka designed and led the ING Risk transformation, working directly with the CRO across 17 departments. She has 20+ years of experience in digital transformation and change management, including at Capgemini, Google and ING, and she is the creator of the Iron Method.

Contact

IRKA PAWLOWSKI irka@ironlabsco.com Phone +34 661 561 413 WhatsApp +48 786 811 108

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