Posts

Think Like An Astronaut…Oops, Like a Facilitator (Part 1)

Think like an astronaut – what are we talking about? I read a cool book of that name by Chris Hadfield who was the first Canadian man to walk in space. It seems like he has a lot of great lessons for us in general as earthlings but also for us as meeting facilitators. I…

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Creating Group Guidelines for Terrific Teamwork

Getting teamwork off to a solid start is critical to the success of the project and to the team. Here are some tips for how to set customized team guidelines (also known as ground rules) as well as offer them typical guidelines from which they could pick and choose.  Both activities take from 15 to…

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What’s the Strategic in Strategic Thinking and Planning?

Why bother learning how to think, decide, prioritize and plan more strategically? Most of us are “getting through” life and work reasonably using our current thinking skills and abilities, experience and knowledge. Why bother with continuing to learn and practice the specifics of strategic thinking and planning? In this blog, I offer some of my…

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Bringing Our Whole Selves to the Group – Reflections from Banff IAF

In my last newsletter, I was raving about the location and the people I encountered at IAF North America in Banff, Alberta, Canada. I’d like to share some of the key learning highlights for me. They range from sessions I co-facilitated related to virtual facilitation and reflective/spiritual practices to organizational culture change to looking at…

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All Things Sticky – Care and Use of Sticky Walls

What is this sticky wall tool? Many of you have seen me or others around the world use the infamous facilitator tool called the sticky wall. Sticky walls typically come in blue or purple and other colors, are 5’ X 12’ (about 1.5 X 3.7 meters), and are made of ripstock nylon.  You can purchase…

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When Your “Perfect” Agenda Isn’t Working Perfectly

Three perfect jobs! Each one of them required major adjustments to the agenda. Each of these adjustments turned out beautifully. So as I reflect back on these three perfect yet challenging client meetings, I realize that I have become consciously competent at changing agendas on the fly! Here’s my attempt to share the steps and…

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Choose the BEST EVER Professional Development Plan – For You!

Thousands of dollars. Hundreds of thousands of miles. Weeks and weeks of my time. What could possibly justify this level of investment? Why do I go to the IAF (International Association of Facilitators) conference at least once, if not twice a year? Why do I make it a good part of my professional development (PD)…

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Take My Advice After 20 Years… Just Fly!

Next week is my exact 20th anniversary for starting my business. I officially started it on April 15, 1995. With this blog, I reminisce about how it is to start a business, what are the stages you go through, where I have been, where I am now, and where I would like to go. Here’s my story…

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Leverage Your Tools – Turning One Method Into MANY

How many of us have a smartphone that we rarely use just as a phone? It was originally designed to be a phone but now we also use it for a GPS, an audio recorder, a camera and video recorder, alarm clock, newspaper, MP3 player, social media, email, restaurant and movie finder, TV, blogger, etc….

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Wake Them Up! Raising Energy in Meetings

Low energy, boring, waste of time. What do these 3 words conjure up for you? Likely most of you answered – meetings! What if we could get all of our meetings off to a positive, high-energy, anything but boring start? Today, we’ll focus on the benefits of perking your group up right from the start…

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