In This Issue For Leaders: The Importance of Operating Principles For Facilitators: Create a Successful First Meeting of a Task Force For Consultants and IT Professionals: IT's Role In Driving Business Strategy For Strategic Planners: Values vs. Guiding Principles The 2003 Public Class Schedule is Ready! Save $100 when you learn Strategic Planning online! Save $100! Learn strategic planning online and interactively at your own pace. Normally priced at $395, you can now purchase Springboard Online! for only $295 if purchased by February 28, 2003. It's designed for those who need to learn strategic planning but don't have time for a traditional classroom course. Call 800-824-2850 for details. You must mention the January/February newsletter in order to receive the discount. Upcoming Classes The Effective Facilitator Jan 13-15 Dallas Jan 27-29 Atlanta Feb 10-12 DC Feb 24-26 Atlanta Mar 17-19 Chicago Mar 24-26 Atlanta Facilitating IT Sessions Mar 27 Atlanta Advanced Facilitation Mar 4-5 Atlanta The Effective Consultant Feb 3-5 Atlanta From Management to Leadership Jul 7-9 Atlanta Strategic Planning Apr 7-8 Atlanta The Effective Communicator Jun 26 Atlanta Click here to register online now! Leadership Strategies is a national leader in meeting facilitation, facilitator training, consulting skills, leadership skills and soft skills training for information technology professionals.

Happy New Year! We at Leadership Strategies hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season, spent some quality time with your friends and families, and come back to us relaxed and looking forward to a challenging and rewarding New Year! We're very excited about our new plans for this year in finding creative and productive ways to help you further enhance your skills through our public and private classes. And if you'd like to "see us in action," we certainly do practice what we preach! We have used our facilitation skills for large and small meetings, for private companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies. We facilitate sessions for strategic planning meetings, IT specialty meetings (such as Information Needs Analysis, Project Planning, Process Modeling, Data Modeling, etc.), conflict resolution, etc. So as you look into 2003 and assess your training needs, or come upon a session that requires an expert outside facilitator, call Leadership Strategies - The Facilitation Company! Visit us at www.leadstrat.com or call (800) 824-2850 for more information on our training programs and consulting services. Best Practice Tip for this Issue: Roles of a Facilitator A facilitator must wear many hats in a facilitated session. Here are just a few: Guide: The facilitator must know the steps of the process from beginning to end, and must carefully guide the participants through each phase. Motivator: From the rousing opening statement to the closing words of cheer, the facilitator must ignite a fire within the group and keep it well lit. The facilitator must establish momentum and keep the pace. Bridge Builder: Where other people see differences, the facilitator must find and use similarities to establish a foundation for building bridges to consensus. Clairvoyant: Throughout the session, the facilitator must watch carefully for potential signs of strain, weariness, aggravation and disempowerment - and respond in advance to avoid dysfunctional behavior. For more tips on having productive meetings, consider our course The Effective Facilitator. Click here for more details or call (800) 824-2850. For Leaders: The Importance of Operating Principles Do you know how your employees are handling your business when you're not around? Do you have confidence that they're presenting your business in its best light and performing their jobs in the way that you would want them to? If you're not sure ... Click here to continue For Facilitators: Create a Successful First Meeting of a Task Force Over the past ten years, Leadership Strategies has probably facilitated over 500 team and task force meetings. Through this work we have learned that the quality of the first meeting greatly impacts the success of the meetings that follow. The critical importance of ... Click here to continue For Consultants and IT Professionals: IT's Role in Driving Business Strategy Does your information technology organization have people sitting on their hands wondering what to do next? Or have they worked through their entire backlog and are just waiting for something to be added? The plates of most IT organizations are ... Click here to continue For Strategic Planners: Values vs. Guiding Principles Webster defines a value as "a principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable." In organizations, values can play an important role in defining an organization's character and its culture. Values can also provide ... Click here to continue The 2003 Public Class Schedule is Ready! Are you planning for your most productive year yet? Do you want better results for your company? Do you believe that a key investment to get you there is in your people? At Leadership Strategies - The Facilitation Company, we do two things: ... Click here to continue

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