In This Issue For Facilitators: Let's NOT Meet! For Leaders: Getting Team Involvement in Process Change For Consultants and IT Professionals: Getting Team Involvement in Process Change For Strategic Planners: Making Sure Your Strategic Plan is Relevant! Client Success Story: YWCA of Greater Atlanta The PDI Difference Spotlight: National Facilitator Database Would you like to get published? This Issue's Special: Save 25% on The Effective Facilitator Course Facilitating an upcoming meeting? Get assistance in your planning or some intensive one-on-one feedback. Call 800-824-2850 for details. You must mention the November/December Newsletter in order to receive this discount. Upcoming Classes Masterful Meetings Jan 22-23 Atlanta The Effective Facilitator 4-Day Jan 29-Feb 1 Atlanta Feb 5-8 Dallas Feb 12-15 Washington DC Feb 26-Mar 1 Atlanta Mar 12-15 Los Angeles Mar 19-22 Chicago Streamlined 3-Day Mar 26-28 Atlanta Facilitating IT Sessions* May 24 Atlanta Facilitation For Trainers Mar 12-14 Atlanta Advanced Facilitation* Jun 28-29 Atlanta Facilitator Certification* Mar 29-30 Atlanta The Effective Consultant Feb 5-7 Atlanta Strategic Planning Mar 5-6, 2007 Atlanta From Management to Leadership Oct 15-17 Atlanta Secrets to Facilitating Strategy for Governments & Non Profits Oct 1-3 Atlanta See the entire Public Class Schedule * Prerequisite Required Click here to register online now for a public class or call us at 1.800.824.2850 about a private on-site class! Learn about our online training courses: Springboard Online! DISC Self Study

Greetings! Don’t miss the 2007 Facilitator’s Conference! Portland, March 8-10, 2007 will mark my tenth time attending the North American Conference of the International Association of Facilitators. Whether you are a beginning or veteran facilitator, you might wonder about the benefits of a conference on facilitation. Here are some of my top learning moments during past conferences: 1996 Dallas: Facilitating “Consensus Building Strategies” to a standing-room-only group of facilitators. 48 stellar evaluations, one so-so, and one that I will never forget: “90 minutes of Wilkinson is 85 minutes too much!” Who was it that said you can’t please all the people all the time? 2000 Toronto: Confirming in a Graphic Facilitation workshop that I am indeed not an artist, but that even I could learn basic symbols and icons to spice up my facilitation. 2001 Minneapolis: Participating in a sharing- methods session in which over 200 techniques were identified for engaging groups. After the session, 55 were compiled into a useful booklet, “Engagement Strategies,” to which I have frequently referred. 2002 Ft. Worth: Hurting so much from laughter during Izzy Gesell’s hilarious Improv Workshop. 2003 Ottawa: A one-on-one lunch with Roger Schwarz (The Skilled Facilitator) discussing the business of facilitation, what was working, what was not working, where the market was going – invaluable. 2004 Scottsdale: Advanced Facilitators Colloquium: 40+ advanced facilitators in a room comparing approaches for facilitating a very challenging case study. 2005 S. Florida: Watching Ingrid Bens (Facilitating with Ease) deftly demonstrate Managing Mobs. What a powerhouse of grace and expertise! 2006 Baltimore: Debating passionately with Sam Kaner (Participatory Decision-Making), Sandy Schuman (IAF Handbook of Group Facilitation), and Ingrid Benz on a panel discussing the future of the industry. Come learn with hundreds of other facilitators in Portland, March 8-10, 2007. Find out more at www.iaf- world.org. See you there, Michael Wilkinson Managing Director Best Practice Tip for this Issue: Interviewing the Sponsor When interviewing the sponsor as part of your preparation, remember the 5 P’s: Purpose: Why are we having the session? Product: What results do we want to have when we are done? Process: What process will get us there? Participants: What do I need to know about the participants? Probable Issues: What issues are most likely to arise? To learn more about prioritization techniques, register for The Effective Facilitator course! For more details, call (800) 824-2850. For Facilitators: Let's NOT Meet! Have you ever sat through a meeting and wondered, “Why are we having this meeting? What a waste of time!” Meetings take time and tie up resources. Unfortunately, many call meetings without having a clear picture of the goal for the meeting or an understanding of whether a meeting is really necessary. If a quality result can be achieved without... Click here to continue For Leaders: Getting Team Involvement in Process Change If you’ve worked in the corporate world for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced a merger or acquisition somewhere along the way. Personally, I’ve gone through five in 15 years (which may have been a contributing factor to starting my own business). Each time I’ve been bothered by the overlooked opportunities and communication snafu’s that have resulted in... Click here to continue For Consultants and IT Professionals: Getting Team Involvement in Process Change If you’ve worked in the corporate world for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced a merger or acquisition somewhere along the way. Personally, I’ve gone through five in 15 years (which may have been a contributing factor to starting my own business). Each time I’ve been bothered by the overlooked opportunities and communication snafu’s that have resulted in... Click here to continue For Strategic Planners: Making Sure Your Strategic Plan is Relevant! Many organizations find it difficult to get their executives and managers to take the time to focus on strategic planning. Is there any wonder why? Managers often see planning retreats as unwanted distractions that get in the way of them getting their real work done. A key to our success... Click here to continue Client Success Story: YWCA of Greater Atlanta “He asked me a simple question: Are you finding the session helpful so far? I answered the facilitator honestly. “ Well,” I began, “I see how the topics you are presenting about visioning and applying strategic thinking to our organizational framework really apply toward the successful achievement of the YWCA’s overall goals, yet ironically my thought patterns keep drifting towards applying these same principles to my personal goals and objectives!” Michael Wilkinson’s face immediately brightened. He whipped out a napkin and quickly began writing. “That’s interesting,” he said smiling, “because... Click here to continue The PDI Difference PDI stands for Practical/Dynamic/Interactive. It's what sets Leadership Strategies above the rest. The PDI Difference can be seen in every aspect of what we do. Practical Methods that Produce Results: We use proven methods and techniques in both our training classes and our facilitated sessions. Each and every session is carefully planned and executed with precision to ensure consistent results that apply to real-life situations - and produce measurable results. Dynamic Energy that Keeps You Engaged: Our facilitators operate on "Level 3" energy so participants are engaged from beginning to end. No doodling in our sessions! We also use a wide variety of techniques to keep the interest high and be sure everyone contributes their best ideas. Interactive - Proven Methods for Successful Integration and Application: In our facilitated sessions, our trained facilitators set people up in teams to enhance collaboration and ideas that work from every angle. In our training sessions, it's "practice, practice, practice" so participants learn by doing it themselves, by critiquing others in the class, and receiving immediate feedback from the instructor. Learn more about The PDI Difference Spotlight: National Facilitator Database Are you looking for a facilitator for an upcoming session, and don't have a clue where to start? Or, maybe you're a facilitator with great skills and experience looking for clients. In either case, we can help. The National Facilitator Database does both. For details, click here. NFDB.com is managed by Leadership Strategies. If you have any questions or would like to speak with one of our Client Relationship Managers, you can call 800-824-2850. Or, click here to email your questions. Would you like to get published? Do you have proven strategies on Facilitation, Leadership, IT/Consulting or Strategic Planning that you would like to share in an upcoming newsletter issue? We'd love to hear from you. Each article should be 750-1,000 words. Include your contact information and a 30- to 60-word byline. Click here to email your articles to us.

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