This time of massive disruption and crisis, from COVID-19’s health, social, and economic impacts to the systemic change being demanded around police violence, racism, and white supremacy has caused us to reflect on our work. Al and I have spent time thinking and talking about what to continue and improve upon, what to change, and
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Statement on the Murder of George Floyd
Dear Colleagues, We are living through a moment when white supremacy, racism, anti-Blackness, and violence against Black bodies has been caught in broad daylight. We are experiencing the daily traumas that our Black, Brown, Indigenous, Immigrant, and People of Color community members must cope with each day as they endeavor to survive in the capitalist,
Read more »Planning Effective Online Meetings
As professional facilitators, we have been thinking a lot about how to bring the important elements of in-person meetings online. While we expect the same outcomes when meeting online or in person, we know that the meeting is fundamentally different when we are working together without sitting together. Instead of simply repurposing our in-person plans for
Read more »Relearning How To Meet
The abrupt switch to online meetings jolted many of us out of our meeting routines. We first had to acclimate to new technology. But, the switch has required more than just figuring out how to unmute yourself. If you have participated in an online meeting, you know it’s not just an in-person meeting on the
Read more »Working Together: Four Values for Collaboration
Being together feels a little different now. We needn’t be physically near to be together. Personally, I’m thrilled to find that my kids spend more time with their grandparents during isolation than they did before – it is possible to babysit a three-year old over FaceTime! In the same way, our society’s understanding of working together is changing in
Read more »Board Planning: The Annual Agenda
A board does critical work for their organization, yet many spend little time planning ahead. Sarah and I believe that every board should spend time each year planning for their work together. An organization’s staff does annual work planning, the board should too. An annual plan outlines what a group wants to accomplish in the
Read more »Affinity Mapping
What is affinity mapping? Affinity mapping is a simple and important tool for facilitative leadership. It is useful when you have a lot of ideas that you need to make sense of. Affinity mapping is a fancy term for categorizing and it’s a process that our brains do naturally all the time. Imagine you want
Read more »The Sticky Wall
We get so many questions about the sticky wall! People are amazed, confused, impressed, and skeptical all at the same time. Here are some of the most common queries. What is that? How does it stick? Our sticky wall is a sheet of thin nylon coated with 3M Spray Mount. Any paper sticks to the
Read more »Refreshing Your Strategic Plan? Five Questions to Ask Before You Begin
Your strategic plan is coming to an end and you are facing the prospect of creating a new one. After initial discussions, you find that some board or staff think that the expiring strategic plan is still relevant and why not refresh it instead of starting again? Sound familiar? Sound tempting? Here are the questions we ask to help an organization decide if refreshing their expiring strategic plan is the right course of action.
Read more »Strategic Layers in Planning
It is easy to get confused or distracted by all the jargon used in strategic planning: goals, tactics, strategies, directions, objectives, issues, activities, etc. No matter what terms you use, the information in a nonprofit strategic plan is often organized in layers. Understanding the purpose of these layers reduces the importance of their names, clarifies
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