The age-old question – “Why are we having this meeting?” – goes much deeper than you or your manager’s desires to set the meeting. As The Harvard Business Review states, if we’re being completely honest, our need for the...

5 Tips for Organizing a Business Conference People Will Love
The business conference. A reliable source for networking and professional development — and often the most talked-about event of the year. If you are tasked to plan your next company conference, don’t take it lightly. Conferences require a unique...

Team Building Is More Than a Trust Fall
Planning a team building exercise can be a daunting task. There are too many activities to choose from, and most produce eye rolls rather than excitement from the team members. But when properly planned and executed, this is an...

A Successful Fiscal Year Starts with Strategic Planning
If your fiscal year ends in June, you are probably beginning to prepare for 2017-18. First up is scheduling a date for your organization’s strategic planning session. Scheduling can be challenging and time-consuming, especially if you have a large...

How to Assess the Signs and Succeed in Issue Resolution
As you plan your next meeting, you are most likely focused on how the meeting will come to an efficient, useful consensus. To succeed, you need to have a strong understanding of how to avoid or address one possible...

A Professionally Facilitated Focus Group will Help You Win
How does your company conduct market research? Do you avoid valuable resources like focus groups because of a lack of clarity about their benefit, time constraints, or failed attempts in the past? Those challenges may be due to having...

The 5 W’s of a Successful Meeting
You know that meetings are critical to achieving your organization’s goals. Chances are, you also know that meetings are rarely conducted in the timeliest manner possible, and that they may not result in a consensus that meets the desired...

5 Things a Good Facilitator Can Do: Checklist
How do your co-workers or employees act during a brainstorm, staff meeting, or other structured group activity? Do you feel a sense of stress or disengagement? Are people listening and preparing to contribute – or are they working toward...

How to Spot (and Develop) a Manager with Great Facilitation Skills
One of the keys to a successful business is hiring, developing, and empowering good managers. More often than not, these individuals are hired or promoted based on tenure or their knowledge of an industry or business. Of course, this...

Defining the Role of a Good Facilitator: Checklist
We’re asked all the time, “How can I know if I have a good facilitator?” The answer is pretty straightforward – their success comes from your success. Across virtually any industry, organization type, team composition, or environment, a good...