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Author Archives: jofacilitator
About jofacilitator
On Sept 1, 2020, I celebrated 50 years of work with the Institute of Cultural Affairs, facilitating meetings, groups, communities, and organizations, making it possible for ordinary people to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives. I retired on December 31, 2021, but still volunteer with the organization.“No Time for Planning a Meeting”
I have heard this more and more often. Huge demands for productivity in meetings, but less and less time allotted to them. Here is a story of a team’s discovery about the impact of taking time to prepare a meeting. … Continue reading →
Posted in Facilitation Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged business, facilitation, management, meeting preparation, participation
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Addressing Distrust in a Public Consultation with a Focused Conversation
A school district needed to address the fact that some schools were very old and needed very expensive renovation, and that there were new neighbourhoods in the city that needed new schools. The budget was limited and not everything could … Continue reading →
Posted in Facilitation Stories, Useful Conversations
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Tagged distrust, facilitation, group facilitation, participation, public consultation, ToP methods
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History of Developing the ToP Action Planning Process for Strategic Planning
In 1988, non-profit organizations were required to have a strategic plan in order to get their funding from the province for the next year. Wayne and I facilitated ToP strategic planning for each of 12 regional non-profit organizations that were … Continue reading →
Posted in Facilitation Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged action planning, business, facilitation, leadership, management, strategic planning, strategy, ToP methods
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Listening to Polarized Viewpoints and Creating Consensus
Currently we are more and more aware of social issues facing our society – such as addictions as in alcohol, gambling, and illegal drug use; as well as unemployment and job loss, housing, etc. Many social issues trigger emotional responses … Continue reading →
Posted in Facilitation Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged consensus, facilitation, leadership, management, polarization
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Another Story about the Organization Journey Map
Another Story of the Use of the Organizational Journey Map: (see the original post for the map) The chief of a police force in a small city was eager to get participation of all officers in decision-making. He had scheduled … Continue reading →
Using the Organizational Journey Map
This Map is copyrighted: Copyright Canadian Institute of Cultural Affairs, 1998 Usually the best way to use the Organizational Journey Map is to work with a group in the same room that represents all the levels of the organization, or … Continue reading →
Posted in Facilitation Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged business, facilitation, leadership, management, org journey, organizational journey, ToP methods
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From SWOT to SWTO
Most people remember the acronym SWOT for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. One time I had a client ask to do a SWOT before they renewed their strategic plan. It was a difficult time right after a provincial election that was … Continue reading →
Addressing a Request for Strategic Planning in a Half Day
I was contacted by a person working for a small non-profit who knew something of ToP methods. She said they needed a strategic plan, but they only had a half-day available to do it. On the face of it, this … Continue reading →
Facilitation Stories
This series of posts will be stories from my facilitation career, highlighting lessons I learned from working with clients. I intend for these to be helpful for those I am mentoring, but in general to all facilitators. Perhaps it will … Continue reading →
Posted in Facilitation Stories
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Tagged facilitation, facilitation lessons, stories
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“Kitchen Table” Conversation to Discern Challenges and Actions to Address Them
One of the things I have heard the most in the last few months is a yearning to understand how different people can think so differently about what is going on in the world. Others have said that making meaningful … Continue reading →
Jofacilitator 