Virtual Breakout Rooms: A 1000 Person Webinar, A 500 Person Online Meeting: Yes, You Can!

Have you ever…
… found yourself presenting online, worried that your audience thinks they are in just another boring webinar?
… struggled to facilitate a session that was dominated by one or two participants, who loved hearing themselves talk, but you’re trying to bring in other contributors?
… been daunted by the idea of planning a webinar or work session for several hundred participants?

We want to encourage you to design for more, don’t design for less! Because, people support that which they helped create - and what they create is always better than if they weren’t there. We believe a most meaningful way to engage groups large and small is to leverage virtual breakout rooms [VBRs] that engage your meeting participants and give each of them a voice and opportunity to contribute.

c. theodor forde-stieglerNovember 8, 2019Collaborative Change, Change Management, NEXUS4change, Tools4change, Steve Cady, OD&CComment

After Action Review: An Enabling Structure for Virtual Debriefs and More

The After Action Review [AAR] is a process that provides a feedback loop between intended and actual results in a team meeting. It can function as the 'heartbeat' of a cycle that brings leading, learning, and execution into the service of sustaining success for your organization. You can leverage the process in for in-person and virtual debriefs of your next session, meeting, conference, or event.

'Open System Theory by Warner Burke'

Our basic fundamental theory in OD work should be Open System Theory. And Open System Theory means that we look at input, throughput, and output with a feedback loop.

But what we spend entirely too much time on is, especially on the outset of a consulting project, is throughput, because throughput is much more exciting, because that's about leadership and culture, climate, and all those things that we're known for and like to like to work on. So the client then gets up and gets concerned when you're talking OD stuff and you're not talking performance. And so one of the things that might be a good idea for all of us to have on our desk is a book like ‘Performance Management for Dummies.’ You might want to keep something like that handy so you can talk the language pretty easily – it’s right here on my desk.

'Good to Great by Burke' - a conversation with OD&C thought-leader Warner Burke

What allows an organization to be sustainable? And what’s the difference between change management and organization development? There are two things bugging Warner Burke. First, he is bugged by the undercurrent warfare between OD purist and Change Management. Second, he is bugged by notions of performance, results, and outcomes in research, particularly with regard to surrogates for performance. In wrestling with the things that bother him, “Good to Great by Burke” is based on data available for manufacturing organizations turned up the following criteria:

Succession has worked - the organization has lasted past its first generation.
Sustained profitability and performance over decades.
No Union.
… read on.

RACI+F - getting diversity, gettinging the right people into the room

Ever had a supervisor tell you, "Well, you really should have talked to [x]!" - and dismiss your efforts because a key person or role was not part of the decision? Did you ever begin a project only to have to make a major revision, because a key constituency had been overlooked that brought new data to the table requiring adjustment?

RACI+F = R-responsible, A-accountable, C-consulted, I-informed, and F-facilitating; is a tool to make sure you don't miss the critical roles for any project, big or small. It ensures that all key insights and opinions are part of moving you forward in your change effort, because if you miss just one role - it can make all the difference.

c. theodor forde-stieglerOctober 22, 2019Collaborative Change, Change Management, 3questions, NEXUS4change, Tools4changeComment

3 Questions to design engagements that matter!

Have you ever attended a meeting and questioned, “why am I even here?”

What if instead, you could be part of a collaborative change engagement, where facilitators leverage the fact that people support and defend what they have helped create? Ron Lippitt, one of the founders and thought-leaders for the field of organization development, intuitively asked these 3 simple questions to guide the design of any collaborative meeting or event.

c. theodor forde-stieglerOctober 14, 2019Collaborative Change, Change Management, 3questions, NEXUS4change, Tools4changeComment

The seeds of change are planted with the questions we ask

Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

— Steve Jobs

c. theodor forde-stieglerOctober 10, 2019Collaborative Change, Change Management, Appreciative BenchmarkingComment

Der Runde Tisch: Change Practice in Action

the power of the circle is clear to most that even just dabble in facilitating change. The power that is in eliminating the ‘head of the table’ positions and putting conversations on equal footing can’t be denied. I would not be writing these lines, certainly not in English, were it not for the East German Round Table conversations of 1989/90 – and the Berlin Wall might still be here.

c. theodor forde-stieglerOctober 4, 2019Collaborative Change, Circle Way, Collaborative Circles, Runder TischComment

The Value of an Opposing View

What is the value of those who think different – maybe even the opposite of my views? How do I not only honor opposing views and principles, but value them?

c. theodor forde-stieglerOctober 2, 2019Collaborative Change, Change ManagementComment

Alternate Breathing, A DIET for Action Research case study, Positive Gossip and more…

c. theodor forde-stieglerSeptember 16, 2019Comment