Our approach to training in facilitation designed to model and mirror effective facilitation. The training uses careful and sensitive questioning, with a sharp focus on listening skills, drawing on the knowledge and expertise of participants. We provide information and models as stimuli, to provoke personal insights and shape new skills.

All our workshops are highly experiential - designed to be powerful, enjoyable and effective.

Embedding learning

Real learning occurs where people integrate their training experiences into their lives. In our general approach to training we do this by:

• providing opportunities to work with real life issues, challenges and dilemmas, and be supported in making change through offering a balance of theory and practice, discussion and doing
• exposing people to ways of thinking and operating differently,  stretching their knowledge and skill base in practical ways
• constructing workshop experiences that are highly interactive, drawing on all the senses and addressing not just information, but feelings and commitments. Training needs to connects to the fundamental motivations of learners
• strengthening working relationships between colleagues and building a common language for learning, encouraging participants to develop a ‘community of practice’ to test out thinking and ideas, a community that may go on beyond the life of the program
• ongoing and structured feedback from participants (via user-friendly, online surveys) to respond to emerging issues and concerns.

So a group of us sat down with a template chart from Alex Osterwalder’s “Business Model Generation”  (the “Business Model Canvas” ) which forced us to review a suite of nine business domains, such as the ‘value proposition’, ‘customer segments’, ‘revenue streams’ etc. All these concepts are familiar to traditional business planning. What was different was the way in which the “Business Model Generation” process uses a  design thinking  approach to work on all aspects of  the business model at once. You sketch out the approach under each heading, then refine each area in relation to the whole. Until a workable business model is created. The approach was both comprehensive and rigorous.  It systematically compelled us to declare, test, refine or abandon key assumptions that we had tacitly held at the beginning of the process. For instance, a decision to develop a software only platform forced us to revise our ideas about who were the customers. Thinking about the delivery platform also sharpened ideas about the value proposition at the heart of the product.

Osterwalder recommends a highly visual approach to systemic thinking. The last part of his book is about graphic facilitation. And it is a beautiful book. Co-authored by 470 practitioners from 45 countries,it  features a tightly integrated, highly visual design that enables immediate hands-on use.

The book “Business Model Generation” by Alex Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur is available at:
http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book
They even have an iphone app.

Why?

At key times you can exponentially increase the value of a meeting by bringing in an external facilitator who…

• has specialist experience and specific skills in designing and running meetings to achieve results
• is ‘neutral’ (no hidden agenda) which allows them to build consensus between different perspectives
• can pick up on emerging thinking or “weak signals” and ask the right questions
• will free up everyone to fully participate without having to manage the meeting process

When?

More organisations are realising the value of having an external facilitator at milestone points:

• times of growth – looking forward, strategic planning
• times of evaluation – reflection and learning
• times of change and challenge – looking for fresh ideas

What do we do?

When you bring key people together and you want to make the most of their time and intelligence, a facilitator can help you cut to the chase.

A good facilitator will focus on the pre-meeting process of clarifying goals,planning and stakeholder engagement as well as taking care in the meeting to:

• encourage different voices and opinions without wasting time
• control the domination of a few voices
• reflect back observations and check out what is happening
• paraphrase for clarification
• keep the discussion on track
• summarise the discussion
• ask the dumb questions
• monitor the pace of the discussion, to keep everyone involved
• help a group to notice patterns of behaviour that support or hinder their interaction
• tackle difficult decisions and situations
• make assumptions explicit
• introduce new or creative approaches
• consider and create the right physical environment

The presence of the facilitator allows the participants to step out of their “business as usual” approach, it allows the chair and other specialists to fully participate and focus on the content rather the process of the meeting.

At milestone times, the facilitator can also design participative and creative approaches to trigger fresh ways of thinking with surprising results.

Comprising 22 municipalities and located on the Gulf of Bothnia, about 320 kilometres north of Stockholm, Sweden’s first “BioFuel Region” was officially recognised in 2005. The Swedish Government proudly proclaimed that the country would become the world’s first oil-free economy and that the BioFuel Region, where low-emission ethanol is as readily available and economical as ordinary petrol, showed how it was leading the way. Our first assumption upon hearing this might be to credit the Swedish Government with foresighted policy making, which enabled research, government subsidies and the mobilisation of public servants to work alongside businesses in the region to transform its economy. But this is not how it happened.

Per Carstedt, Bio Alcohol Fuel Foundation, Sweden

The origins of the BioFuel Region can be traced back to the commitment and dogged determination of one small business owner, Per Carstedt, who had spent some years living in Brazil before returning to northern Sweden to take over a large Ford dealership established by his father.  While in Brazil he attended the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, after which he grappled with questions about the future of cheap energy and the impact wide scale environmental changes would have on industrialised economies like his own.  In 1995, Carstedt imported three ethanol  cars from Ford’s fledgling small-flexible fuel vehicle program in Detroit. The odds against him establishing a market for these cars in Sweden seemed insurmountable at the time. Over the next five years, Carstedt teamed up with Sweden’s BioAlcohol Fuel Foundation and travelled from city to city enlisting interest and support. Eventually they formed the first buyers’ consortium comprising 50 municipalities, companies, and a number of individuals committed to buying 3,000 cars. The next challenge was to persuade petrol stations to install ethanol pumps. A vigorous campaign ensued without government help, starting with two in the late 1990s and reaching a hundred by 2004. “The first 100 stations took ten years to develop,” Carstedt reflected in 2005. “Nowadays we add 100 stations every three months.” (Christensen 2005)
Per Carstedt used his entrepreneurial skills and business acumen to instigate a new fuel industry in Sweden. From there he went on to tackle the industrial ecology of his own backyard. Starting with a new branch of his own family car dealership in northern Sweden, he built an environmentally friendly facility that was energy efficient and recycled all wastewater.  This initiative eventually extended to adjacent businesses where systems for waste exchange were established enabling, for example, the piping of excess heat from restaurant kitchens to the heating systems of the nearby car dealership and gasoline station. Dubbed the “Green Zone”, energy use dropped by 20 per cent against other comparably sized retail neighbourhoods and attracted 500 official study visits between 2000 and 2006. Green Zones have now sprung up in cities across Sweden and throughout Europe, in part inspired by the actions Carstedt and his allies had the courage and foresight to pursue without government intervention or regulation.

serious systems change needed

No one knows exactly when increasing carbon dioxide emissions will tip the planet into chaos, but many scientists argue that severe environmental consequences are inevitable if we do not change our ways.  Currently, around eight billion tonnes of carbon is emitted each year through fossil fuel burning alone; three billion tonnes is absorbed by land and ocean, leaving a net increase of five billion tonnes annually that is not absorbed by biomass like trees, plants and plankton, or dissolved in oceans. It is feared that this “stock” of atmospheric carbon will cross a threshold where the climate changes it produces will have irreversible and devastating effects on humans, animals and habitat. Scientists argue that to arrest this trend will require a 60 to 80 per cent reduction of worldwide emissions in 20 years – the 80-20 challenge facing our society.

Interface FLOR Carpets at make stuff happen seminar in 2010

As Senge et al note in their paper The Next Industrial Wave, the 80/20 challenge will require more serious systems changes than the minor adjustments that have so far occurred. The sheer number of small to medium businesses across the developed and developing world, would suggest that they will play a significant role in the scale of transformation required. While no one can take on a challenge like this alone, “sustainability innovators must learn to foster engaging conversations that build mutual understanding and the ability to work together.” (Senge et al 2008). People like Per Carstedt and other business leaders like Ray Anderson at Interface Carpets, have demonstrated a consistent sustainability focus that has seen them start such conversations and take them to new places, including the development of new products and services.  In doing so, whole supply chains have been reinvented, new markets created, and substantial reductions in carbon emissions achieved.

References
Christensen, L. (2005), “Formation for Collective Action: The Development of BioFuel Region,” Visanu Case Study, Sweden

Senge, P., Smith, B and Kruschwitz, N. (2008), “The Next Industrial Imperative”, Strategy and Business Magazine, Booz Allen Hamilton, Reprint Number 08205

September 2009

In September 2009, make stuff happen won the job to create a business network that could support the sustainability efforts of small and medium sized businesses across the lower Duck River industrial precincts that straddle Parramatta and Auburn City Councils in western Sydney. Small and medium sized businesses were perceived to be lacking the support larger businesses could attract through other government or industry programs.

Streamline Business was a voluntary program and participation was free to local businesses.  The year-long program included monthly short, sharp seminars hosted by local businesses like Shell, Veolia, Lubrizol, BluGlass, Sydney Turf Club and more. Every month we invited business people to join us for informal coffee conversations in a local café, which we called Café Duck.
Relevant topics and speakers were introduced based on what participants told us they wanted. But the most useful aspect of this program was the opportunity it gave participating businesses to network with each other. People who would not normally cross paths were brought together in a collegial atmosphere. Businesses of all sizes came along and shared their experiences. This yielded concrete outcomes as well as building a precinct-based identity centred on sustainability.

“This program was low key and genuine.” Phillip Lane, Lubrizol

We organised field trips, where people could check out the sustainability practices of their neighbours and get ideas about what to do differently with waste, water, energy, equipment, and the potential to make money out of new sustainable products. Eight video case studies were produced highlighting the work many of these businesses have done so far to reduce their carbon footprint.

In addition, we designed a sustainability audit checklist and planning tool called the sustainability ‘snapshot’. Through this tool, businesses could identify strengths and weaknesses in their current endeavours and develop plans to implement future improvements. We field tested the tool with 20 businesses to make sure that it reflected the language and concerns of the people who would eventually use it.

“The tool helps you think outside the square.” Graeme Ferris, Sydney Turf Club

Streamline Business has generated a network of enthusiastic sustainability pioneers across the Duck River industrial precincts. The program involved experimenting with new ways to engage small to medium businesses in activities outside their day-to-day operational concerns. We believe we have only scratched the surface. Interest in sustainability is high and, in some cases, these businesses are way ahead of government in their thinking and preparedness to take action.

Duck River Idol Award Ceremony September 2010

The Sustainability Snapshot Tool  produced by make stuff happen, can be found here.

More than double the number of expected participants attended the meeting to identify the skills needed and opportunities related to the rollout of the NBN. By bringing together more than 60 key players the groundwork for a collaborative strategy is being laid.

There was a definite buzz of excitement in the air at the meeting, facilitated by Chia Moan of make stuff happen. The work of the day will be incorporated into a skills strategy for the region that will position the region to overcome challenges posed by such a huge project.

Sponsored by Hunter RDA (Regional Development Australia) with the Local Employment Coordinator and State Training Services, the collaboration is about “getting our ducks lined up in order to overcome the skills issues that face the NBN and other large infrastructure projects,” said James Vidler of Hunter RDA.

Benefits of such strategic work could lead to the region being bumped up the rollout queue.

I recently attended a seminar organised by the Australian Centre for Social Innovation.

It featured Tonya Surman, founding executive director of the Centre for Social Innovation, based in Toronto.  She offered a simple model that captured something I had been struggling with. For collaborative activity across a number of organisations, how do you combine loose, self-affiliating, interest groups with ‘just-enough structure’ to provide coherence and support. We have all had experience with collaborative efforts that collapse under the paperwork once the association is formally incorporated. And the opposite problem – insufficient structure and direction to maintain long term momentum.

Tonya offered the design principles, the ‘minimum specifications’ for effective collaboration with her ‘constellation’ model. It is based on web 2.0 principles: models relevance, opting in, self-interest, self-organisation, transparency. The model  allows for scaled aggregation – the number of participants can multiply without diminishing the capacity to interact. At the heart is a ‘magnetic attractor’ something that draws people to the defining issue.

What about the structure? She outlined an ‘above and below the line’ structure. Above the line – chaos and messy interaction in a number of clusters (constellations), where people gather, share information, undertake common activities. The focus of each sub group is on action. These teams thread into an overall partnership, which is held together with a framework that shares leadership between the partners”. Then ‘below the line’ a small group of key partners who ‘steward’ the interactions (the ‘stewardship group’), providing stability, facilitating connections, holding the space for effective dialogue and movement over time.

“With the action-focused work residing in the constellations, these clusters become active when a group of partners decides to work on a particular issue. When there is low energy or declining opportunity, a constellation can become inactive or disappear altogether without impacting negatively on the overall partnership”.

The three organising principles:

• ‘lightweight governance’
• ‘Action-focused work teams’, and
• ‘Third party coordination’

are described in more detail in this article:

The Constellation Model of Collaborative Social Change

and visit the Australian Centre for Social Innovation – The Social Innovator Dialogues web site.

The piece from Theory U that was valuable was a simple way of framing the context for the discussion. The first round was pretty ‘heady’ stuff, lots of ideas and activity. For the second round, I made a point of introducing the discussion in the spirit of ‘empathic’ listening, listening from the heart. The  question was carefully constructed to be about ‘feelings’ of belonging in communities.

Then the last round of discussion was framed as ‘generative listening’. Not just telling others what should happen, but being alive to the possibility that something might emerge, collectively, in the discussion that would reveal a pathway to the future.

By the time we reached the conclusion, the conversation had a much deeper, slower tone.  The feedback from the guests was highly appreciative.

The simple lesson is about taking the time to make frame the conversation, making it really clear what is possible and desirable – standing up for empathy and openess.

More on Theory U: http://www.presencing.com/presencing-theoryu

More on World Cafe: http://www.theworldcafe.com

And for the Sustainable Grounds web site – cafe conversations for sustainability: http://sustainablegrounds.posterous.com

Pavan Sukhdev, head of the UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative, argues that the greening of economies is a new engine for growth, employment and the reduction of persistent poverty.

He has put numbers on it.  It is possible to demonstrate that a wetlands outside Kampala is creating more value in water treatment for the city, than converting it to agricultural land.  Pavan provides a powerful economic argument for preserving natural capital.

He is pretty funny, too.  At the Opera House last week, he showed a slide of Mars to make the obvious point:  “no biosphere…no economy”.  He also presented a satellite photo of trawler fleets intensively clustered on the edges of a marine reserve of the Pacific US coast. “The fish don’t read the regulations”.

The Economics of Biodiversity (TEEB) reports  are at:

http://www.teebweb.org

A career banker, Pavan Sukhdev went on  sabbatical from the Deutsche Bank for two years to develop this Initiative.

A core skill of NVC is to distinguish between feeling and needs. In order to gain a strong sense of choice and autonomy in difficult circumstances. Feelings are not really ‘thoughts’ as we often talk of them (“I feel that you are really lazy”). They have a strong body aspect, and we often jump to huge inferences about someone else’s fault, when we are hurt by them. NVC teaches how to listen in a way that is generative for others, not blaming them or limiting their sense of freedom and liveliness in communication.

I look forward to next week’s training, with feelings of both excitement and, since last night, trepidation

If you want to learn more about NVC, Marshall Rosenberg, and the valuable network around his work, go to http://www.cnvc.org