Our approach, refined over years of practical application, ensures that your program provides the best outcome possible.

Step 1: Data Collection

This is process by which I determine the current state of your organization. Often, the challenge is quite obvious and these steps can be reduced. These are the steps:

• We begin by interviewing the program sponsor to determine the desired outcomes, budget and timeline.
• Stakeholders complete the "Organizational Fitness Test" or other survey depending on the requirements. These instruments give us an empirical view of your current reality and provide us with a baseline from which to work.
• We conduct telephone interviews with stakeholders to collect differing points of view.
• We discuss results of data collection with the sponsor and come to a consensus on the final list of outcomes and objectives. We sign off on this as the requirements document.

Step 2: Program Design

Using the data gathered in Step 1, I create a program outline. This provides us with a general framework to work from. We then use this framework during the program itself to provide structure to the process. The framework is flexible and fluid so that we can redirect the flow of the program at any point based upon the changing conditions. This framework also informs our choices of exercises, technologies, topics and techniques. We prepare a suitable selection of these so that we can pick and choose them from the framework as we need during the course of your program. The program may be onsite, offsite, in a single retreat format or spread out over several months.

"I really liked the way you and Les approached every Agenda item. You two were enthusiastic about everything and always smiling. This body language really was infectious and helped to break down the pre-Retreat attitude I (and others) had. As you know, we all know one another quite well, so we didn't need 'icebreakers', we needed enthusiasm for the task and you brought that to the sessions."

L. Sullivan, Government of Canada

Step 3: Program Setup

Whether onsite or offsite, the venue is critical to the successful outcome of the program. The ambiance, infrastrucure, and location can make or break a program. Before the program begins we:

• discuss venue choices with you and choose a suitable one
• familiarize ourselves with the venue
• go through the retreat timeline with the venue so that we are well supported in all our logistical requirements
• prepare the program room(s)
• make arrangements for and prepare indoor and outdoor experiential learning exercises
• make arrangements for all necessary equipment, audio-visual support, meals, snacks, temperature, lighting and all of the other details that have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the program.

Step 4: Program Delivery

I (and colleagues if required) facilitate the process to achieve your stated goals. This is a purpose-built combination of structured, unstructured, group and individual work that engages all of your faculties for maximum effect. We use auditory, visual and kinesthetic modalities for full engagement.WI have a number of techniques and technologies in our toolkit ranging from the tried and true to the leading edge. Some of these include:

• Appreciative Inquiry. A powerful technique to bring out what's already working well in an organization or situation and then build upon that for even greater success.
• Traditional challenge and debrief models to draw the learning out of experiences and ensure that it sticks.
• "Aha" experiences that allow individuals and groups to "catch themselves being who they are" and thereby gain insight into the behaviours that both support and sabotage their success.
• Traditional Best Practices Facilitation Techniques that allow ideas to grow, opinions to be heard and people to feel comfortable with full engagement.
• "World Café" facilitation model that helps participants brainstorm and reach consensus.
• "Dotmocracy" and other multi-vote techniques that support group information collection, issue prioritization, consensus building and decision making.
• Peak experiences and moments of flow that allow participants to experience themselves at their best and gain insights into how to reproduce this at work.
• Cultural Audits that allow you to see where you stack up compared to other organizations and provide a baseline for comparison should you wish to change.
• Mind Mapping techniques that draw out people's hidden genius while providing a visual representation of the concepts, connections and actions that that will lead you to success.
• Multi-Sensory Engagement techniques that ensure that all the senses are engaged and all the learning styles are stimulated so that the concepts, insights and learning become part of the person and not just a vague memory.
• Myers-Briggs and MindSet personality style assessments to give you greater insight into yourself and your colleagues, enhance communication and identify "holes" in the team's personality profile.
• Instant Electronic Audience Response for larger groups to allow real-time feedback for Dotmocracy, brainstorming and other group engagement techniques.
• And Many Others that we choose from based upon what will be most effective in each situation.

Our purpose through the whole exercise is to provide all of the support, facilitation, activities and external insights that allow you to achieve your goals.

"Excellent flow and time management. Flexible facilitation. Good work facilitating a group that is full of facilitator types."

S. LeRoy, Government of Canada

Step 5: Report and Follow Up

If this is a single delivery with now further engagement, we provide you with a management report that provides you with our insights into your team as well as suggestions and recommendations for your next steps along the path.We will also share with you our observations of which aspects of your team are points of strength as well as the aspects that provide opportunities for better results.

Step 6: Continuous Support

This is where the ball is most often dropped. After achieving outstanding insights and generating amazing results through our program, clients sometimes feel that they're "home free". However, this is where the real work begins. Once you're engulfed in the daily demands of your job, it is all too easy to slip into well-worn habits. That's where Continuous Support comes in.

We support you into the future with coaching, learning, and facilitation to ensure that you keep the momentum and that the changes you wish for become permanent. This can take the form of personal coaching, team tune-ups, facilitated sessions, employee engagement or many other ways in which we can support you.

Begin Now

Our clients believe that this approach brings profound results.

If you can see how it could help you, then the best time to start is now. The sooner you start, the sooner you will reap the rewards.