Good planning can set the tone and the stage for respectful and productive consultation. Here are 10 simple tips that help establish a positive connection with community members and stakeholders, from planning through to follow-up. 1. Understand Why. Clearly understand [...]
In the days before mass media, social technologies, the Internet and Twitter, everyone in town would turn out for the town hall meeting. It wasn’t called “community engagement” or “public consultation”. It was called a town meeting. And folks showed [...]
When I wrote my weekly blog two weeks ago, I had no idea that I was starting upon a trilogy on truth. While I often write about the importance of truth in our communications and our society, the blog that [...]
I was going to give truth, or our increasing lack thereof, a break from my blog this week. And then this happened…Last week (two days after my “End of Truth” blog), USA Today and other major media outlets reported that [...]
Does your organization have a set of shared values? Are these values written down anywhere or posted in a conspicuous place for all to view and practice on a daily basis? If you haven’t adopted shared values for your workplace, [...]
I’m preparing to facilitate a board planning retreat for a marketing organization this week. As I gather my thoughts and materials for the session, it has me thinking about my most important role as a facilitator — listening. The handy-dandy [...]
When the potential for trouble arises do you take a “wait and see” approach or do you get ahead of it in an attempt to cut problems off at the pass? Trouble could be anything that puts you or your [...]
Many years ago, when still fairly new to the complex world of people management, I found myself in an uncomfortable communication challenge with one of my staff. Fortunately for both of us, I was lucky enough to have a very [...]
The truth hasn’t gone anywhere, it’s just very hard to see, hidden behind the “truthiness”, “spin” and lies that make up so much of the information we consume daily. According to The New York Times, we humans now process close [...]
One of the fun and unique things about skiing is the conversations you find yourself having with complete strangers on the lifts. We rarely strike up conversations in confined spaces like elevators, but when folks are skiing or riding they [...]