September 16 at 6:00 am to September 18 at 8:30 am PDT - Virtual Event
A lack of strategic thinking and planning in organizations is costly. The greatest expense is the investment of time and resources into activities that do not support company goals or the mission. In addition, employees show up, do their work, and go home. This results in missed opportunities. Without a context for their work, employees are not inspired to think or plan creatively about process improvement, innovation, or cost savings. And anyone who has tried knows, it can be a struggle to get teams to buy-in to strategic goals, much less think and work in alignment with those goals.
BOOTCAMP DATES AND TIMES:
The Strategic Conversations Bootcamp consists of two virtual sessions with each session lasting 2.5 hours. Below are the dates and times of both bootcamp sessions.
SESSION 1 | SESSION 2 |
TUESDAY | THURSDAY |
6:00am-8:30am PDT 9:00am-11:30am EDT 1:00pm-3:30pm GMT | 6:00am-8:30am PDT 9:00am-11:30am EDT 1:00pm-3:30pm GMT |
Please note: ALL virtual sessions for the strategic conversations bootcamp will be recorded and saved for participants who are unable to attend a scheduled webinar. Links to the recordings will be provided so that participants can view/listen to the recording at a time that works best for them.
STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS BOOTCAMP OVERVIEW:
Develop your capacity to foster whole system strategic planning, thinking, and leading with Strategic Conversations. Organizations poised for growth and success have leaders who are adopting strategic thinking as an on-going way of doing business and strategic planning that engages employees across the whole organization as well as external stakeholders. They engage everyone in developing agile plans, cycles of experimentation and learning, innovation, and measuring actions against relevant metrics.
Strategic Conversations Bootcamp will teach you how to incorporate two powerful methodologies – SOAR and the Appreciative Inquiry 5-D Cycle – to support and develop your capacity to have strategic conversations at the level of the individual, team, division, and the whole organization or community.
BOOTCAMP MODULES
The Strategic Conversations Bootcamp consists of four (4) modules. Click on any of the module titles below to display the purpose and learning objectives for each session.
STRATEGIC THINKING AND MINDSET
PURPOSE: Reassess the nature of what it means to be an organization, explore the impact of adopting a living systems mindset, and what that means when it comes to the nature of business conversation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Rethink the nature of organizations, see them as a living system, nourished by hubs of conversation and action.
- Adopt a living systems mindset and an Appreciative Inquiry conversational framework.
- Recognize 3 key factors for supporting strategic conversations and organizational flourishing.
- Practice framing and asking generative questions for strategic conversations that align with a living systems mindset.
SOAR CONVERSATIONS
PURPOSE: Learn how to use SOAR to frame strategic conversations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Adopt a SOAR Framework for strategic thinking and planning.
- Experience SOAR as a positive approach for strategic conversations.
- Practice positive framing and generative questions using SOAR at various levels in the organization.
THE APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY 5-D CYCLE
PURPOSE: Understand the importance of whole systems engagement and to explore strategic conversations at scale using the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) 5-D Cycle to engage all stakeholders in strategic planning or whole systems change.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Understand the need for whole systems engagement.
- Understand the AI 5-D Cycle.
- Practice framing an affirmative topic and creating an appreciative inquiry.
- Identify opportunities to engage whole systems in strategic conversations.
WHOLE SYSTEMS ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES
PURPOSE: Understand key factors for successful whole systems engagement and learn the basics around three popular processes for engaging large groups or whole systems in conversation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Recognize key factors to successful whole systems engagement.
- Understand Design Thinking, World Café, and Open Space Technology.
- Identify other resources and processes for whole systems engagement.
BOOTCAMP OUTCOMES
This bootcamp will prepare you to engage your teams in strategic conversations that can:
- Increase productivity, engagements, and organizational effectiveness;
- Reduce costs, misalignment, and conflicts;
- Improve customer service levels;
- Innovate in the face of challenges;
- Make a positive contribution to the bottom line.
After completing this bootcamp, you will have the tools to engage teams from a whole systems perspective in conversations to:
- Address short- and long-term challenges, systems, and innovation;
- Explore strengths, dynamic capabilities, and opportunities;
- Develop or re-evaluate organization’s values, vision, and mission statements;
- Set goals, objectives, strategies, and action plans;
- Clarify roles, relationships, and expectations;
- Track progress through regular cycles of action learning.
ADDITIONAL BOOTCAMP INFORMATION
METHOD OF DELIVERY
These live events will be delivered and recorded using Zoom. You can participate in these live events using any device: computer, tablet, or mobile. Please participate using the dial-in method you feel most comfortable with. You will receive the meeting login information from your trainers in two separate emails. First email will be sent two weeks prior to the event; the second to be sent the day before the bootcamp.
We invite you to learn more about the CONVERSATIONS BOOTCAMP also offered in partnership with Conversations Worth Having.
SUGGESTED READING
The Conversations Worth Having (CWH) Bootcamps are built upon the book, Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement (2nd Edition) written by Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres.
This book demonstrates how Appreciative Inquiry (AI) – one of the most widely used approaches for fostering positive change for individuals, groups, organizations, and communities – can help everyone communicate better and flourish in all areas of their lives.
BOOTCAMP OFFERED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
AI Practitioners
Jackie Stavros’ passion is working with others to discover their strengths, identify opportunities and create a plan with meaningful results for positive change! She is internationally recognized for her creation of SOAR, a positive approach to strategic thinking, planning, and leading that focuses on strengths, opportunities, aspirations and results in strategic conversations. The heart of her work is using Appreciative Inquiry (AI), one of the most popular approaches to positive change – that is bringing out the best in people, their organizations, and communities to fuel conversations worth having that produce meaningful engagement and results. She has presented her research and work in over 25 countries.
Jackie has been integrating strengths-based, whole system practices into her research, teaching, training, coaching, and consulting work to strengthen relationships, impact performance, and create positive change. She works with organizations in leadership development, team-building, and strategic planning. She helps organizations identify and articulate their values, vision, mission, strategy, and strategic initiatives and build collaborative teams and communities for results-oriented action. She has worked across all sectors including for-profit, non-profit, government, and a wide spectrum of industries. Learn More>
Cheri Torres understands that relational dynamics inform any group or organization endeavor; therefore, she works with leaders and teams to co-create positive, strength-based relationships capable of achieving extraordinary outcomes. She emphasizes excellence and success as an evolving target that is best achieved through continuous appreciation and inquiry. Working with Cheri means learning to use a simple set of tools and practices that generate human connection, positive relational dynamics, broad-based inclusion, creativity, collaborative action, and collective impact.
Cheri also partners with communities and organizations for whole systems change and strategic planning, bringing all stakeholders together for planning, design and collaborative action. She has worked across all sectors: education, social profit/NGOs, government and corporate, supporting their capacity for learning and innovation, shared leadership, teamwork and collaboration. She has trained thousands of trainers and teachers in the use and practice of Experiential Learning, Appreciative Inquiry and other strength-based practices with a particular focus on leadership development, teamwork, creativity, and collaboration. In addition to North America, she has worked in Mexico, South America, Europe and India. Learn More>