Tag: facilitation

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Featured Post Marketing

A Facilitator’s Top Three Tips for Strategic Marketing Planning

I recently shared why it’s important to commit time for strategic marketing planning.  Based on my combined experience as a marketer and planning facilitator, here are my top three tips for developing a successful planning session.

1. Be Mission-focused.

The basis for your strategic marketing plan is rooted in your organization’s mission. If your marketing efforts don’t support the company’s mission and goals, then don’t bother.

I post and review the company or nonprofit mission statement in every planning session I facilitate. Keeping the mission front-&-center is critical to helping participants avoid the situation that one executive described: “We spent more time focusing on what we could do rather than what we should do.”

2. Be Creative

Critical thinking and creative thinking are not mutually exclusive. To keep your planning process interesting, you can better envision and explore possibilities while engaging in “What if … ?” questions. For example: What if we had unlimited resources — what could we achieve? What if we could start over from scratch — what would we do differently? What would happen if our products, services, or brand disappeared — would we be missed?

You can also try a different perspective with this two-step scenario. First, you’ve been hired away by a major competitor’s consulting firm to help them assess your brand’s strengths and weaknesses. Following this assessment, return to your current company role and consider how you can improve your marketing to gain and keep a competitive edge.

3. Be Realistic

Besides being mission-focused, it’s also important to recognize the scope of your organization’s capacity and commitment. In the course of creative and meaningful discussion, it’s easy to develop an extensive list of marketing ideas for consideration. That’s why I advocate planning participants develop and agree on a realistic set of two to four mission-focused marketing activities that support their company’s strategic goals. The worst possible outcome from a strategic planning session is for participants to generate an exhaustive laundry list of ideas and actions that overwhelm them. Seriously, it’s a small step from discouraged to disengaged.

For being realistic when it comes to marketing planning, here’s my favorite quote from Dr. Phil Kotler:

“Marketing is a learning game. You make a decision. You watch the results. You learn from the results. Then you make better decisions.”

Happy marketing planning!

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Engagement Marketing

No Time for a Strategic Marketing Plan? Think Again!

It’s a common lament among many marketers today – their work is more reactive than proactive. While they acknowledge the need for formal marketing planning, they’re overwhelmed and pressed for time dealing with customers, co-workers, information overload and other work demands.

So they wrestle with whatever marketing projections and data are needed to compile an annual plan and budget as required by those in the C-suite. Then it’s back to business-as-usual. For organizations that just keep on keeping on, how can they tell if they’re making any real progress?

“The truth is that in a time when we could change everything, we’re running without clarity of direction or vision.”‘ Brian Solis

It’s a serious concern for marketers because our function is so visible and the people that deliver the brand promise – our employees – need to know where we’re headed in the marketplace. When employees don’t know and understand our marketing goals and what’s expected of them in achieving those goals, they’re more likely to disengage. (So much for nurturing employees as brand ambassadors!)

Not having the time to plan is just part of the excuse. The sad truth is the planning process is still perceived as a tedious one that many marketers don’t want to make time for. They understand the value of creating a plan, yet dread participating in the process.

But it doesn’t have to be that way! I’ve seen first-hand people actually enjoy the planning experience. What I’ve found that works is bringing marketing and other critical staff together for the sole purpose of exploring and developing marketing strategy in a limited time frame (ranging from a half to a full day). Whether the planning session is held in an on-site conference room or off-site venue, it’s important to create a sense of “safe space” where participants will respectfully listen to and share their ideas with each other. Food and beverages including, but not limited to, caffeine and sugar (i.e., fresh fruit and healthy snacks in addition to candy and/or cookies) are also needed to fuel the planning process.

Strategic marketing planning’s true value is in setting a clear direction and marshaling the required resources to get there. It also enables marketing and other key staff to step back from the daily grind to engage in strategic thinking for/about the organization — a process that  leaves them feeling re-focused and re-energized. A refreshing change from working reactively!

Note: I’ll share what’s needed for a successful marketing planning session in my next post.

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Engagement Training & Development

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Facilitator

Trust me, I never said that to my parents and teachers. But that’s what’s happened as my career evolved, and I’ve spent most of my 25 years with Quality Service Marketing developing and refining my skills as a facilitator.

What is facilitation?
“It’s a powerful way of working that gives everyone a chance to be an active part of the decision making process,” according to the International Association of Facilitators (IAF). It’s used in planning, problem-solving, creative thinking, input/feedback sessions, and other types of collaborative meetings. In my experience, facilitation involves establishing a base of mutual understanding … exploring possibilities and opportunities … communicating concerns … sharing and building ideas … setting clear direction and goals … and agreeing on next steps and responsibilities, including actions and follow up measures.

It’s about discovery
My role as facilitator is to guide the process of discovery that enables participants to determine where they want/need to go and what they need/want to do to get there. I start by learning as much about the group’s situation and culture as possible so I can develop the key questions and activities needed to effectively engage all participants in a comfortable, non-threatening environment. Then I get to serve in a dual, somewhat contradictory role: guiding the group in its discussions to keep on track and maintain focus, while also stepping back for those times when the group goes off in a different direction that’s critical to the discussion at hand.

The process is fascinating as I never quite know what the outcome will be, and I tell clients this upfront. For example, at one organization’s strategic planning retreat, board member discussion raised more issues than answers that needed to be explored further. With the group’s consensus, we suspended the strategic planning portion of the retreat, and the board then focused on identifying the critical topics that needed to be addressed before continuing strategic planning.

As a facilitator, I’ve also discovered many insights into group behavior, communication, and collaboration.

It’s about asking the right questions
Although they may not realize it, most of my clients intuitively know what they need to do in planning, problem-solving, idea-gathering or ideation. So my primary role as facilitator is to objectively ask the questions that enable them to discover and articulate the answers they need. The type of facilitation I prefer to use is Solutions-Focus, a positive approach to generating change that builds on what is possible rather than trying to fix what is problematic. (Special thanks to my colleague and solutions-focus mentor, Alan Kay, for introducing me to this approach many years ago.)

It’s International Facilitation Week
I’m proud to be an IAF member and celebrate International Facilitation Week the third week in October. I’ll share some of my favorite resources for facilitators in my next post.

IAF_Logo_IFW2015_RGB

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Engagement Featured Post Training & Development

Overcoming the Responsibility vs. Authority Conflict: Lessons in Collaboration

How do you manage working with others when you’re responsible for a project they’re involved with, yet you’re given limited or no authority to get the work done?

While I do not recommend this approach, I’ve observed it in many organizations due to reasons that involve internal politics, lack of role clarity, and unshared commitment to goals, to name a few. I’ve also seen people without management authority effectively hurdle the challenge of working with others. Here are examples and lessons learned from two former clients I had the privilege of serving.

  • The “consortium” included representatives of federal statistical agencies from different countries that voluntarily came together to share their work and improve the comparability of their data. What was fascinating was this group worked cooperatively together in addition to their regular job responsibilities and without any extra staff support and resources. They developed and agreed on a mission statement, strategic plan, and working groups to complete a special joint project. They also walked a fine line to work informally–without bureaucratic interference from their respective agencies–while maintaining the necessary formal communication with their respective senior managers to assure continued institutional support for their activities.
  • The “coordinator” was set up to implement a federally-funded initiative for social change that called for integrating the efforts of existing community partners. The coordinating organization in this case had no authority over the partners and no grant-making ability to fund their involvement; i.e., partner participation was purely voluntary. While the overarching mission for social change was closely aligned with the partners’ respective missions, the nonprofits involved were already stressed with more demands than resources. So to engage its partners, the coordinator applied the WIIFM (“what’s in it for me?”) principle by offering them the opportunity to:
    • maximize their respective organizations’ impact in support of the initiative’s overarching goals
    • have a voice in making a difference
    • network with other partners
    • enhance their community visibility.

Lessons Learned
The purpose, structure, and goals of the “consortium” and “coordinator” were vastly different. However, they shared one thing in common: they had to rely on collaboration, rather than authority, to operate effectively. Here are the common elements of how they made it happen:

  • Mutual respect for all the participants/partners involved
  • Aligning and reinforcing a shared mission, vision, and goals among the various players
  • Clarifying and communicating role expectations
  • Frequently sharing progress updates with those involved
  • Recognizing and celebrating individual and collective achievements.

These lessons are applicable in almost all situations, not just those with responsibility vs. authority issues. As communications consultant Kare Anderson says:

“For most of our lives we’ve been advised to lead and manage others. We’ve been taught to resolve conflict, influence, negotiate and otherwise attempt to get what we want from people … But what about the concept of us? More people would rather enjoy the camaraderie of smart collaboration than be lead, persuaded or managed.”

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Engagement Marketing Training & Development

Internal Marketing Tools of Engagement For Marketers (Part 2)

Last week I shared examples of how Marketing can start to build better relationships within the firm. In addition to this general outreach, it’s important to get employee buy-in and cooperation for each marketing program you implement. Here are several tools of engagement you can use.

Before launching any marketing initiative or program …

  • Share the rationale and goals behind this initiative with employees – clearly explain what you’re trying to do and why.
  • Communicate how Marketing’s efforts in relation to the program help support the firm’s overall mission and strategic plan – reinforce the message “we’re all in this together” instead of contributing to the perception that Marketing creates extra work for people.
  • Get employee input, and be sensitive and responsive to how their work will be affected by this program.
  • Provide the necessary training (and any incentives, if appropriate) so staff can effectively support the initiative.

Once the initiative is up-and-running …

You can’t just let it run its course and forget about it. As part of your monitoring efforts:

  • Stay in touch with what employees need to keep the program’s momentum going.
  • Share interim results and any fine-tuning that needs to be done and why.
  • Recognize and reinforce employees’ support of the initiative.

And when the program is over …

  • Share final results and “lessons learned” – for example, what worked & why (to replicate success in the future ) and what didn’t work & why (what to avoid and what to improve the next time)
  • Acknowledge employees’ individual and collective efforts in supporting marketing and organizational goals
  • Solicit employee feedback on how to improve future initiatives.

Employees who deliver on the brand promise can make or break Marketing. That’s why we need to consider employees “upfront” when planning and implementing any marketing initiative – so they’ll work with us, not against us.

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Engagement

Volunteers Know What Matters

The recent PR firestorm involving two well-known women’s health organizations (I’m not going to rehash the situation here) reminded me of an experience I had in my early years of nonprofit consulting.

I was asked to facilitate a special meeting between two nonprofits involved in helping people with cancer – one was an established organization, the other was a relatively new start-up. The existing nonprofit felt threatened by the new group. In my meetings with senior staff from the existing nonprofit, some people admitted they wanted the new organization to just “go away” – they were concerned about competing for donor and volunteer support. Fortunately, they accepted the new group’s invitation to sit down together and explore how they could both serve the community.

Can’t we all just get along?

I remember my feelings of trepidation as I prepared for the joint meeting – I was a facilitator, not a peace-keeper! But my fears dissolved after I interviewed a number of volunteers from both organizations. Their message was clear and consistent: “We don’t care who we work for as volunteers, we just want to eradicate cancer! So find a way to work out your differences.“

That was the message I shared with the two organizations at the outset of their meeting-of-the-minds. Their volunteers provided the critical reminder that purpose supersedes politics.

Both organizations took the message to heart. I’m happy to report that meeting was held more than 20 years ago, and both organizations continue to co-exist and collaborate in their efforts to serve people with cancer.

Special Note: National Volunteer Week is coming up soon: April 15-21, 2012. Special thanks to all volunteers who help make a difference in our world!

 

 

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Marketing

Why Nonprofits Need to Look Backward as Well as Forward

Talking about nonprofit marketing with colleagues recently sparked an interesting discussion on using an organization’s history (aka “heritage marketing”) – for example, celebrating a notable anniversary of a nonprofit’s founding to kick-off a fundraising drive or reinforce an organization’s longevity and brand.

Given the dynamic pace of change today, some might question whether this approach is outmoded. Shouldn’t nonprofits focus on the future rather than the past?

My answer is that an organization’s history shouldn’t be ignored because the past is tangible, the future is not. Through historic records, past meeting minutes and reports, photos, audio visuals, and printed matter, you can:

  • revisit, review, and explore the past as a way to understand what worked and what didn’t
  • gain insight into how the organization, its mission, and its culture have evolved
  • and leverage this knowledge to help the organization continue to evolve and adapt in a changing world.

It’s the reason we consider both the past and the future in strategic planning – to reflect on an organization’s history as part of a situational analysis and use it as a bridge to help envision the future.

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Engagement

The Legacy of Poor Management Communications

How long lasting are the effects of poor management communications? They may be longer than you think.

That was the takeaway from a recent executive retreat I facilitated for a client. The current management team is relatively new – comprised of a few VPs who came from outside the organization and several who came up through the ranks and had reported to members of the previous administration. During the retreat, this “new” team focused on improving internal communications.

In their discussions, they acknowledged their frustration in continuing to deal with the erosion of trust and related fallout from poor communications by previous administrations that tended to play politics with each other to achieve personal agendas. Some of the former VPs were also inconsistent in sharing information with their respective divisions. I recall one former VP who proudly declared he shared limited information on a “need to know” basis only – so his employees were left to fend for themselves when it came to learning most top-down information.

The cumulative result of poor management communications is that the current management team is challenged in dealing with the “working wounded” (including some of the VPs themselves). Among the problematic issues they face, they cited:

  • employees’ reluctance to express their opinions or ask questions
  • inconsistent sharing of information between and within departments
  • “political fiefdoms pushing agendas,” and employees’ lack of understanding of how the new management team operates (different from the old guard’s penchant for playing politics).

How will they meet this challenge? By working to create a “safe place” for discussion … being willing to engage employees in discussion … listening and responding to employee ideas and concerns … and demonstrating trust and respect in all their communications with employees and each other.

Knowing my client’s commitment to improving organizational communications, I’m confident members of the current administration will be able to turn the situation around. They’re also smart enough to know that it won’t happen overnight – re-building trust takes time and patience.

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Engagement Marketing Training & Development

Engaging Volunteers (3): Intentional Volunteer Management

 

“Too many organizations are thoughtless when it comes to volunteers.”
– Susan Ellis, president of Energize, Inc., a volunteer training & consulting firm.

Sadly, many former volunteers would agree with this statement. That’s why an intentional and proactive (rather than passive or reactive) effort is needed to effectively engage and retain volunteers.

Here are some guidelines to help you get started with intentional volunteer engagement and management.

  • Focus at the Board Level
    Volunteer expert Susan Ellis recommends volunteer involvement be a regular part of the board agenda so it can proactively focus on how to effectively recruit, engage, and maximize volunteer participation. “Don’t allow volunteer involvement to be the invisible personnel issue,” she says. She also suggests creating a board committee on volunteerism.
  • Learn who your volunteers are, their interest in your organization, and their volunteer expectations (as described in my previous post).
  • Clarify and clearly communicate your organization’s expectations of volunteers and what they can expect from you. Here’s a great example: After meeting with a nonprofit organization’s leaders, I received a follow-up letter inviting me to serve on their advisory council. This invitation described council members’ responsibilities and stated what the organization promised them in return, including “Appreciation of your time and our commitment not to abuse your time or generosity.”
  • Find ways to connect your volunteers to:
    • your organization’s mission, strategic direction, and goals. (Note: You can even include volunteers in your strategic planning process.)
    • your stakeholders (if applicable) to see your mission in action
    • your other volunteers for mentoring and partnering
    • your staff, particularly those with whom they’ll be working.
  • Provide the mission-focused training and tools your volunteers need to best serve the organization; e.g., orientation, ongoing communication, recognition, etc.
  • Proactively listen to your volunteers – obtain their feedback, ideas, concerns – and respond appropriately.

Volunteers require more than a simple “recruit ‘em and recognize ‘em” approach. Nonprofit leaders need to invest time and attention to engaging, managing, and retaining volunteer talent.

Stay tuned for my next post that will explore the challenge of engaging volunteers who are also brand partners.

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Engagement Marketing Training & Development

2006: Recognizing A Special Anniversary

This new year is a very special one: 2006 marks the beginning of my 18th year in business as Quality Service Marketing.

Most small business statistics cite the first five years as being critical for survival, which is the reason I celebrate my business anniversary in five year increments.  But the number 18 has special significance for me – in Hebrew numerology, it represents “life.”  So I wanted to recognize this special year by acknowledging:

  • My clients (past & present) – I’ve enjoyed working with all of you, and it’s been an honor to serve you over the years, helping you with internal marketing & communications, marketing & strategic planning, and marketing & customer-focused training.
  • Special thanks to my long term relationships with Peg Portz & Jim Brown at Lehigh University’s Office of Distance Education; Pat Lawless at the Northeast PA Area Health Education Center; Ned Boehm at Keystone College; and Pat Goodrich, Lynn Brown & the rest of AMA’s professional development staff.
  • My colleagues – I’m fortunate to have a truly incredible network of marketing professionals & mentors whom I’ve relied on since starting QSM.  Time & space preclude me from mentioning everyone who’s helped me, but I need to acknowledge a number of special advisers (in no particular order): Frank Haas, Chris Bonney, Alan Kay, Toby Bloomberg, Len Berry, Steve Brown, Mike McDermott, Bill & Carolyn Neal, and Linda McAleer (she may not remember, but she helped convince me to start my business).  Special thanks, also, to my colleagues who continue to help make QSM look good: Glenn Wampole of Waitz Corporation and John Bartorillo & AJ Zambetti of Maslow Lumia Bartorillo Advertising.
  • Last (but certainly not least), my family and inspiration – my devoted husband, Michael (who’s still waiting for me to define success beyond professional & personal fulfillment. He loves to say, “Show me the money!”), and my wonderful son (and technological adviser), Jason.  I also need to acknowledge my mother, Ruth Fischman – a retired English & journalism teacher, who is still there for me when I need help with my writing.

Thanks to all for helping me reach this milestone 18th anniversary.  I couldn’t have done it without you!