BrainTrain: September 2016 The kids are back in school in their new district and are adapting as well as we could have hoped. I still remember when I found out Steph was pregnant with twins as it was day 2 of one of our Institutes. Fast-forward almost 11 years and they are now in 5th […]
I’m thankful our youngest, Blake, never got into the Dora the Explorer series. The twins loved it but it drove Stephanie and I a bit crazy. So I can’t attribute what I’m about to share with you to having watched too much Dora. I’ve written before that Blake is a very affirming, positive five year […]
On Friday, May 26th, Stephanie and I took a one-day bus trip to Gettysburg with Logan and Lauryn and their fifth grade class. I know I’ve been there twice in my life (as my mother pointed out). Once as a child and once with my dad when we were driving back from a facilitation assignment […]
What do you do when you have too many pre-identified items competing against each other? My friend Don Moyer (ThoughtForm Design, Pittsburgh) invented a way to do Compression Planning® which saves him immense time. Don’s method is for times when you have a finite number of ideas, solutions, options already defined that need to be […]
Don’t call it Compression Planning® unless you plan to take Action! One of the struggles we hear from some graduates of the Compression Planning® Institute is We never seem to get past the FOCUS stage in the Master Planning Model. What can we do differently to make it through the entire model?” Here are my […]
The Reverend Doctor Kendall Cowing Charlotte, North Carolina Passed away on February 4, 2013 Married to high school sweetheart Della Father of 5 children, 16 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren I’d like to share four items about Ken and his impact on Compression Planning and leading groups: How he mentored me His advice about groups with […]
I’ve designed, organized and led Compression Planning retreats continuously since I was 26 years old. Periodically I’ll share the essence of some of those Retreats. For many I’ll disguise the clients so their confidentiality is protected. Even change the industry in some cases. What I’m really after is the story and what I learned. Hopefully […]
“The Art and Discipline of Pure-Form Thinking” by Pat McNellis Shooting down ideas seems to have replaced Baseball as “America’s favorite pastime.” Let’s face it…we’re good at it. It’s something we’ve learned to do since we were kids. Well, as kids, we were often told “don’t do that” or “that’s a dumb idea.” Maybe not […]
You’ll recall from your Compression Planning Institute that we suggest you work with smaller groups when getting started. Large groups have their own unique dynamics and challenges and can be tough to deal with while you are still getting grounded in the basics. Once you get comfortable with your CP design and facilitation skills, you […]
There are three “foundational aspects” that need to be present to have a good ideation session in Compression Planning. You must have the right players present. This seems obvious but it often isn’t. If you have a need for an ideation session with the Marketing Department, most sessions will be made up of “marketing people.” […]
