Resources

Books

Beyond Price: Differentiate Your Company in Ways That Really Matter
by Mary Kay Plantes & Robert D. Finfrock

Marketing, business strategy, leadership, culture are usually found in different books. Authors Plantes & Finfrock have put together a magnificent road map to success for businesses. They start by explaining how price-driven competition or commoditization is inescapable. They say that a business can confront commoditization only by differentiation and the organizational and leadership practices that are the hallmarks of successful enterprises. The questions they pose are the exact right questions for any organization to be asking these days, Why do customers stick with us? What have our competitors tried to copy that has proven unsuccessful?  In addition to helping businesses create strategic business models, Plantes & Finfrock make it clear that the top leadership team must be up to snuff for any of it to matter. Top leadership must be aligned to new markets and strategies and must model the behaviors they hope to see throughout the organization such as openness and teamwork. The book is based on economic principles (Plantes is an economist) and is at the same time very clear and understandable.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle

Tolle writes beautifully about being present to what is happening right now in the moment. We all need reminders not to agonize over the past or worry about the future. He says "Nothing ever happened in the past; it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future: it will happen in the Now" (p.41). In Staying Healthy in Sick Organizations: The Clover Practice™ I write about doing our emotional homework, recognizing how coping mechanisms we developed growing up may not serve us well in the workplace. Tolle provides ways to think about these things and to ultimately find new ways of living our lives fully present. I used an orange highlighter when I was reading this and there is orange on almost every page.

The Tranparency Edge
by Elizabeth Pagano

Achieving leadership excellence and the rapid career advancement that comes with it requires more than intelligence, hard work, and dedication. To be the very best, you need an edge. Backed by exclusive research of thousands of executives at Fortune 500 companies, The Transparency Edge shows you how to practice a clear, open management style that will increase your credibility, build loyalty among your direct reports, and gain the trust of your superiors.

Links

Alzheimers & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin provides support through “Meeting of the Minds.”
People diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease are being supported with "Meeting of the Minds" in southcentral Wisconsin. As one participant said, "Alzheimer's is not a death sentence." This clip gives a new perspective and hope.

Charli Jane Speaker Services
Wendi McNeill the woman behind Charli Jane Speaker Services provides monthly updates on groups and organizations looking for speakers. She is also a coach and advisor and offers many services for those in professional speaking. Wendi offers a great value and is just a wonderful person to have on your team.

Conflict Resolution
Harry-Webne Behrman is a colleague of long-standing and the best conflict mediator I know. His site is easy to use and contains excellent advice.

Facilitator U
Facilitator U offers a variety of services expressly for facilitators. Expert facilitator Steve Davis provides regular newsletters, web seminars, face to face facilitation training, and useful products for facilitators. The "Expert Series" is outstanding and Steve's journal articles seem to provide inspiration just when a facilitator needs it most. I recommend membership highly.

How to Lead Effective Meetings
This web site for effective meetings was created using Information Mapping principles, in particular designing the site around the questions users typically have. It was intended for a higher education audience, but is useful in any organizational setting. It won the 2007 Information Mapping international competition for web site design.

Institute of Cultural Affairs
Techniques developed and taught by the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) are used around the world. They are time-tested and dependable and designed for maximum group participation. I depend on ICA approaches such as "Technology of Participation" (ToP) extensively in my consulting practice.

International Association of Faciliators (IAF)
IAF has an outstanding annual conferences in North America and has affiliate organizations around the world. It's a wonderful way to stay connected with other facilitators.

National Facilitator Data Base (NFDB)
The National Facilitator Data Base (NFDB) is a matching site on which facilitators can register themselves and those looking for facilitators can seek them out.

Office of Quality Improvement, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Office of Quality Improvement provides services for planning and process improvement for the UW-Madison campus. The site has many useful documents on these topics, including resources on project management.

Wisconsin-Chiba, Inc.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010, Wisconsin-Chiba, Inc. supports the sister-state relationship between Wisconsin and Japan's Chiba prefecture. The non-profit organization has hosted arts, cultural, scientific and educational groups from Chiba and has sent similar groups to Chiba. The impact of these person-to-person, state-to-state connections is immeasurable.