Workshop Facilitation

Every initiative, regardless of size or scope, requires a workshop of one sort or another. 

The problem is that workshops are expensive:

• hard costs of facilities, food and materials are just the start
• the costs of the attendees' time can be 100x the hard costs
• a significant multiplier is the opportunity cost of pulling attendees away from other potentially more profitable work

I have facilitated a variety of workshops, meetings and training sessions for over 20 years.

My facilitation work at Phase II includes visioning and strategy workshops to identify product and business opportunities. During Phase II's service bureau days, I delivered corporate training to designers and operators of the CAD specification system I had invented. 

At Cliffside software, I delivered training on our product, Plan AHEAD.

At Tektronix, Intel and The Home Depot Quote Center, I conducted workshops ranging from 1/2 day to 3 days focused on product definition, roadmapping and strategic visioning.

Workshops, to be successful, take substantial planning, coordination and logistics.

For Presumptive Design Creation Sessions, for example, work begins at least one month before the scheduled date when invitations are sent to attendees.

Since workshops are working sessions, velocity is key; I usually have people get started before the workshop, by requesting attendees complete small pre-work exercises.

Food, venue, badging and a theme are just a few of the pieces required to impart to attendees the importance and seriousness of the workshop effort.

A well-received and effective workshop is the result of strong collaboration, beginning with the sponsor.

I spend time early and up-front, first to determine whether and what kind of workshop is required. 

Once the sponsor and I have agreed on the workshop's purpose, I work closely with the team to develop objectives, to identify logistics and to account for all required resources.

For some workshops I collaborate with other facilitators and presenters; for others, I take responsibility for the entire work.