Where do you look for ideas, inspiration and validation when you want to design, host or facilitate a great meeting?  I have a set of people, books and weblinks that I often go to when I get started on a new project that involves facilitation of a meeting/workshop/conference/etc.    Recently, thanks to Full Circle Associates, I was led to a website that shares the Group Pattern Language Deck.  This is a deck of 91 cards describing ways to host, facilitate, and participate in an effective meeting.  The site provides nine suggested uses from preparing a facilitated event to post-event reflection and getting un-stuck.

I have never used ‘cards’ before as a method to find my preferred technique but I can already imagine how this will make my designing practice more fun (I love games!).   I also plan to use these cards when providing my training workshops on effective meetings and facilitation.  For example, I tend to use scenarios and have participants design and present on different meeting types.  The cards will be helpful for providing additional resources on the many ways to approach meeting scenarios as well as generating enthusiasm.

In general, it’s important that we look outside our day-to-day practice for inspiration, learning and new ideas.  There are many online forums to make this happen including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.  The cards are another ‘tangible and tactile’ (i.e. beyond online!) way to open the door to new ways of seeing things.

If you think the cards are a great idea, share the links above or write a blog post about them too!

My icons on networks, connections and strategy

As I blog into 2012, it’s important to reflect on what I hope to achieve with my blog this year.

First, blogging is a personal practice where I reflect on work and ideas that intrigue me.  The act of blogging forces me to consolidate my thoughts, articulate them and share.  As an independent consultant, I don’t have office colleagues to do this with at the water cooler hence blogging is my metaphorical water cooler.  I hope to continue blogging and write more in the coming year.

Second, blogging is about connecting with others.  I need to connect and share with peers around the blogosphere and beyond to reinforce that despite working as a sole-proprietorship/consultant in a remote location – I am still connected!  The Internet has made working from home possible.  It has also enabled contacts and connections that I never would have thought possible 10 years ago.  Thank you to those that read, follow and link to my blog.  I particularly shout out thanks to those who commented in 2011 including Anni Holtby, Jennie Hoffman, Sylvia Currie, Beth Sanders and Isabella Mori.  Each person is someone I met outside the blog and have kept in touch with online.  I want to keep the conversation going in 2012!

Third, how are people finding my blog and how can I improve this?  The posts that got the most views in 2011 included topics of Graphic Facilitation and Planning, Collaboration, Relationship Building.  According to WordPress, I should continue to write on these topics as they have ‘staying power’.

Fourth, people find my blog with search terms such as graphic facilitation, relationship building and michelle laurie and my top five referrers include: Facebook, violette.ca (thanks), civicinfo.bc.ca (thanks to the graphic facilitation workshop I posted there), LinkedIn and kric.ca (sharing my workshop I think….).  I need to continue posting on my social networks and reach out to supporting networks.  My posts need to have tags that help people link to the posts and I should not change my name (even though I got married this past summer!).

Lastly, the infographics and metaphors used by WordPress to describe my stats were compelling.  For example: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. My blog was viewed about 6,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people. They also used maps and stick people and photos to help tell me my story.  I appreciate this greatly as it engages me in the information and even enticed me to write a blog about it.  I would like to generate my own infographics in 2012 and tell more stories on my blog using metaphors to engage people.

Thanks for commenting in advance and keeping the connections going!

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Has anyone made a portable ‘wall’ (that fits into a car) to bring to meetings that don’t have great walls and if so, do you have tips or a guide to share?

People shared loads of ideas including buying walls from Neuland or Athenaeum as well as home made ideas such as using foam core, gatorboard, and rigid insulation to name a few.

I spent time visiting the local hardware stores, sign making shop and office supply store trying to find my material of choice.  I knew it was experimental so didn’t want to spend too much money.  In the end, I came across some 1/4 inch foam core that had been printed on one side for a project but had errors so was destined for the landfill.  The backside was plain white.  Aha – my chance!!

Due to odd sizes of the 4 foam core boards, I cut them to fit a 4×8 piece of paper and taped it together with white duct tape.

The widthwise seams are solid and don’t fold as one is on the top section and the other is on the bottom section.  The center seam is taped on the back and foldable so it fits in the back of my car.  The best place I found is in the backseat, straight up and down, leaning against the seat.  It also fits in the hatch back on an angle.

I clip paper to the edges of the board rather than using tape which is great and keeps the paper looking nice.  To date, I have leaned the board against the wall on top of a table and stretched across to write or use it simply to tell a story via a pre-drawn mind map or something.  It’s a little flimsy for a tripod which may be due to the less-than-thick nature of the board.

I am somewhat satisfied with the output as for a practically free experiment, its useful for holding visuals where the walls aren’t great and a good back-up to bring along when you aren’t sure of the room you are going to work in.  I am pleased to say I used it last week when I encountered mediocre walls in a condo meeting room setting.  I leaned the board (holding a large mind-map ‘visual summary’) across a mantle over a fireplace  and people could view it and discuss it from different parts of the room.  It seemed to work well!  On the flip side, I don’t find it rigid enough to really write on with haste.

Thanks to the IFVP discussion group for all the ideas and motivation

Rossland, B.C. image by freshots.ca, Steve Hilts

I work from a home office in this beautiful mountain town in southern British Columbia.  I recently wrote a post about feeling isolated so I thought it only right to also share why most of the time, I am grateful!  Here are 10 reasons why I love Rossland:

1. Rossland is a winter town – people come to town, walk the streets and are happier when it snows, including me!

2. One of the best ski hills in North America is a 3minute drive away or you can x-country ski there on the trail connecting town and the hill.  There are also 50 km of groomed x-country ski trails.

3. Ferraro Foods has everything a great grocer and health food store could supply.  Miso, chia seeds as well as the staples.

4. Affordable.  This is one of the few places young people can still buy a house.

5. Friendly people often stop to chat on the streets.

6. Gypsy at Red serves amazing high end food when you simply don’t feel like cooking.

7. Yoga, Spin Classes, Pottery…there are many extra curricular classes available.

8. Winter Carnival when the streets close to cars and fill with people, bonfires, bobsleds and rail jams.

9. A compact community where you can walk almost anywhere.

10. I met my husband here!

There were plenty of good tips and stories shared.  The best part, as always, was the inspiration gained from those who follow their passions and realize their dreams.  Thank you to Christian for sharing your story with Rosslanders today and feeding our inspiration!  Thank you to KAST for supporting the workshop.

This is the Chinese fortune cookie wisdom I received Sunday night after eating out in a town nearby.  The town of 10,000 people is the hub of the region I live in which most likely has more trees, wildlife and clean running water than it does people.  Yes, I am feeling a little isolated.

My small town on the edge of the woods

I wonder if it’s the remote geography, working alone in my attic during the dark November days, or lack of strong professional networks to share the daily grind with.  Being patient is interesting advice as I have been thinking about my professional life lately and how I can enhance it from good to great as well as being less isolating.

For anyone that works on issues related to improving people, places and making positive change, you could imagine that doing this alone in your attic, mostly by typing into a computer box, could be a lonely place (despite my online friends – thank you friends ).  Given that it’s a not so bad trade-off for living next to bears and powder skiing, I have been seeking advice lately to find that magical work-life balance.  Here are some of the nuggets that I plan to work on in the New Year:

-       Have a filter for work you take on.  Here are four criteria my inspiring colleagues at Bright Green Learning use: Impact, Creativity, Interesting, Learning.  I may add people/team to that list.

-       Network.  Go to conferences to meet people you want to work with and keep in touch with them.  This may mean dedicating two phone calls a day as follow up which is very possible (That is my brothers advice and he owns a successful HR magazine so I’ll take it).

-       Develop a local network of professionals who may also be looking for people to connect with.  I will use my community building experience to start this in 2012 with the domain being ‘professional development’ and the side benefits of deeper relationships and networking (this is an idea that has been on my mind since I moved here – time for action).

This is only the start to my 2012 ‘good to great’ list as my mind is burgeoning with ideas for connection, social media is at my finger tips and I should not forget my widespread community of friends, colleagues, alumni…who I should make more time to get in touch with.

Blogging is important to me as it is a place to reflect and share thoughts with others.  The professional world (even for someone living at the edge of the woods) has lots to offer.  So do I wait patiently for taking my professional life to the next level or work to make it happen?  Drop a line if you have a thought.  My top of mind response is that it will be a bit of both.

Original source: http://www.axleration.com/tweets-vs-time-infographic/

As a recently new ‘tweeter’ (6 months) these stats are helpful in understanding the power of Twitter and how to harness that power.  I have learnt:

• Tweet between 9-11am or 1-3pm
• Tweet on Tuesdays for maximum viewing
• I am not alone on Twitter, 1 billion tweets go out every week

The info graphic is useful as while I am experiencing the power of Twitter by crowd sourcing information, sharing ideas and learning about new things via my networks and their networks, not everyone is convinced.  The info graphic may help boost confidence in your skeptics.  Yep – it’s a fast and fun tool for communication, outreach and learning.  How can you argue when someone is joining Twitter every 5 seconds? I admit, its a bit distracting.  Still, give it a try and share your twitter handle!  @MKlaurie is now going back to work

One way to help clarify concepts is to use metaphors.  Yesterday on Twitter (via @NancyWhite) I saw this example that visually illustrates the difference between data, information, presentation and knowledge.  A picture is worth a thousand words in this case, particularly for people working with knowledge!

Metaphor from http://epicgraphic.com/data-cake/

Another great metaphor for understanding tacit knowledge is the iceberg metaphor from Anecdote.com (blogged in 2007, fantastic description).  They visualize knowledge as above and below the waterline.  Most of the mass of an iceberg lies below.

Lastly, a simple way to explain complexity is provided on page 9 of the highly recommended book Getting to Maybe.  They use metaphors such as baking cakes, launching rockets and raising children.  Thanks to Gary Ockenden for sharing that one with me a few years ago.

Do you have metaphors you use to explain concepts related to knowledge or complexity?  Please share!