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Our Major Product / Service Areas Include:
CollaborWriting-Planning - Our Flagship Product Virtual Web-Based Services For Geographically Distributed TeamsTraining/Mentoring ServicesGeneral Collaboration & Decision Support Services |
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Depending on the volume and scope of planning
objectives, the process itself can be delivered anywhere between ½
-4 days and typically engages 12–40 participants. For larger organizations
or efforts, it is often employed in a series of carefully dovetailed sessions
designed to ‘cascade' the effort out to as many as 200+ participants.
Sessions can take place either face-to-face or virtually over the WWW.
Face-to-face situations are best conducted in a large meeting room with
a central U-Shaped table and additional physical areas for sub-teams activities.
With the exception of a printer, copy machine and projection device, Macro
Thinking Inc. can provide all of the computers, networking, software and
required equipment. We have delivered sessions extensively in the US,
Canada, Europe & Asia. Web-based sessions can take place asynchronously
over time, which dramatically reduces travel expense. Complexity and stakeholder
passion levels will determine which venue is best suited for your needs.
For maximum team-building, face-to-face is optimal.
CollaborWriting-Planning was developed out of extensive field
experience in a variety of industries. As a collaboration methodology,
it delivers consistent value in the following ways:
Rapid Initiation Respects Your Time - We have
developed rapid-initiation methods to ‘jump-start' work on new projects
with our busy clients. Our approach anticipates exactly what is required
to efficiently manage the Pre, During & Post activities necessary
for a successful project together. This results in lower cost and an easier
start-up with less time demand on our clients and their staff. This is
a refreshing alternative to traditional consulting practices that often
require intensive front-end research, one-on-one interviews or other intrusive
pre-work.
Fast & Efficient –You can count on covering
at least twice as much territory than you would in a traditional planning
session with much higher quality output. In a 2.5 day session with 25
participants the developed strategic and implementation plan yielded a
total of 945 decisions!
Goal Oriented To Achieve Closure – Finishing
what you came to do is paramount in our design philosophy. We carefully
tailor the session design to meet leadership objectives. Our range of
experience building process enables us to accurately time each activity
against the desired outcome. Up-front session planning is further supported
with a firm but gentle facilitation style that drives closure. Getting
done what we set out to do is why over 75% of our projects come from repeat
customers!
Active & Engaging – This process is an amalgam
of technology and tradition designed to produce a consensus report / product.
The technology helps to drive an aggressive pace, which alleviates wasted
downtime. This is largely achieved with simultaneous idea generation and
real-time metrics not possible in paper based meetings. Traditional techniques
like breakout sessions and team report-outs however, are essential to
alter the pace, energize, and engage participants to deliver fresh ideas.
Perhaps the greatest motivator is experiencing in real-time that the work
being done is leading toward a rich and useful outcome. Too many planning
meetings go round-and-round without producing a substantial product on
the back end, which drains people during the session.
An Iterative Approach Fosters Consensus and Improved Quality
- Technology and process are carefully merged to facilitate
multiple review cycles. With each iteration the final product is significantly
improved and participants are drawn deeper into consensus. In traditional
methods, there is rarely enough time to complete these important iterations.
Without them however, participants may acquiesce to decisions out of frustration
or exhaustion, which greatly diminishes the quality of the outcome.
Divide & Conquer - Our unique sub-team approach
takes best advantage of precious ‘together time'. We divide the planning
load without loss of participation in the larger dialogue, which is critical
to building consensus and promoting investment in the outcome. The technology
facilitates maintaining this careful balance with great efficiency. Automated
documentation in real-time simplifies cross team review, response and
revisions.
100% Participation Assured – CollaborWriting
levels the playing field. To motivate participation, our technology and
processes assure that everyone is heard from and all ideas are considered
on their merits. Discussions that would typically be frustrated by dominant
participants or competing forces are handled with grace and efficiency.
Invented Here = Built-In–Buy-In - Attending a
meeting and investing in its outcomes are two very different things. When
those responsible for implementation ‘invent their own destiny', the likelihood
of a successful implementation is enhanced with pride of ownership. This
is why we encourage bringing as many into the planning experience as possible.
Significant Teambuilding Effect – Conquering complexity
together is a powerful binding force. A ‘big team win' builds a unique
camaraderie that extends beyond the session to support a cohesive implementation.
Tracked and Published Decision Paths – Unlike
paper-based methods, all work leading to final decisions are electronically
documented in the exact words of the participants in real-time. These
records serve to validate the experience with no delay between planning
and publishing. Leaving the session with ‘plan-in-hand' is a jump-start
on execution.
Highly Communicable Outcomes – Group wordsmithing
is some of the toughest groupwork possible. Our A.C.O.D.E. sub-process
alleviates much of the angst while improving quality in a fraction of
the time it normally takes. Building the ‘right' words together extends
the reach of leadership by making ‘articulate ambassadors' of session
participants.
An Emphasis On Implementation – Anticipating
what will happen the following day, month or years from the planning session
is critical. Careful up-front planning and expectation setting throughout
the session maintain a focus on the future such that participants leave
the session with a clear understanding as to their roles and responsibilities
moving forward. Our ‘implementation best practices' expedite post-session
transitions from Planning-to-Implementation-to-Production.
Metrics-Centric – What you envision as a plan
can only be realized if you understand in very explicit terms, what the
end state will look like. Metrics secure the connection between planning,
execution, results and accountability. The CollaborWriting-Planning process
was designed for leaders who value metrics as the foundation for effective
management.
To learn more about CollaborWriting-Planning check out
Frequently Asked Questions, News
& Downloads or Contact Us
to discuss your specific requirements or request a proposal.
Virtual Web-Based Services For Geographically Distributed Teams
Many organizations are reducing or eliminating travel to save time and money. Geographically distributed teams operating under such constraint can take advantage of our virtual web-based meeting services with often better results than can be achieved with fly-in meetings. Advisory groups, task forces and inter-industry association teams will perform with greater efficiency as they brainstorm solutions and evaluate one another's ideas with a synchronous or asynchronous connection. Add to this a phone conference and the experience is highly productive.
We have developed processes that can be delivered in as little as 1.5 hours that effectively replace ½ day meetings in volume of output and agreement. Tasks like major decisions, requirements development, focus groups or opinion research are typical projects.
Groups can work together over time with ongoing connectivity to solve more complex problems. Intact work-teams will dramatically increase their output with ‘always-on' connections.
The options are limited only by your imagination. Working to align with your business objectives, we will tailor a solution that is right for you. Because travel is eliminated, the cost of our services will be less than the travel expense in most cases. Cost justification is a no-brainer!
To learn more about Virtual Web-Based Services For Geographically Distributed Teams check out Frequently Asked Questions, News & Downloads or Contact Us to discuss your specific requirements or request a proposal.
Successful CollaborWriting projects pave the way for organizations to consider bringing these capabilities and processes in-house. Competent program managers and in-house facilitators are ideal candidates for training as in-house resources. We offer two types of training both of which are a combination of class-work and mentoring:
1) Process Training – If a workgroup intends to perform the same process on a regular basis, we can transfer that process into a CollaborWriting environment and train team members on how to administer it themselves. Depending upon the complexity of the process this can take place in a few hours with an individual or may require a mentored relationship with multiple members of the team over some time until comfort levels are high enough to ‘fly solo'.
2) General Training – We also have a 3-day CollaborWriting Facilitator Training, which is an intensive submersion into the tool and capabilities.
Training Overview & Benefits – For the past several years, CollaborWriting has only been available as a consultant delivered service. With the advent of web-based technology offered to the public for use on a pay-as-you-use basis (Application Service Provider) OR outright purchase of the system (to be managed internally) we offer Training & Mentoring programs. With our years of experience delivering CollaborWriting facilitation services we are in a unique position to share our knowledge and processes with those organizations that wish to bring these important capabilities in-house. Some considerations driving successful learning and organizational adoption include:
What's
Included With CollaborWriting Facilitator Training Services?
– As mentioned above, there is no one-size-fit's-all approach to training
internal resources to become CollaborWriting facilitators. However there
are some basics that must be covered. A typical training is 3 days in
duration with an expectation of some pre-work and post-training assignments/exercises
to build real-world skill. All trainings are extremely hands-on with the
technology. As much as possible, the learning is accrued through the active
use of the groupware and insights derived from the class's collective
experience. Class size is generally limited to between 5 & 15. For
a complete syllabus Contact Us .
To learn more about Training / Mentoring Services check out Frequently Asked Questions, News & Downloads or Contact Us to discuss your specific requirements or request a proposal.
General Collaboration & Decision Support Services
To
learn more check out Frequently Asked Questions,
News & Downloads or Contact
Us to discuss your specific requirements or request a proposal.
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