December 13th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
We held our first IAF Chicago Chapter Event on December 9th. I want to thank Gerald Haman, of Solution People for donating the space – Thinkubator in Chicago – for our first event. Those of you who attended, I’m sure, found the space to be a wonderful experience – not to mention having amazing views of the Chicago Skyline (see photos that follow). I also want to thank:
• Kelly Ross and Margaret Sullivan for their efforts in setting up the event.
• Paul Collins and Dan Heck for getting the word out via the Midwest Facilitator’s Network. Paul also got us in contact with Gerald Haman.
• Lee Crumbaugh and David DeWitt for their help in setting up the IAF Chicago Chapter – legally and fiscally so that we could pay for the event.
• Sean Rush and Alvaro Rush for taking care of the venue, food, and logistics.
• The Solution People for their help with the logistics, etc. at the event.
• Everyone else for attending, participating, and bringing their colleagues.
We had 34 people attend the event. The event ran from 4:00 until 7:00 and people networked until about 8:00. I kicked it off with an exercise to gather ideas on how to ensure appropriate solutions – both from the Facilitator and from the client. Rocky Romero guided us through Business Modeling. We concluded with discussion about what we learned and about our next event. Some items of note:
• Our next informal meeting is on January 20th.
• Our next event is March 23, 2012. The topic, time, and venue are yet to be determined – we could use volunteers to help set this up.
• We will hold elections in March for the positions of President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Events Director. Send me your nominations and we’ll plan for the elections in February. All positions are for a one-year term.
That’s about it for now. I’ll keep you posted about our upcoming meetings and events. All y’all have a wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year. See y’all in 2012.
 IAF Chicago Chapter Event  IAF Chicago Chapter Event  IAF Chicago Chapter Event  IAF Chicago Chapter Event
Tags: Chicago, Chicago Chapter, Conference, Facilitation, IAF, Keynote Presentation
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November 13th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
The IAF Chicago Chapter has its first event coming up on Friday, December 9th. The event is from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm. It’s being held at The Thinkubator Innovation Center on 312 N. May Street, Suite 6D, Chicago, IL 60607.
This event should be very exciting. The topic of the event is Creating the Appropriate Solution to Ensure Success. We will begin with an exercise to draw out ideas from the attendees about what they’ve encountered and/or done about creating appropriate solutions. After that, Rocky Romero will step the attendees through the use of Business Model Canvas to design solutions to enable you to help clients create appropriate solutions. We’ll finish with an Open Space exercise to explore the topic in more detail. This event will be totally interactive and attendees will be experiencing ideas more than just hearing about them. Join us for this exciting event.
Tags: Chicago, Chicago Chapter, Conference, Data Modeling, Facilitation, IAF
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October 4th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
Well, we had the Advanced Class (it went very well) and the FoCuSeD Facilitation Games book is now available for sale. The book is available from MGR Consulting, Inc.
We tested the book and the Participant Engagement Tools (PETs) in the Advanced Class. It was a treat to practice on people who were also learning the PETs. We also tested the PETs Behind the Agenda Steps that matches the PET to the need – it worked very well. In a nutshell, the book gives you lots of ideas for you to create or modify your own PETs as well as how best to use them in the workshop. That’s a big bonus as most books on games and exercises don’t fully explain when and how to use them.
Tags: Chicago, Class, Facilitation, Facilitation Games, FoCuSeD, interaction, PET, training, Workshop
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September 6th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
My new book – FoCuSeD Facilitation Games. I’ve been working on this since April. Millie has finished editing it and I’ve received comments from Izzy Gesell and Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan – thank you all very much. I’m using this book for our FoCuSeD Advanced Class later this month.
I’m excited about this book. I like the name I’ve chosen for group facilitation exercises – Participant Engagement Tools (PETs). It resonates and captures what these truly are about. I have included every PET that I’ve used and found useful. In addition, I’ve thought through how to modify the PETs for different sized groups, face-to-face, teleconferences, mixed face-to-face and teleconference workshops, and others. I’ve also provided templates so that you can design your own PET. This book will make a difference for Facilitators – I’ve found no other book like it.
The best way to get the book is to attend the FoCuSeD Advanced Class on September 27th and 28th (contact me to register).
Tags: Alumni, Class, Facilitation, Facilitation Games, FoCuSeD, PET, teleconference, Thiagi, training, Workshop
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August 30th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
I’ve been busy – settling in to our new apartment and working to establish the IAF Chicago Chapter.
We first met at DePaul in Chicago on July 26th. Nine people attended and we defined our Mission, began work on our by-laws, and our first event – for this fall. We also decided to hold three major events – that last up to a day in length – and hold monthly informal breakfast meetings. Initially these breakfast meetings are to establish the Chapter, but later on, we’ll have specific topics to discuss. The breakfast meetings are open to anyone.
The initial meeting lasted 2 hours and was very productive. We have a great core of members – all of whom took work to do. I’m thrilled that everyone stepped up – thank you.
On August 26th, we held our second meeting. We met at Au Bon Pain at 7:30 am in the Chicago Loop. We had 10 people attend the meeting. Our by-laws are looking pretty good and should be approved soon. This meeting lasted 90 minutes and was very productive. Our fall meeting is tentatively scheduled for early November and it’ll be a 3-hour meeting, most likely from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. I’ll keep you posted when we have a specific date, time, and location.
I’ll keep you posted about developments as they occur. If you live in the Chicago area or are near enough, join us. The people involved are excited about the opportunities with the Chapter – it looks to be a great group.
Tags: Chicago, Chicago Chapter, IAF
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June 23rd, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
Well, we’ve finally done it. It took us two years, but we made it through the federal government application, review, and approval process to become a General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) 874 Instructor-Led Training contractor. Whew! That was a lot of work but worth it as federal government employees and federal government agencies may now more easily register and attend any of our public classes. They may also bring us on-site with any of our classes. This is a significant milestone for us. I’d like to thank my son, Alvaro, for the hours of work he put in to complete the application, follow up on it, and then after the award, get us situated on the appropriate GSA websites – thank you.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please call me anytime – I’d be very happy to discuss it with you.
Tags: Class, Federal Government, GSA, training
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June 16th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
It’s been a busy few weeks. Not only did we move at the end of May – and we are still unpacking, but in the beginning of June, I facilitated a panel discussion for Business Analysts at a company Area of Competency conference. After that, I spoke at two IIBA Chapter meetings – one in Buffalo, NY and the other in Rochester, NY. Then, I attended and presented at the DePaul Group Facilitation Symposium.
The Business Analyst conference was interesting. The panelists from IBM, Accenture, and Wipro answered questions about business analysis. Some of the insights were interesting. They all agreed that the best method to use was the one that fit the problem. In other words, following Agile for every project was no better than following a waterfall method. Both work when they fit. It’s much like one of the Facilitator Competencies – Plan Appropriate Group Processes. The competent BA should be able to select amongst numerous methods and select the best fit.
At the IIBA Chapter meetings, I met very nice people and enjoyed the sessions. I spoke about the BA being facilitative and the responses were good – the BAs all agreed that facilitating requirements would make their job easier and engage their clients more effectively.
The Chicago Chapter of the IAF. At the DePaul Group Facilitation Symposium, I initiated the Chicago Chapter of the IAF. Asking for interest, I had 30 plus people sign up as interested in participating in the Chicago Chapter. In late July, we’ll hold our first meeting and see if we can get this rolling. I spoke about Facilitating Change and Innovation sharing how organizations deal with change, the role of the Facilitator, and two processes that Facilitators can use to conduct innovation workshops. I also attended a session regarding using visuals – excellent – and one on involving participants using Improv – also excellent. Both concepts need to be incorporated into facilitation practices.
Well, a lot of activity in a short time. I’ll be writing about the lessons that I learned in the next eNewsletter. In the mean time, we are unpacking and settling in to our new home.
Tags: Business Analyst, Conference, Facilitation, Facilitative Project Manager, IIBA, Panel
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April 18th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
Hello. I just returned from the IAF North America Conference in Denver. We had almost 300 people attend the conference. It was wonderful to see friends who I get to see so seldom. One benefit of the IAF are the bonds and friendship you form with wonderful people from all over the world.
I was able to attend the conference sessions this year. For the past 3 years, I was so involved in either presenting or in chair responsibilities, that I didn’t get sufficient opportunity to attend sessions at the conference. This time, I took advantage of sessions. I attended sessions on listening, process modeling, strategic planning, and improvisation. As always, I was able to leave with exciting ideas and tips to help both my training and my facilitating. It’s always great to hear what others say and do and continue to remember that there are many ways to do something. Helen Wythe and Izzy Gessell gave me a ton of ideas to work with and I thank them very much. They both managed to get my head contemplating the many ideas that they presented.
If you haven’t attended an IAF Conference, you should plan to attend one. They are scheduled annually around the world with the next one in Bangalore, India in September.
This coming week, I’m off to Indianapolis, IN to speak at the Indianapolis DAMA (Data Administration Management Association) conference.
Tags: Business Analyst, Conference, Facilitation, Facilitative Project Manager, training
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April 3rd, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
Well, it’s been quite a while since I last posted. This winter has been an interesting one in many respects.
I just returned from a class with Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan. It was quite an experience. It was great to be on the student side of a class. Thiagi is all that he is purported to be. We had 26 attendees from 4 different countries – USA, Canada, Korea, and India – attend the class. Everyone was wonderful and very committed to the concept that engaged, interactive education is far better than old style long lectures. Believe me, there were no “wall flowers” in that group.
The class was completely interactive and we learned an amazing amount. I gained ideas about training games that can be translated into exercises to be used by group Facilitators along with ideas on how to design group facilitation exercises. This will become an integral part of my Advanced Class this fall – especially since I am now a Thiagi Certified Trainer.
Next week, I teach the first FoCuSeD Business Facilitator class in Chicago and then I’m off to Denver for the IAF North American Conference. I’ll let you know what I learn at the conference.
Tags: Class, interaction, Thiagi, training
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January 17th, 2011 by Gary Rush, CPF
Hi Y’all,
It’s a New Year – I wish all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
I had the opportunity to teach The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy at a client in Hartford, CT last week. The class went well, but I managed to schedule the class during the week when a record snow fall hit Hartford – the heaviest snow fall in over 100 years! I’m used to snow, living in Chicago, but because of the amount – over 2 feet – businesses were closed – including the client. Rather than lose a day, a Live Meeting was scheduled for the day. The students dialed in from their homes. I dialed in from the hotel. I was able to display the class slides over Live Meeting and we were able to conduct the class covering everything as if we were face-to-face, including exercises.
I prefer face-to-face – it’s easier to present when you have people reacting – but in a pinch, teaching the class over the Internet worked. Using an Internet meeting tool, such as Live Meeting or WebEx, makes a big difference. I could capture ideas on the shared notes, enabling everyone to view them. We were even able to develop workshop agendas for the client with everyone participating. As more and more companies embrace Work From Home and telecommuting concepts, we are all going to have to adjust. This class gave me an opportunity to try something new and learn from it.
Tags: Academy, Alumni, Class, FoCuSeD, teleconference
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