NaNoWriMo 2014 - It's Here!

Even though I have taken on this challenge - I am accepting new projects, so please contact me with your latest challenge and let me help you create solutions! Creating meaningful connections!




UPDATES on word counts and progress can be found by clicking on the links below -

For more information about what I am going to be doing in November - read the articles below (by following  each of the links)  about NaNoWriMo. Who is going to join me?

Prep for NaNoWriMo Update and Strategies


I am participating in NaNoWriMo 2014. There I've said it...now what does that mean?

I haven't met a problem that I can't assemble a team to resolve

Comprehensive, custom tailored solutions for your company’s unique needs...here's what that looks like:

Complex problems can benefit from a
30,000 foot perspective 

 An employer contracted with me to resolve their daily 18% absenteeism rate related to child care issues. As the project leader of the team which I assembled to resolve this crisis, we were able to reduce the daily absenteeism rate related to child care to zero within 7 months. That problem remains non-existent several years later. The employer’s problem was also a community problem and I brought together resources to match needs, developed a common vision and shared language around the issue and influenced changes to statewide policy and legislation to create a solution for all involved. The project has received state and national acclaim and is considered a model of community responsiveness, a promising practice for working with urgent employer needs and was presented numerous awards for working with diverse populations.

Strategic Planning...Looks Like...

This is what it looks like from my perspective when people engage in strategic planning or visioning...dreams abound and there is no going back...

Strategic planning can be fun and engaging, sure it is work too,..but you get out of it what you put into it. Having fun along the way is an intentional strategy to help everyone participate and engage. You can do this, just send an e-mail and let's get started...take the first step.

Tools For Facilitation

What's in your toolkit?

One size does not fit all when it comes to facilitation, especially when facilitating strategic planning for organizations run and organized primarily by volunteers with a wide variety of experiences and expertise. A flexible facilitator will use many tools to create a framework to inspire innovation.

One strategy is to help the participants involved in the strategic planning sessions look for ways to strengthen the assets of the organization and then use those strengths and assets to create opportunities - there are so many great and fun methods of eliciting that information and once the ideas are on the table or the boards...the planning group has a place from which to launch and move forward. For more info on how to use this tool follow this link: Looking at Strengths and Opportunities

Word clouds are a great way of identifying
key concepts, or strengths of an organization

I like using a chart that looks at strengths and opportunities as a means of identifying gaps in services and assets that can be used to fill those gaps. This is just one of the many tools facilitators can use in strategic planning - what's in your toolkit? Or what exercise have you participated in that created an ah-ha moment?

TIP: Looking for the strengths of an organization to be shared in a visual manner? Ask members of your organization to share words that describe how they perceive or feel about the organization and then put those words into a word cloud. Super easy and fun and the words with the most repetition are sized proportionately.

Build Your Capacity to Lead Effective and Productive Meetings

A few tools to help keep your
 meeting on-time

A new article has been added to the series - see below...

Want to know how to run a meeting efficiently?
Do you want your meetings to be more productive?
Tired of the same people always hijacking the company meeting?
Interested in strategies for delegating in meetings?

I am writing a series of guides related to facilitation for those who  volunteer or get volunteered to facilitate a meeting or group: Are you

• a volunteer board chair;
• small group leader;
• leading your organization's strategic planning?

Send in your questions or dilemmas and let's develop strategies for you to build facilitation capacity. Looking forward to getting your questions. Your can send them to me in a variety of ways: use the e-mail link on the left, post them in the comments section below or send them to me via LinkedIn or Twitter @KathyStutzman - you pick the medium and let's get your questions answered.

To follow the facilitation series visit: Kathy Stutzman Facilitation Hubs

Dealing with Participants who are Overwhelmed in Meetings
Crafting an Agenda for Successful Meetings

A new article has been added to the series:

Re-framing threats and weaknesses into opportunities

Irrational Optimist...That's Me

Seeing it in print makes me smile

Last week at the writers’ workshop with #1 New York Times Best Selling author, Grant Blackwood, I soaked up everything I could about writing, publishing and being successful in "the business" of writing. Grant was inspiring, engaging and generous with his wisdom - I am still percolating many of the lessons he shared.

One concept that he shared at the beginning of the workshop was that of the necessity of being an irrational optimist, and I am certain that it was at that moment I was hooked. I could relate. The terminology and related discussion resonated with me to my core. I am an irrational optimist. I have always been an irrational optimist. I believe that anything is possible and dreams will become reality; yes, there is work involved, but that is the journey we take on to achieve the goal and that journey is so much more enjoyable when faced as an irrational optimist.

I am all in as an irrational optimist…and anything is possible.

The Characters Were Joining Me In The Workshop

Grant Blackwood,
#1 New York Times Best Selling Author

Writing can often be a lonely and crazy-making job, albeit, always interesting. The words come and go when I send the finished piece of work to its next destination, especially when working on projects that are 2,000 words or less; a blog article, an evaluation, proposal, report or short story for someone else.

When I afford myself the luxury of working on my own writing, the words stay with me a little longer as they percolate, get re-written and morph into an article, story or book. I become immersed in what I am writing and perhaps that is what has kept me from setting aside time to work on a suspense novel that has been sitting in my "idea pile" for several years. And now, thanks to #1 New York Times Best Selling Author Grant Blackwood  I can no longer ignore the thriller that is screaming to be written, for some of the characters began coming to life during a writer's workshop I attended taught by Grant.