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Kitchen Sink: When It Rains, It Snows. A Lot. By John Sarvay | January 28, 2010

When it rains, it pours. Or snows, if you've been living in Richmond this winter.

The year started with a handful of strategic planning projects on the books, and the opportunities to help organizations improve their effectiveness, focus and cultures are keeping the Floricane team hopping. What follows is a quick overview of some of the amazing work we're doing for organizations throughout Central Virginia:

• The Valentine Richmond History Center: After delivering the final draft of the museum's new strategic plan to its Board of Trustees toward the end of January, we're working with the project team to make a few revisions to the document. Since October, we've worked with the Richmond History Center to explore how it can position itself to engage proactively around the tsunami of change on the horizon in the areas of technology, regional demographics, culture and economics.
• The James House: We worked hard last year to help the Hopewell-based nonprofit develop a strategic plan that positioned it to better support residents of Tri-Cities community impacted by sexual assault and domestic violence. We're now three months into implementation of that plan, working closely with the CEO and Board of Directors to increase its capacity, strengthen its leadership and streamline some of its processes.
• The John Randolph Foundation: I spent an afternoon with the staff of the foundation created by Hopewell's John Randolph Medical Center discussing how team dynamics and personality styles can impact the team performance.
• Virginia Society of CPAs: It was nice to return to the offices of my first client almost a year-to-the-day after our first engagement! Having facilitated the VSCPA team through a series of workshops on the Insights personality instrument, I returned in January to explain the tool to a new employee and answer her questions about it.
• The Visual Arts Center of Richmond: I spent several hours in January facilitating board and staff members as they brainstormed future exhibitions for the organization's gallery spaces.
• Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau: I'll be working with the marketing team of RMCVB later in February as part of their annual retreat. We'll spend the morning exploring a shared vision for the team, and developing action steps to help support a team climate that excites and engages the whole group. The afternoon -- a creative team activity currently being designed -- promises to make the day even more fun!
• Morton's the Steakhouse: In a unique partnership with The Hodges Partnership and Richmond.com, we'll be facilitating a series of six community conversations at Morton's this year. The first one is slated for February 28 with a focus on how young professionals see and experience the Richmond region. Keep your eyes tuned to Richmond.com for more details!
• Blue Sky Fund: Situated in the heart of Church Hill, this organization has a powerfully simple mission -- "To provide transformational experiences for urban youth through outdoor education." I'll be helping to facilitate a portion of their Board of Director's annual retreat this month.

I recently wrote about the work we're starting with Bon Secours Health Systems of Richmond, and we're engaged in another half-dozen conversations with area organizations interested in working with the Floricane team for strategic planning, facilitation and organizational development support. If this is what winter feels like, we can't wait for spring to get here!

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