Get to Know The Team: Theran!

To kick off 2015, we'll be featuring one member of the Floricane team on our blog each week, using a questionnaire that really asks the tough questions.

Today: Theran Fisher! One of our consultants, Theran (pronounced THAIR-in, if you didn't already know) joined the Floricane team in Spring 2013 and has been livening up the office with his great music selections and brightly colored pants ever since. Let's dive right in:

1. Do you want to rock n’ roll all night or party every day?
Party every day.

2. Which President would you most like to have a drink with, past or present?
Teddy Roosevelt

3. If you were not doing this job you’re doing now, what job would you be working?
Working my way around the world crewing sailboats.

4. Pie or Cake or Neither?
Neither

5. Do you have a favorite Sharpie color?
Neon Pink

6. Your favorite place for dinner?
The Blue Talon

9. Who are your favorite writers?
Edward Abbey

10. What is your motto?
Fake it ‘til you make it.

11. The natural talent that you’d like to be gifted with
The ability to fly.

13. What is your go-to book, relative to the work you do with Floricane, and why?
NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook

Want to chat with Theran, or question him on his apparent distaste for both cake and pie? Email him at theran@floricane.com.

Place Your Strategic Bets

“Strategy is about placing bets, and increasing the odds around those bets.
”

That little gem came out of the mouth of a client last week, and I quickly jotted it down. It’s not a new concept, but I liked the way she phrased it – and it hit my consciousness at the right moment.

One of the hardest tasks we have as strategic consultants is guiding our clients to important intersections, and helping them choose a path forward. Too often, clients become mesmerized – or paralyzed – by all of the items they need for a successful journey. Not only do they lose sight of a bigger vision, they fail to take advantage of the unique vistas they’ll pass along the way.

In our extremely competitive world, where the playing field has been leveled by technology, transparency and risk aversion, the vistas are where the game changes.

If everyone can visualize the same destination or dream – “No child will go to bed hungry” or “A cultural destination of choice” (Yawn, right? But real!) – and everyone has the same tools in their toolbox – marketing, board development, fund development, and so forth – where’s the gap?

The gap is in the journey. It’s the choices organizations make, or fail to make, to get off the beaten path. Not to choose a road less traveled, but to choose a strategic road that puts their enterprise at risk and forces the board and staff to play smartly and aggressively.

We sometimes ask our clients to wrestle with questions of transformation. We invite them to identify revolutionary ideas. We challenge them to break the mold.

Sometimes they respond.

Those are the clients who leave the strategic casino smiling.

12 Leadership Lessons from the North Pole

Taking Time To Make Ideas Better

Since my feet resettled at work after Jack settled, as much as a new baby settles, at home, the Floricane team has been working on hyperdrive. We're ending the year at a metaphorical sprint, and starting 2015 a bit daunted by the density of work that's already on the calendar.

We're busy. I get it. Obviously, we don't have time to plan, or brainstorm, or dream.

Except that sometimes taking time is easy.

I sat down next to Caroline's desk this afternoon and began to do that thing she probably dreads -- free associate about various half-formed projects stuck in assorted corners of my mind.

How much has she grown in her two years with our team? So much that she didn't nod along with my business-as-usual monologue.

In five minutes, she took one of our most popular initiatives -- a simple postcard bearing an iconic image, and a quote -- and she blew it up. She spoke up and turned an old idea into something that is so much more accessible and amazing. (Look for it on Martin Luther King Jr. Day next month.)

Undaunted, I turned my attention to our calendar of events for 2015. We have a lot of events already on the calendar -- 22 days with scheduled Floricane activities and workshops in just the first three months of 2015. "Something square maybe? A poster that people will hang on their walls?" I suggested.

"How about...?" Caroline picked up a pair of scissors, and cut a long strip of paper. She picked up a pen and added some flourish. She pulled up a website of an amazing letter press designer.  "...something like this instead?"

Exactly. And it was over in 20 minutes. Collaboration at its best -- simple, creative and fast.

Giving Tuesday!

After the craziness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I love that Giving Tuesday exists to kick off the holiday season with a little bit of philanthropy! 'Tis the season, right? One thing I love love love about Richmond is our community's commitment to local non-profits (oh, AND local small businesses, too-- Small Business Saturday in Carytown was so much fun). As evidenced by the amazing success that The Amazing Raise has every single year, RVA loves to support local causes. There's still time to donate and be a part of Giving Tuesday. Go to http://giverichmond.guidestar.org/ to donate to the charity of your choice, and for today only, get all those pesky credit card transaction fees covered by The Community Foundation. Happy Giving!

Facilitating small business engagement in Henrico

Earlier in the fall, I was lured into a planning discussion about a new small business event taking shape in Henrico County. Catalyst was designed by the Henrico Economic Development Authority and the West Cary Group to help small, established businesses in the county connect, learn and explore ways to grow.

How quickly three hours turn into three months. And how quickly three months vanishes – and the day of the event suddenly arrives.

Dozens of small business owners convened in mid-October to hear keynote speaker Gail Johnson of Rainbow Station talk about more than two decades of building a dream; the economic hiccups that threatened its success; and what led her to pursue franchise centers in China, Indonesia and India.

After Gail spoke, I spent much of the day facilitating a series of conversations – starting with rapid-fire networking discussions between participants. But the real meat of the day came from expert presentations from small business leaders (including some great Floricane friends like Steve Rosser of Gelati Celeste and Rick Jarvis of One South Realty), and two financially focused forums. The afternoon was anchored by a facilitated set of small roundtable discussions – led by the Virginia Council of CEOs – to help individual business owners “workshop” a business issue.

Spending time in learning environments where relationships are key, and the learning is experiential and real, is important. Helping design and sustain a space where every participant can contribute their best ideas to a conversation is at the heart of Floricane’s work. Catalyst allowed those ideas to take the stage in a way that was impactful for everyone in the room.

A Day in Harrisonburg with the Arts Council of the Valley

ROOOOAD TRIIIIIIIIP! John and I spent Monday in Harrisonburg, VA with staff and board members from the Arts Council of the Valley, which included a tour of the Court Square Theater (pictured above). I had never been to Harrisonburg before-- and I've been missing out! The historic downtown is beautiful, the small town is overflowing with arts and culture, and the Arts Council of the Valley is right smack dab in the middle of it all.

Floricane is helping ACV transform a lengthy, broad strategic plan into a concise document full of realistic action items. This will mean a clearer vision for the next 18 months and a simpler plan for making positive changes. We hope the entire staff and board will be relieved and excited when they see the final product!