Highly Interactive On-site & VirtualTraining

On-site & Virtual Training Workshops

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Leading Effective & Engaging Meetings Training

Leading Effective & Engaging Meetings: Face to Face and Virtual


Training Participants Will  Learn the Skills to...

Meet less and get more done
By using the tools and tips in the workshop we guarantee that meetings will be at least 100% more productive. Participants will learn how to make meetings start and end on time.

Use simple tools for leading productive meetings
We provide training participants with simple tools for leading a well organized and focused meeting. Also, tools for ensuring that each meeting ends with a clear set of agreements for next steps and actions will be provided.

Get better attendance and interest
Team leaders using our tools will create more interest among their meeting attendees, thereby increasing attendance.

Get more team buy-in
Team members will buy-in to ideas and decisions using our meeting processes, making them more likely to bring the ideas into action. Participants will learn tools to make meetings more interesting, engaging and worthwhile for everyone.

Everyone contributes
We provide training participants with the tools to enable their meeting attendees to contribute significantly.

Make better group decisions
Using the decision making tools we train, better decisions will be made.

Enable greater creative contributions in a meeting
Training participants will be given the tools to stimulate creative thinking and problem solving in their meetings.

Deal with difficult meeting situations
There are approaches a meeting leader may use to ensure that dominating personalities, silent people, challengers, know-it-alls and others that will cover in the training.

Description

This workshop is more than just a meeting management training. We train meeting leaders to lead productive and engaging meetings. After attending this course your leaders' attendees will no longer feel like they are wasting their time at meetings. In fact, they may actually enjoy going to meetings (imagine!).

Topics Include 

  • How to set and create an effective agenda.
  • Selecting meeting roles that make sense.
  • Dealing with difficult situations/people.
  • Keys to getting others to collaborate in the meeting.
  • Following the 7 important meeting steps.
  • Tools for collectively generating ideas and making good decisions.
  • How to ensure you have better and better meetings.
  • Setting up the meeting room for optimal performance.
  • How to record the output of meetings.
  • Staying in control of the meeting.
  • How to evaluate meetings for continuous improvement.
  • Ensuring follow-up and accountability.
  • Tips and tools for remote meetings
  • Creativity and problem solving

Workbook/Reference Book

.Workshop participants will receive a workbook that is more of a reference guide. Most everything that is covered in the training is in this workbook. This book is an excellent guide and resource that provides detailed descriptions and "recipes" of meeting concepts and tools/techniques. You will learn how to make your meetings more productive and engaging through:

Concepts: All of the basic concepts for running effective meetings. It includes:7 keys to effective meetings, the meeting process, room-set-up, meeting roles, dealing with difficult situations, problem solving process, facilitating, 14 Keys to Collaborative Team.pdf, and more.
Tools: Over 12 tools for running meetings: Includes templates for Agenda Form and action planning, warm ups, idea generation processes, decision making processes and ways to evaluate the meeting.
Recording: principles for recording ideas and meeting content.
Leading Effective Meetings

Training Details

Duration:   4 hours to 6 hours .
2 day advance version available 
Purpose: No more drain and drudgery of meetings just being productive and engaged 
What: Hands-on training for providing important tools to make meetings more productive and engaging
How: This workshop is highly interactive and productive. We model a great meeting in the training. The training actually runs like a meeting. Participants will experience all the critical meeting activities including planning, framing, warming, focusing, accountability, evaluating meetings and more. 
In the 8-hour training, each person will practice leading meetings by conducting a mini-meeting using many of the simple interactive tools we teach them.
Where: Off-site, on-site or remotely through the Zoom platform

Innovation Agility Training: In the Pursuit of the Aha!

Creativity Training

Heading

Goals

  • Generate ideas fluently
  • Create ideas that are out-of-the-box
  • Look at problems from different perspectives
  • Eliminate mental "kinks" that get in the way of creative though
  • Know how to exercise your creative thinking

Outline

  • The Creative Self: Defining who are you as a creative person
  • Learn the three key creative skills which is the meat of the training.  We refer to these skills as the F.F.U. which stands for Fluency, Flexibility and Uniqueness.  
  • Learn the key strategies and tools for each the F.F.U..
  • Practice each skill by engaging is the Brainstormers Game which is a semi-competitive and very fun creative thinking game
  • Explore why you stay in the box - Get your kinks out through the Blocks/Unblock Game
  • Participants examine the kinks that get in the way of their creativity.
  • Exercise your ability to make connections and sustaining your creative thinking skills
  • Taking It Home: Next steps for ensuring creative thinking in the workplace.

Benefits

  • Be able to generate more ideas and solution
  • Increase flexibility in ones thinking processes
  • Know how to come up with new ideas easily 
  • Reduce creative blocks
  • Have easy-to-apply strategy and tools to find solutions to problems

Training Details

Duration:   2 hours to 8 hours 
Purpose: To develop the 3 key creative thinking skills, and a whole bunch more. To significantly improve one's ability to generate great and creative ideas in less time. To increase problem solving abilities.
What: Highly interactive and fun workshop devoted to achieving increase ability to generate ideas fluently, flexibly and Uniqueness (F.F.U)
How: This workshop is 95% active. This workshop is fun and productive. Participants play games designed to exercise the innovative mind
Where: Off-site, on-site or virtual

Customer Service Excellence Training: The Ultimate Basic Customer Service Workshop

Customers Service Training

From The Inside/Out

This powerful, tailored, 4 and 8 hour workshop will give your staff more than just the foundation on providing good internal and external customer service. It will give them the motivation, desire and ownership to satisfy your customers with excellence. That's why we subtitled this workshop "From the Inside/Out."

Goals

  • Know why providing good customer service is critical
  • Build a model describing excellent and awful customer service
  • Determine customers' standards for customer service excellence
  • Establish specific behaviors that will assure increased customer satisfaction
  • Use positive words, tone and body language with customers
  • Do five critical behaviors to ensure customers will have a good impression of your business
  • To get "buy-in" and improve ones level of customer service 

Subjects We Cover

  • Responding to the customer promptly and properly
  • Listening actively to customer needs
  • Recognizing and eliminating barriers to satisfying your customers
  • Dealing with difficult and angry customers
  • Solving the customer's problem
  • Greeting customers: smiling, listening, evaluating customer needs and responding appropriately.
  • The impact that great customer service has on the customer as well as themselves

Training Approach: Creating Buy-in

Most training participants know what good and bad customer service is, but they may not provide it in their jobs. They may not have made the mental connection between what they know about customer service and their specific jobs. They also may not be clear on what to do to provide great customer service. Our customer service training provides both the awareness and the clarity that they need to give excellent customer service. Our customer service workshop also creates this awareness by creating "buy-in" with the participants. This is done by having them build their own Customer Service for Excellence Model based on their experience of good and bad customer service. They then gain clarity of what to do in their jobs by creating specific strategies, procedures and "next steps" based on the created Customer Service for Excellence Model. This process will establish good customer service habits in your workplace. The result will be individual plans and tactics for how to work with their customers so that the customers feel that they are well taken care of.

We find that this training approach is far more effective than most customer service training programs. We believe that the way to ensure your customer service agents provide great customer service is to go beyond technique and the "suppose to-dos." Our focus is on getting "buy-in" from the workshop participants and getting their 100% agreement as to what things they can do to create excellent customer service experiences for their customers.

Highly Interactive Format

This workshop is fast-paced, 80% interactive, participatory, and productive. It includes discussions, fun games and quizzes, demonstration and practice, lecturettes, storytelling, role plays, and problem solving.  Participants will be working individually, in small groups and in large groups.

Typical Outline

  • Introduce & Set Expectations
  • Warm-up: What does Customer Service Got To Do With It?
  • Establish How Customer Service is Critical to the Success of the Organization
  • Learn Key Principles of Customer Service: Customer Service Trivia Quiz
  • Establish Key Principles of Fantastic Customer Service: Build Customer Service Model
  • Words Ain't Nothing...Compare to Tone and Body Language
  • Play Customer Service Theatre: 5 Easy Ways to Impress Customers
  • Customer Service Problem-Solving Quiz
  • Define and Establish your Customers' Standards for Excellence
  • What Do We Do Tomorrow? Establishing Customer Service Policy
  • Finding Support To Serve Your Customer
  • Making Commitments for Serving Your Customer with Excellence

Tailored to Your Organization & Needs

Before our training our trainer will spend time getting to know your business and tailoring the training to your business. They will use relevant examples and focus on the type of customer service your staff provides. For example, this training is flexible enough to focus solely on customer service on the phone. So if your business is a service, manufacturer, or retailer the training will fit right in.

Focused on Results

Participants will also be asked to commit to using the new skills/tools by completing our "Commitment Form." 

Long and the Short of It:  8-hour v. the 4-hour

The 8-hour version includes developing a Customer Service Policy that the group collectively creates. This policy includes the specific behaviors needed for each  person to provide great customer service. This makes a powerful workshop even more powerful.  

We also offer a shorter version for Keynotes & Conferences. This  1- to 3-hour version is extremely dynamic and fun. There are lots of interactive activities that focus on the importance of providing great customer service and how to completely satisfy your customer. 

Custom(er) Workbook

At the end of this workshop attendees will create a model of what good and bad customer service is. They themselves will have established principles for providing excellent customer service. Though each group typically comes up with fairly common responses, the wording and perspective are unique to each group. In order to ensure greater buy-in the workbook is handed out after the session and includes their ideas and decisions about establishing excellent customer service. This is what makes this workshop powerful and special. 

It's Easy to Arrange

 It's easy to arrange. Pick a time and place and we will send an expert trainer out to you. Just fill out the request for proposal and we'll do the rest.

Training Details

Duration:  2  to  8 hours
Purpose: To significantly improve your internal and/or external customer service. to bolster your staff's ability, desire and enthusiasm to serve their internal and external clients/customers responsively and with great care.
What: A series of highly interactive activity designed to light the "fire" under your staff.
Number of people: 3 - 500
Where: Off-site, on-site or virtual

Finding the Solution Training 

Problem Solving Training

Problem Solving & Decision Making Training

Learn the tools and processes to find the right problem and solution to most any problem or situation. Finding the Solution is a highly interactive and memorable training workshop. The participants will learn specific tools for solving problems by doing...by solving problems. They will develop awareness and understanding of the need to use a problem solving process and how to use it. The focus of this training may be on group or individual problem solving and decision making or a mixture of both.

They will learn how to find solutions using 4 steps:

  • Targeting - Define, prioritize, focus and analyze problems.  They will learn the techniques that go with each step such as "gap analysis," "random stimulation," and "decision making analysis".
  • Idea Generating - Generating ideas
  • Decision Making - Making the best possible decision
  • Action Planning - Ensure that solutions are implemented

One, Two or Three Day Workshop?

The goal for the one day is to learn how to use the tools.  The  two-day or three-day workshop goal is to learn the tools and also apply them to a variety of problems. 

Goals for the Problem Solving Training

Participants will be able to...

  • Target on the "true" problem
  • Establish accurate targets for problem solving
  • Prioritize problems and decide which problems should get attention 
  • Generate ideas quickly
  • Find viable solutions 
  • Evaluate alternative courses of action
  • Select the right solution/decision

In a group or individually. Outline

Finding the Solution Outline

  • Why a problem solving process?
  • What is a problem?  Defining the problem
  • Finding the right problem
  • Generating solutions
  • Decision Making Process: Selecting the right solution
  • Applying the Creative Problem Solving and/or Trouble Shooting and/or Decision Making Process

Tailored to Your Organizations Training Goals

Tailored to your needs This workshop may be tailored to fit your particular needs. 

Finding the Solution Work & Recipe Book 

Finding the Solution

The workshop workbook is filled with tools that are recipes for solving most any problem.  We treat this book like most any recipe book when creating a meal. In using a recipe book you pick and choose whichever recipes would suit your needs. Much in the same way, pick and choose the recipes in this book that are appropriate for the problem. The participants will learn which "recipes" to select under different circumstances. These recipes are for "rational" problems (a problem as a result of a change) as well as for creative problems (a new situation or opportunity). It is divided up into five sections: 1) The Stages and Tasks of Problem Solving 2) Targeting 3) Idea Generating 3) Decision Making and 5)  Implementing

Finding the Solution Cards 

Find Solution Cards

Each problem solving tool taught in the workshop can be summarized into one essential question. Targeting and idea generating questions are on the beautiful Finding the Solution Cards. Each participant will receive a set of these cards to ensure that these tools are used in the workplace.At this meeting we will guide your leaders through sticky business challenges and decisions so the team uses the brain trust to its highest ability.  These cards are optional.

Your team will be developing solutions and/or making tough decisions collectively and easily!

Training Details

Duration:   1 day or 3 days
Purpose: Solve technical or creative problems as a team or individually
What: Learn an intuitive 4-step process and the tools that go with each step 
How: Learn how to use the tools for solving problems and making decisions
Where: Off-site, on-site or virtual

"A problem well defined is a problem half-solved.
 John Dewey

Leading Ideation Meetings: How to Lead Brainstorming Sessions

Facilitating Ideation Meetings

Make your ideation meetings easy and successful

Guide Ideation, Idea Generation, Brainstorming sessions for...   
  • Product Development
  • Services Development
  • Marketing Strategies & Messages
  • Solutions to Problems

Workshop Goals

Participants will learn how to...
  • Use simple tools and processes for creating a more directed focus in brainstorming meetings.
  • Make ideation sessions more productive - get more ideas in half the time.
  • Make ideation meetings more interesting, engaging and worthwhile
  • Build a dynamic, effective and successful agenda
  • Structure the ideation meeting to ensure the greatest amount of ideas
  • Get more buy-in from meeting participants
  • Learn the Ideation Process

Topics Include

  • Keys and tips on making ideation meetings the best they can be.
  • Keys to accessing the creativity in the group.
  • Getting your participants involved and engaged.
  • Fitting the ideation tools for the appropriate personalities and problem
  • How to lead a brainstorming session including setting up, framing and ending a session
  • How to easily record the output of meetings without trouble.
  •  How to design ideation tools and processes using the ideation grid
  • Facilitating a group including how to stay in control of the meeting
  • The ideation meeting process including focusing, data dumping, incubating, low and high level ideating, selecting and action planning
  • Determining the best from a multitude of ideas 
  • Scaling the process for 5 to 100

Workshop Format

This workshop is highly interactive. The participants collectively create an agenda of a ideation meeting. They will experience all the critical meeting tasks including planning, framing, warming, focusing, "follow-throughing", and evaluating meetings. Each person will be practicing leading brainstorming meetings by conducting a mini-meeting using many of the simple interactive tools we teach them. 

Tailored to Your Needs

This workshop may be tailored to fit your particular needs. 

Workbook for the Workshop

Creative Collaboration

Creative Collaboration: Simple Tools for Inspired Teamwork. This is a recipe book filled with activities designed to get your team's creative juices flowing: from warm-up exercises, ideation tools, and team energizers. Each activity includes a time estimate, needed supplies, suggested group size, and hints and examples for the team leader.We will guide your group to establish the appropriate strategic message for your product or service. Everyone contributes and collaborates. And we are able to extract the wisdom of the group.

Training Details

Duration:   2 to 3 days
Purpose: Develop the skill to lead an extremely productive ideation/brainstorming session. 
How: Looking at all the key elements that make an ideation session successful. 
Number of Participants: 3 to 15 people
Where: Off-site, on-site or virtual

Interested?  Want more information?  Request a proposal.

All of our Training Workshops are...
Highly Engaging & Interactive
Highly Engaging & Interactive

Activities are highly interactive, fun and involving

Real Life
Real Life

The focus of our training programs are to take the skills and knowledge back to work and to make a significant difference in the performance of the participants.

Multi-faceted
Multi-faceted

Training activities are varied with opportunities for all types of learners, including the visual, kinesthetic and conceptual learner. We use introverted and extroverted oriented activities.  

Team building opportunities
Team building opportunities

Whether the participants regularly spend time with each other or not, our training programs provide ample opportunity for each person to network and build a relationship with others.

Tailored
Tailored

The training will be tailored to your organizations needs and culture.

Fun, Creative & Productive
Fun, Creative & Productive

At our training smiling and having fun is encouraged

Why Provide Training?


Provide Skills
 The participants will become more productive and their jobs will become easier with higher chance of success.  Training will address weaknesses and improve performance and awareness.

Creates Common Language
The participants will be on the same page, using a common vocabulary and same frame of reference.

Maintains Interest & Enthusiasm
Employees and management will maintain high interest received from the training into their everyday work life

Bruce Honig
Michael Wong
Ray Madaghiele
Alice Cochran
Ken Homer
Jeanne-Marie Grumet
Terry Pettengill
Adam Shames

The best in the class

Expert, Professional & Experienced Trainers 



Our trainers will expertly guide your executives, managers, and staff towards enhance skills.

Find out more about our trainers

Testimonials

What they are saying 

"Thank you for your hard work in our Messaging Workshop yesterday. As always, your mastery of the room was beyond impressive. Feedback from the client has been terrific. Everyone was just so blown away that you were able to maintain not just interest, but enthusiasm for six plus hours." 

Eve Alintuck

Project Director, Advertising/PR Firm - Brandfusion

Our management group came together around a shared vision. We are currently integrating two companies into one. This meeting helped to reduce the we/them and increase the us. Optimism, increased teamwork and confidence in the direction of the company. Top-Three-
I would recommend this service. The tools and methodology the Bruce uses are very effective. He brings everyone into the process and helps drive the discussion to a consensus. like_working_with_me?: Bruce is easy to work with, professional in his approach and an excellent communicator.

Paul Fry

General Manager, Dow AgroScience

Our strategy and vision for an IT organization is critical Creativity from all level of the organization will lead to a much wider vision [as a result of the Innovative Thinking training].
-Sr Director IT

Rod Anderson

Senior Director of IT, Clearwire