WOLFPACK @ EMERALD BUILDERS Orientation and Preparation for the Wolfpack Gathering at Emerald Builders in Brunswick, ME October 46, 2015
WOLFPACK @ EMERALD BUILDERS
Orientation and Preparation for the Wolfpack Gathering at Emerald Builders in Brunswick, ME
October 4-‐6, 2015
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Table of Contents
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Here’s what you will find in this document
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The Wolfpack Evolves Carefully Timed: What Happens When
Arriving Sunday to Connect over Dinner
We explore the PEOPLE Botton Line, then focus in on “Burning Questions”
We shift our focus to Emerald Builders
Gaining perspective on Emerald Builders
We conclude by looking forward
Prepare to Engage! Ground Rules Assignments
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Being a Good Group
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The Wolfpack Evolves
We have a good feel for each other and our companies. We’ve experienced two network gatherings. We touch base monthly and communicate online to track each others progress. Now we’re ready to try some new approaches
PEOPLE FOCUS: At our last gathering we had a good opportunity to dig into the financial side. We shared income and expenses in the form of a Common P&L. Going forward we will be shifting between that focus (in the spring) and what we want to be paying attention to in the People and Planet domains in the fall. At our upcoming gathering the focus will be on People – “happy people” and what that condition requires internally, externally, and with those we collaborate with.
BURNING QUESTIONS: As we did last time, we will each zero in on a couple distinct challenges we each face and try to provide perspective and guidance that may lead to strategic action. We each get twenty minutes, so careful preparation is essential.
EMERALD BUILDERS FOCUS: In the course of our engagement with our host we will pay special attention to the goals they have identified:
• Generating better leads for the work we want
• Weeding out dead end/unrealistic leads and clients
• Using company values and how we treat empoyees as a selling point
COMMUNICATING VALUE: There seems to be a larger theme here that we will attempt to explore. It relates to how we establish and communicate value for those we are asking to invest their valuable resources in what we do.
Prepare to engage!
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Carefully Timed: What Happens When
MONDAY 7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Orientation
8:10 People Discussion
10:00 BREAK
10:15 People Discussion
11:15 SHORT BREAK
11:20 Building Shelter
11:40 Lewis Creek
12:00 LUNCH
1:00 Uncarved Block
1:20 Demetrick Woodworking
1:40 Walker D/B
2:00 New Commons
2:20 BREAK
2:30 Building Logic
2:50 Bob Irving
3:10 Wolfworks
3:30 BREAK
3:45 Emerald Builders
4:30 BREAK
6:00 Emerald Systems Paper Trail
7:30 Dinner at Ebenezer’s Pub
Here is an overview of the schedule for our gathering.
TUESDAY 7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Orientation for Emerald
8:15 Staff Interviews
10:15 BREAK
10:30 Staff Interviews
11:00 Interview Team Huddles
11:30 Overview of Process
12:00 LUNCH
12:45 Strategic Priorities for Emerald Builders
2:00 BREAK
2:15 Insights for Owners
3:00 Company Commitments
3:30 Burning Questions
4:00 Schedule Next Gathering
4:30 END
SUNDAY • OCTOBER 4 TRAVEL TO BRUNSWICK, ME
Hit the road and make your way north. Consider a car pool.
1:00 Optional: Meetup with BEBL Mainiacs for lunch at KTA office in Portland
5:00 Check in to the Daniel Hotel
5:30 Assemble in the lobby to organize for travel for dinner
Travel (30 minutes)
6:15 Dinner at Dolphin Marina (in time for sunset!)
Return to Hotel
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Arriving Sunday to Connect over Dinner
We start out by gathering together over good food and drink in a convivial environment that reflects the local culture. This is our time to share stories and connect with each other and our host.
Who’s up for car pooling for the drive north! Maybe even a meetup with fellow Bottom Liners for lunch in Portland?
It’s a long drive for many of us to get to Brunswick. I’m inviting Portland area Bottom Liners to meet up with us for lunch in Portland to break up the trip. We should also work to coordinate shared travel.
We are staying and meeting at the Daniel Hotel in Brunswick. Plan time for a walk in nearby downtown Brunswick or along the Androscoggin River!
We’ll travel to the end of the world (OK the end of Harpswell, ME) to have dinner at the picturesque Dolphin Marina, arriving just in time for what we hope will be a wonderful sunset. Plan to meet in the lobby at 5:30 to make the trip.
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Monday: We explore what it takes to create the conditions that support “happy people”
After a late morning break we will shift our attention to the one or two “burning questions” that we are challenged by in each of our companies.
Plan on the following:
• At least one week before we gather provide some background about where things are for you and introduce us to your challenges
• When you present, take 5-7 minutes to review these challenges, then invite input from the group
• Set time aside before we meet to understand what each company has shared and be prepared to explore each challenge and contribute your insight
Then: Focus on your burning questions for 20 min.
Mark is going to facilitate this discussion. Here’s where we’re headed:
Happiness is at the foundation of the People portion of the triple bottom line mission. When we are happy and those we work with are happy it is contagious. People are attracted to happiness. Through the development of happiness we create a “happiness magnetic field” which can have a profound impact on our businesses.
We want to tell stories about what happy and unhappy settings look like with a focus on happy, then chart the qualities of a happy enterprise. What do we pay attention to to create happiness in our relationships with our client, team, and collaborators? We will look for the tools and systems we need to help guide us toward creating the “happiness magnetic field.”
Domains we’ll explore: Deep sense of purpose. Recognizing our innate purpose in being! What motivates us? Education, Growth, Helping etc. Making concepts reality. FULFILLMENT of that purpose. Building stuff, Manifesting stuff, Making stuff! Including business systems. Meaningful connections. A caring and connected community including boundaries, rules and policies. Our commitments to each other. Nurturing and being nurtured. Feeding and caring for the community ! SUSTAINABILITY. Compensation packages. “Attending to” things as they change and evolve. Design! What needs to be pruned and what needs to be redirected in order to be faithful to the purpose above. Evaluation, Quality assurance, tracking, sorting and measuring, the happiness chart of accounts.
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We shift our focus to Emerald Builders
Emerald Builders is gaining experience and maturity. They are deeply committed to satisfying the commitments necessary to achieving measurable results in each of the bottom lines.
We are meeting them in the midst of that journey. They are invested in developing a hub for their business in a shared workspace. They are endeavoring to build a team that is both productively competent and culturally aligned with their mission
Emerald Builders will get the final time slot before we take a break at 4:30PM. They will set the stage for our engagement with their company and call attention to the things they specifically hope to gain from our visit.
From 4:30 -‐ 6PM we will take a break. This is the time to make some calls. Check-‐in with your family. Take a walk. Catch your breath.
We’ll meet up again at 6PM to meet the staff and learn how they practice. Then we will head out for dinner to get better acquainted and digest the day.
We will meet them at this juncture. We will endeavor to grasp the challenges they face and the potential they possess and are developing.
We will focus on the immediate challenges they have identified in communicating their identity and value. Together we will explore how to translate their aspirations into a concrete action plan that everyone understands and is invested in.
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Tuesday: Gaining perspective on Emerald Builders
These 25 minute interviews will follow a common script. Each team will ask each person the same questions. These questions explore both personal and company aspirations and invite observations that lead forward. We’ll pay special attention to domains that matter most to Emerald Builders.
The interview teams will take a moment to huddle, digest, and summarize what they have observed.
Next we’ll all assemble to offer insight and guidance based on a deeper understanding of Emerald Builder’s people and operations
This will be both in response to the guidance they are expressly seeking as well as what we have observed and they may find revealing.
After breakfast we will break into three teams to interview three active staff members and a vendor/client/mentor.
Going in Emerald Builders will call attention to their domains of interest. The interviews provide a breadth of perspectives on the challenges and opportunities the company faces.
We will then gather to share what we’ve observed, engage their team, and identify strategic opportunities.
We will assemble with their full team to reflect together about what we have learned. We will invite them to query us.
We will pay special attention to the question of how Emerald Builders establishes and commuincates value.
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We conclude by looking forward
Each company will reflect on what they have learned and determine what their most important areas for focus and development will be going forward.
We will each share these insights with each other in this final phase of our gathering. We will each identify three measurable goals that will make a significant difference in our operations in the next six months.
These will be the goals we report on during the next sequence of monthly conference calls.
After a break we will conclude our day by sharing our company and individual goals and commitments, surfacing and discussing “burning questions” that emerged during our time together, evaluating the success of our gathering, and scheduling our next meeting for the
fall.
The gathering will conclude at 4:30 and we’ll hit the road for the journey home.
Before we conclude we will review and discuss any “burning questions” that emerged and were captured in our “parking lot.” We will expect to explore these online following our gathering.
We will also take a moment to evaluate the experience we just shared. What worked? What might we do differently? What next?
Finally we will determine who will be our host and what dates we will plan on gathering again in the spring of 2016.
We will also highlight what will be taking place at the Bottom Lines Summit in Northampton.
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Prepare to Engage! To get the most from this experience we each need to devote a bit of time to preparing ourselves to be active and involved participants.
This includes completing the Common P&L, preparing and assembling any documents you will share, choosing your “burning questions” and briefing everyone online before we meet.
You should also devote some time to digesting what is posted in advance of our gathering. The better we understand each other the more usefully we will be able to provide insight and support.
VISIT B-‐LABS
During our exploration of the PEOPLE domain we will reference the B-Labs assessment. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with this system and set of metrics.
SET GOALS & PLAN YOUR PRESENTATION
Make a list of things that you want to get out of this experience. This might be challenges you are facing, opportunities that have presented themselves, or business practices you are having difficulty mastering. Identify the “burning questions” that emerge from these conditions, brief us on them, and we will engage in discovering useful strategic possibilities. We each have twenty minutes for this activity so plan carefully.
BRING THINGS TO SHARE
You may have been getting a lot out of a book or online resource. Bring these along to share. If you have images of projects you’re proud of, include a few (but be brief). If you have a form you created that is working great or a marketing piece you want input on, bring them along. There will be times at breaks for folks to share this stuff.
GET MENTALLY FOCUSED
Set aside one hour a week leading up to the gathering to work on preparation. Give yourself time to prepare and to think about why you joined Bottom Lines and what you are hoping to get out of it. Write things down, make lists, create outlines. Making time ahead of time helps avoid having to pull things together at the last minute when the phone is ringing and suddenly the printer is out of paper.
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Ground Rules Learning to behave effectively as a group is one of the organizational skills we want to help Bottom Liners develop. We do this by practicing!
All groups benefit from agreeing to some basic ground rules. These guidelines help the Wolfpack make the most of the time we have committed to sharing with each other to achieve a common purpose.
PAY ATTENTION TO TIME As you may have noticed, the schedule is rigorous. Everyone deserves an equal share of time to present, to be heard, and to listen. • Quietly get ready to start your
presentation five minutes before your time.
• Plan your presentation to plenty of time for engagement with the group.
• Focus on key issues and listen for insights that emerge.
• End on time!
RESPOND BRIEFLY Our engagement with each other is one of the most valuable features of our gathering. Ask questions and offer insights as succinctly as you can so everyone has a chance to contribute.
SHOW UP ON TIME Better yet, show up early! See a theme here? Moving a large group requires that we all be ready to go at the designated hour. Help keep things moving by listening to the plans and following them.
MIX IT UP While our days are tightly scripted there are times and spaces between where we can visit with each other and our host. Make an effort to rotate socially. Sit with different people at meals. Most importantly, determine to get to know our hosts.
FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION Every phase of our agenda has a distinct purpose and you should be clear about what we’re doing and what your role and responsibilities are. This means no interruptions for calls, email, texting, etc. Everyone needs to pay attention and contribute.
USE THE BREAKS To avoid distraction while we are meeting, use the breaks to check email, make calls, or respond to texts. This is also an important time to get up and move around. Just be sure to be ready to return to your seat on time.
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Assignments We’ve all got some work to do before we arrive in Brunswick. Set time aside to give these assignments your attention well before you are packing for the trip.
We will also each be responsible for capturing what we learn, sharing what we observe, and most importantly, giving Building Shelter our full attention.
TAKE STOCK OF B-‐LABS Again. Take a moment to vist the B-Labs website and at least probe the assessment. We will be referring to this during our exploration of the PEOPLE domain.
OTHER REPORTS OR FORMS If you have business documents that you like or depend on bring them to share. This may be sales tracking, production reports, job costing, or even a great invoice. These may be referenced during discussion and its useful to have them to share if need be.
CREATE A BINDER This is discretionary. If you find it useful, bring a binder to collect stuff that people may distribute.
MEASURING PEOPLE & PLANET Our discussion will include the question of what quantitative and qualitative measures we want to start tracking and sharing. Bring your ideas.
TAKE NOTES While you listen to others make notes that will help you offer them insight or ask questions. When its your turn to present keep notes about what others offer you. Capture everything that has meaning for you. Review all this before setting your next goals.
TAKE A TURN Each of us will take a turn keeping notes that will be shared during discussions and presentations. These are intended to help capture as much as possible that is said and shared.
LISTEN CAREFULLY AND SHARE USEFULLY Two of the most important activities we will do are tp learn how Emerald Builders operates and then interviewing the staff and a collaborative ally. What we hear and observe will form the foundation for the insight and support we will share afterward. Our purpose is to help them discover and set useful short and long term goals that everyone in the company can embrace and enthusiastically pursue.
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Being a good group One of the important leadership skills we will all be working on learning together is how to behave as an effective group. These three practices are intended to help us do that.
CAPTURING GOALS While we are together we will gain insights and be inspired to pay better attention to the domains of our businesses. Consider how to translate these insights into plans to act. Record measurable goals and identify them by business domain: Sales, Production, Administration, Owner, and Team. For each goal determine if it is short or long term and preferably who will be responsible for success. When the list is complete we’ll identify priorities.
Before we leave we will each commit to three short term and three long term goals and share them with each other.
BACKUP NOTES During your presentation you’ll want to take notes. Because it will be hard to both present and capture everything that is said we’ll each take turns making backup notes for each other. Think of it as a buddy system.
We will use a Google Docs Spreadsheet to take notes in a single shared file.
PARKING LOTS
Meetings often end up following paths to topics that are not related to the purpose of the meeting. Good facilitation requires the group to recognize when they have strayed. It is useful to have a place to “park” these ideas and topics and a process to return to them later. When we stray we will park the topic on a flip chart page and get back on course. At the end of our meeting we will review what we “parked” and decide what to do with what was recorded.
We will also keep one other parking lot for resources. These are the books that get recommended, forms someone relies on, websites or software that are worth knowing about.
During each presentation we will each take turns being the scribe.