Thrive: The Facilitator's Guide to Radically Inclusive Meetings

Hundreds of meetings fill our lives. Many are deadly dull. Some soar. Some exclude. Some embrace diverse perspectives and generate great results. THRIVE: The Facilitator’s Guide to Radically Inclusive Meetings is packed with proven methods to engage all voices and make meetings a joy. Whether you are a nonprofit or business leader, manager, consultant, planner, or simply someone who wants your meetings to be more productive, THRIVE is for you.

THRIVE teaches dozens of techniques to include all voices and generate maximum results in all types of meetings, retreats, and conferences. Readers will learn the following:

1. Develop deep listening skills to better empathize and understand clients and co-workers.
2. How to develop personal mindfulness and emotional intelligence to better lead groups with poise.
3. How to build mutual respect through behavioral covenants, especially helpful in multicultural settings.
4. How to craft agendas with clear purpose, process and specific outcomes.
5. How to engage every voice through group planning techniques including World Café, Open Space Technology and Appreciative Inquiry.
6. How to facilitate strategic plans that lead to whole systems change.
7. How to facilitate effectively in polarized and conflicted meetings.
8. How to facilitate well in every setting imaginable.

Review:

“A must read, so liberating, so compelling, so engaging, and a practical guide for all  wanting to become effective facilitators. Smutny nails it!” – Ernie Cathcart, Cultural Competency Specialist
Wellspring Family Services, Seattle

“Mark Smutny brings a wealth of knowledge, strategies and tools, on how an organization can engage every voice and strengthen its presence in the community. He tales people’s skills and builds on them. His thoughtful ideas for designing inclusive meetings are the catalyst for renewed energy and success." -- Robert Taylor, Compass Housing Alliance, Seattle

“What if THRIVE found its way into every nonprofit? It is an important source for those who aspire to create inclusive meeting spaces and outcomes that reflect diversity in every way.”  – Kristina L. Mayer, Ed.D. Nonprofit Consultant and University Lecturer, University of Washington

About the Author:

Dr. Mark Smutny is a professional facilitator, consultant, speaker, and author. He founded Civic Reinventions, Inc. to help nonprofits, civic organizations and businesses thrive. He is known for helping organizations uncover the wisdom and ideas hidden in their diversity, build cohesion and achieve their goals. He draws upon decades of facilitating meetings, leading retreats and working with nonprofits and businesses. He teaches and writes on the arts of effective facilitation.