work journal
Facilitation & Coaching
Lean into the process. You may be astonished what you create.
Alpine starts for Clean in Montana
Clean Language is a powerful way to facilitate insight and lasting change in individuals and groups. In April, I'm bringing Clean Language expert Caitlin Walker to Bozeman for a three-day, in-person training.
Read moreJoin us at Clean Montana!
Join us at Clean in Montana! This three-day training, led by Clean Language expert Caitlin Walker (PhD), will help you build stronger teams by creating safety, belonging and freedom.
Read more“Make them think differently.”
"What is your role in stewarding the Earth for the next seven generations?” Last fall in Vienna, I asked this of investor Felix Porsche. Descendant of the car inventor, this wonderful young leader is now helping drive sustainability in transportation.
Read moreA conversation with Mariah Gladstone
“When you start to recognize the gifts from the landscape, you then begin to feel an inherent obligation to help share gifts back to the landscape," said Indigenous food sovereignty leader Mariah Gladstone, when we spoke as part of the Montana Free Press Fest.
Read moreReflections after a workshop marathon
After leading many workshops this past month, I'm reflecting on what I saw and learned before I launch into the next thing.
Read moreMaking online connections in person
Traveling Dallas and Austin, I met up with colleagues, new and old. Some I'd met before, but most were online-only until this trip. It's always worth it.
Read moreA letter to Sophie (and maybe to you, too)
You told me about the trails you’ve run down in your business. The rocky hillsides, the summit views, and the steep, dark, slippery descents that had you wondering if you’d make it back.
Read morePresenting Light & Seed
The first issue of Light & Seed, a reimagined, next-generation print magazine is a capstone to my publishing career, and the result of months of intentional strategy design and implementation.
Read moreUse Clean Questions to keep your assumptions from making a mess
Learning more about how others move through the world, increasing understanding, and reducing miscommunication.
Read moreWhat climbing taught me about leadership and teamwork
A friend sent me these old photos out of the blue, and they have me thinking about a few of the things I learned from climbing.
Read moreWhy? Or: the sticky note that stuck
Conflict and chaos can lead to renewed hope, belief and commitment.
Read moreModerating a panel discussion for Farm to Crag
After 23 years of asking questions for a living, I did it live for the first time in a panel highlighting three leaders in the Montana food system.
Read moreStrategy workshop: American Bank Leadership Retreat, Round 3
By now, this team knows when I show up, it’s time to dig in, think fast and get creative. And they always have a good time while they’re at it.
Read moreWhat it takes to collaborate across differing perspectives
We need to see each other as humans first.
Read more"Even though so much has changed, the plan is still helpful."
In 2020, I helped Blue Bean Coffee develop a strategy for growth—their way. Three years later, after the Yellowstone River flood lapped their doorstep, the family-owned roaster has used our plan to source the "most eco-friendly packaging on the planet."
Read moreStrategy workshop: Montana Food Matters
We set a goal for the morning and assessed what's moving this team forward and what's holding them back. Then the reframe. Always the reframe. This is where they figured out if the place they think they’re going is *actually* where they’re going.
Read morePulling the threads of my career journey
In the rearview, I see threads: Building things—or rebuilding them. Learning how the world works and what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Finding hidden connections everywhere. Seeking the essence of people.
Read moreHow to work through hard topics together
“The workshops allowed me to hear everyone’s view and take it in. Very rarely are you in a place where you have all the different opinions, and you all get to share them."
Read moreLearning and using visual facilitation
"People always tell me they don't know how to draw," said Charles-Louis de Maere, as he opened our course on visual facilitation. "I have stopped believing them."
Read moreLeading a strategy workshop? Make sure you "take the dog out."
Your group needs a moment to breathe. This lets them process the massive amount of ground covered in a workshop, and then find the hidden connections that bring it all together. To get there, as I learned from my puppy, Lulu, “take the dog out.”
Read moreDesigning a theory of change: Iqra Fund founder Genevieve Walsh
Iqra Fund builds sustainable school systems in northern Tribal Pakistan. A decade in, the nonprofit's founder and CEO needed a clear, simple and compelling visual to communicate both the org's model and her vision for long-term impact.
Read moreStrategy workshop: Hannah Featherman and the National Forest Foundation
The process of bringing a purpose, vision, mission and set of values to life can be both messy and magical. If you get the chance, do this work in person.
Read moreClimbing, food and community
Finding connections between food systems, wild adventure and community on a trip from Yosemite to Chattanooga and back home to Montana.
Read moreOde to a colleague and friend, Dylan Hale Thornton
Dylan is one to watch. Better yet, partner with him and change the world.
Read moreHelp me design a strategy workshop?
I helped Iqra Fund founder and CEO create a strategic planning workshop to lead her with her team in Pakistan. The outcome: The team created an entirely new program that has the potential to leverage Iqra's mission many times over.
Read moreWhen different perspectives = different realities
"My mom is 8 feet tall and weighs 90 pounds." A hilarious and insightful lesson from my daughter in the form of the classic kindergarten Mad Libs. Plus an exercise to use with your team.
Read moreBlair Hensen is changing the way we talk about love and adventure.
I've been helping this wilderness guide-turned-therapist build the foundation of a business that melds her two passions.
Read moreStrategy design: the National Forest Foundation's magazine
By listening deeply and weaving in ideas from a broad team, we created group alignment behind what will ultimately become an entirely new publication.
Read more inquire > reframe > transform >