Session B - Pre-Conference Session
Jon Bergstrom, Steve Byers, and Bob Dickman on
Powerful Facilitation Practices: Solving Your Toughest Team Problems
 

Jon Bergstrom

Biography:
Jon Bergstrom provides a wide range of business consulting services through the Bergstrom Learning Center in Tehachapi, California. Prior to his recent retirement, he worked for Shell Oil Company for 35 years in a variety of engineering and management positions.

Through his consulting practice, he assists organizations in Leadership and Management, Strategic Planning, Organizational Success, Executive Coaching, Personal Mastery, Systemic Thinking, Team Skills, Change Leadership, Meeting Planning and Facilitation, and Conflict Management.

He has provided team skills workshops to more than 800 students at International Space University since 2000. The workshops for the Masters Program in Strasbourg, France and the summer sessions at locations around the world provide students with concepts and processes that enhance their team experience at the university.

Contact: Jon can be reached by e-mail at jonbergstrom@sbcglobal.net for additional information about this pre-conference session.

Website: www.websweare.com/bergstrom


Steve Byers

Biography:
Steve Byers received his Masters Degree in Organization Systems Design and Renewal (www.osr-nw.org) from Seattle University. He is now building a consulting practice in Olympia, Washington. As an internal and external consultant, Steve has designed and delivered workshops and seminars about feedback, inquiry, systems thinking, and organization renewal. One popular workshop is “Thinking About Thinking” which includes the Six Thinking Hats of Edward de Bono. The World Café especially interests Steve since he participated in a Café of 700 people at a Pegasus conference. He enjoys designing and working on meaningful questions with others, and the spirit of community that seems to always emerge.

Steve is deeply involved with the In2:InThinking Network, a group of people who explore how we think in organizations. He is an enthusiastic participant in the annual "Systems Thinking in Action" (STIA) conferences presented by Pegasus Communications (www.pegasuscom.com), and in Olympia leads a group of local STIA participants in activities to continue the energy between national conferences. Steve invites these colleagues to a monthly First Wednesday conversation at Traditions Café.

Contact: Steve can be reached by email at smbyers@comcast.net for additional information about this pre-conference session.


Bob Dickman

Biography:
Bob Dickman is known as a mirror for hirer. He holds up a mirror to leaders who are unafraid to look at themselves as a way to improve their communication and leadership skills. Collaborating with senior management teams, he has coached in and developed workshops for clients at The United States Naval Post Graduate School, Ford Motor Company, California Academy of Science and Aramark among others.

His seminar “Story as leadership Story as strategy” has been conducted throughout the U.S. at clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to rapidly expanding small business enterprises.  As a thought leader in the field of narrative communication, he writes often including his recent book, The Elements of Persuasion, published by HarperCollins, which he co-authored with Richard Maxwell. The book was nominated as one of the top business books of 2007 and had been translated into fifteen languages. He has also written articles for The Systems Thinking Journal and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Reflections Journal

Bob holds a B.A. from Goddard College and is a graduate of the Hudson Institute’s program in organizational coaching and is certified as a coach by The International Coaching Federation. He is a member of the Society for Organizational Learning’s community of coaching practitioners. He brings a unique, entertaining and pragmatic perspective to how leaders can create and successfully communicate new ideas.  Discussing his skill at getting great performances out of even the most difficult talent and helping prepare writers and directors for the pressure of press tours two-times Academy Award Winner Gene Hackman said, “Bob is a powerful and intuitive coach. If you want to change fast, work with him.”    

Contact: Bob can be reached by email at bob@first-voice.com for additional information about this pre-conference session.


Title: Powerful Facilitation Practices: Solving Your Toughest Team Problems

Date: Thursday, April 23rd

Length: 3 hours (9:00-12:00pm)

Location: Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne - 6633 Canoga Avenue, Canoga Park

Cost: None

Description: We will provide concepts, processes, practice, and resources that will allow participants to return to their teams as the “aware person” with the knowledge and skills to assist their teams in an entirely new way. This is a skill-building workshop. All of the concepts, tools and processes to be presented have been used in countless meetings with success. Questions concerning application can be answered with real examples and known outcomes.

Target Audience:
We would like to engage people who work in teams or manage others who work in teams. Teams can form and function anywhere in an organization – engineering, administration, purchasing, human resources.

Organizational Issues: Courageous organizations create their future by engaging many people in the development of new strategies and products, or work on complex problems. Much of this work is done in teams. We seldom encounter entire teams who understand learning concepts and systemic thinking. We believe it is essential for an “aware person” to plan and facilitate team meetings so that processes guide teams in learning and systemic thinking.

Objectives: The purpose of this workshop is to show how new thinking about planning for successful meetings and development of basic facilitation skills can be integrated into team processes so that team learning leads to discovery of the highest leverage opportunities for creation of the new future. Facilitation skills will be demonstrated and learned through exercises. Meeting planning essentials and follow-up hints will be reviewed.

Handouts: Available for download after the Forum