Ava S. Butler

Organizational Development Consultant and Leadership Coach

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

April 15, 2019
Ava S. Butler

I highly recommend The Art of Gathering:  How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker.  I know a lot about planning and facilitating meetings, but learned so much more by reading this book. Whether you run business meetings, are involved in non-profit events, or hold parties at your home, this book will give you insights to up your game.

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Gathering-How-Meet-Matters/dp/1594634920/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=gathering+book+of+meetings&qid=1555237488&s=books&sr=1-1

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If you would like to receive e-mail notification when I post additional techniques and meeting management related materials, please sign up through this link.   http://eepurl.com/KILan  You may unsubscribe at any time. Continue reading →

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Implementing Change, Meeting facilitation, Strategic planning, Techniques to Boost Creativity and Teamwork, Techniques to Improve Meeting Productivity
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Parkinson’s: A Love Story with Dementia for Dessert

November 17, 2018
Ava S. Butler

Many of you know that my dear husband, Richard had Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia and passed away in March 2017.

I recently wrote a memoir as part of my own healing process. My goal is to help others on their journey with Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia and to share the idea that love stories come in many forms.

This is not the forum for personal matters, so I will only share information on my new book this one time.

You will find Parkinson’s: A Love Story with Dementia for Dessert on Amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/Parkinsons-Love-Story-Dementia-Dessert-ebook/dp/B07K4RLC2D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542135434&sr=8-1&keywords=Parkinson%27s+A+Love+Story+with+Dementia+for+Dessert&dpID=41xS3edPH0L&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch  Your Continue reading →

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Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease, Transformational Change
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Planning is critical to successful meetings: use this checklist to help you prepare

August 15, 2018
Ava S. Butler

What you do before your meetings is every bit as important as what you do in them. In fact, without effective pre-meeting planning and organization, the quality of your meetings will certainly suffer, and some will very likely fail.

Most facilitators plan to some degree. Many consider their meetings planned if they create an agenda, send it out, book a room, and order the coffee. But proficient pre-meeting planning needs to go beyond these basics. The level of planning a facilitator attains before the meeting separates the true professional from the rank amateur. And meeting results speak for themselves.

Use Continue reading →

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Meeting facilitation
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The power and importance of questions

August 1, 2018
Ava S. Butler

The Harvard Business Review highlights the importance and power of questions in two recent articles.  I highly recommend them both.

Better Brainstorming suggests we focus on questions, not answers, for breakthrough insights. Better questions can lead to answers that challenge deeply held assumptions, and make it easier to push past biases and venture into unchartered territory.

https://hbr.org/2018/03/better-brainstorming

The Surprising Power of Questions talks about the importance of questioning as a skill to be honed, and as a tool for unlocking value in companies.  It spurs learning and the exchange of ideas, fuels innovation and performance improvement and builds Continue reading →

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Growing your business, Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Boost Creativity and Teamwork, Techniques to Brainstorm Ideas, Techniques to Gather Information, Transformational Change
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An atypical story of transformational change

July 28, 2018
Ava S. Butler

Many have noticed the beautiful full moon on Friday, July 27th, but most won’t know its part in this unusual story of transformational change.

I don’t pay much attention to astrology, but I love this article and its story.  Why not take this opportunity to think beyond the way things have been, and be open to new insights and realizations?  Now could be just the right time.  Its worthy of consideration.

http://seattleastrology.org/the-eclipse-that-changed-the-course-of-history-full-moon-eclipse-astrology-july-2018/

The Eclipse that Changed the Course of History: Full Moon Eclipse Astrology July 2018
The astrology of our Aquarius Full Moon Eclipse has a signature Continue reading →
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Transformational Change, Uncategorized
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What my 10 month old godson reminds me about success

April 16, 2018
Ava S. Butler

My dear godson, Noah is learning how to walk.  And so far, he’s pretty crap at it.

He falls and falls and falls.  But he keeps trying and becomes more proficient every day.  He doesn’t think to himself “Darn, this walking is tough and is taking a long time. Every time I try, I fall down. And sometimes that hurts.  I’ll never make it.  I am doomed to a life of crawling.  I’m going to give up before it gets embarrassing.”

Heck no.  Not this baby.  Not any baby.

He smiles with Continue reading →

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Implementing Change, Uncategorized
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Back by Popular Demand: How to Use a Parking Lot in Your Meetings

March 7, 2018
Ava S. Butler

“Our meetings are continually spinning off onto tangents unrelated to our original agenda.  We never accomplish what we originally set out to do and everyone is frustrated, including me.  What can I do?”

What is PARKING LOT?

PARKING LOT is a productivity technique for effectively dealing with distracting but important non-agenda items that arise during the course of your meeting.

Non-agenda items always seem to find their way into meetings.  It is important to honor and recognize the existence of these important non-agenda items, but without interrupting the focus and goals of your meeting agenda. PARKING LOT Continue reading →

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Meeting facilitation
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Back by popular demand: How and when to use Transformation Maps

January 31, 2018
Ava S. Butler

“My leadership team and I have a pretty clear idea of where we want to be in the next 5 years, but don’t know exactly how to get there. There are so many issues and improvements to address. It’s hard to get our heads around them. What suggestions do you have?”

What is a Transformation Map?

A Transformation Map is a one page visual depiction of the plan for implementing a strategy or goal. It describes the major results, actions and milestones required to achieve your strategic goal, along with the expected timing of each of them. It Continue reading →

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Implementing Change, Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Implement Decisions, Transformation Tools
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Back by popular demand: The What, When and How of Project Charters

January 12, 2018
Ava S. Butler

“I’ve been asked to lead a change project within my company, but I’m not really sure what is expected. What should I do?”

What is a Project Charter?

A Project Charter is a one page document that describes the new project’s:

  • Objectives
  • Measures and targets – both financial and non-financial
  • Deliverables
  • Assumptions re: support requirements, risks, inter-dependencies, etc.
  • The Project Sponsor (the leader ultimately accountable for the project’s success) the Project Manager (the person who leads the project on a day-to-day basis), and Team Members (people assigned to the project either full or part time), and the time required for Continue reading →
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Growing your business, Implementing Change, Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Implement Decisions
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Mission Critical Meetings still selling strong and getting stronger

January 9, 2018
Ava S. Butler

Mission Critical Meetings: 81 Practical Facilitation Techniques was published in 2014. I’m grateful and honored that sales continue to grow, with 2017 sales the highest so far. I continue to receive feedback on how valuable this practical ‘how to’ book is for those who facilitate meetings.   Thank you all.  I continue to welcome your sales and reviews.

When Mission Critical Meetings first came out, I blogged all 81 techniques. The techniques showed up in internet searches thousands of times.  The top five searches where my blogs were clicked are:

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Meeting facilitation
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