CASE STUDIES AND TESTIMONIALS

7. Creative Edge Organization -- All Of The Above Plus Finding “The One Small Thing” For “Buy In”

Video: "One Small Thing

  1. Focusing – Individualmente, con un Entrenador de Borde Creativo o con un Terapeuta de Focusing Experiencial.
  2. Turnos Iguales de Intercambio de Escucha/Focusing
  3. Focusing Interpersonal – Usar Escucha/ Focusing Para Facilitar la Resolución de Conflictos
  4. Grupos y Equipos de Focusing – Registrarse, Luego Dividirse en Parejas y Tríadas
  5. Reuniones de Toma de Decisiones
  6. Communidades de Focusing
  7. Organizaciones de Borde Creativo

As well as teaching everyone in an organization the two Core Skills and the other six Applied Methods listed above, Creative Edge Focusing ™ will teach you the “One Small Thing Method” for creating ownership, “buy-in,” full engagement from the bottom up in your organization. The task: to find the one small step, the one activity that everyone is willing to take and letting that become the center of snow-balling commitment, buy-in, and cooperative action toward the common long term goals.

Case Study One: Non-profit Organization

I used the non-profit organization AP as my example under Collaborative Edge Focusing Decision Making. At AP, we also found the “one small thing” that many people in  our social service agency, and in the community, could become involved in.

“One Small Thing”: Each year, AP sponsored an organic Christmas tree sale, providing untrimmed, unsprayed trees from a friend’s overgrown tree farm. In this very environment-conscious community, this became just the right “One Small Thing” to let many people become involved in our fund raiser. People signed up to work and bought our trees. We got great media coverage for AP. Along with the Collaborative Edge Focusing Decision Making meetings revitalizing the Board, this increased presence helped AP win the large Community Grant.

Case Study Two: Revitalizing the PTO at an Elementary School

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) of a public elementary school was languishing. A handful of parents were doing all the work. A new property tax bill dramatically cut funding to the public schools, wiping out PE teachers, art, music, librarians, nurses….The parents suddenly had to raise a whole lot of money from a population of middle to low income parents.

“One Small Thing”:

At my suggestion (because I had seen this on a smaller scale at a smaller non-profit), the small group of committed parents started selling Grocery Store Gift Certificates. The PTO could purchase the “scrip” at a 5% discount, resell it to parents to use to buy groceries, and make a 5% profit on something parents had to buy anyway. Everyone had to buy groceries!  They sold “scrip” in the front hallway before school and at school events and PTO meetings.

We had discovered the “One Small Thing.” Suddenly, everyone was buying “scrip” – grandparents, neighbors, as well as parents and teachers. People were coming into the school to purchase “scrip” and staying to paint walls or help with reading. The only people who were unhappy were parents who were on food stamps – they were furious that they couldn’t contribute!!!!

Now, parents had a “stake” in how the money would be spent. Attendance at PTO meetings grew to thirty, making decisions about how to distribute the funds, how to enlarge the “scrip” program. Teachers came to present proposals for funding.

In the first year, the PTO raised $11,000 (at the 5% net profit, gross sales of $220,000!) to hire a part-time PE teacher who would teach the other teachers how to run PE classes. The “scrip” program spread to other public schools and, ten years later, a large banner in front of the town high school reads “Buy Grocery Scrip”.

But, more importantly, the entire school was revitalized. . Many people, teachers and parents, now came to PTO “decision making meetings.” People came in to buy Grocery Scrip and stayed to paint murals, read to children, stuff envelopes, whatever needed to be done. The parents had to establish a “volunteer lounge” at the school to accommodate all the volunteers!

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These materials are offered purely as self-help skills. In providing them, Dr. McGuire is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.