Keynote and programs

Rich Foss, Evergreen Leaders CEO/Teachers’ Assistant

Bio

Rich Foss has spent thirty years serving nonprofits as a leader in human resources, development, public relations, training, consulting, and coaching. Currently he is the co-founder and CEO/Teacher’s Assistant of Evergreen Leaders, a nonprofit whose mission is to help other nonprofits thrive. In addition to his work with nonprofits he is a novelist (Jonas and Sally), poet, and pastor of a rural communal fellowship. He is married to Sarah and they have three adult children, all of whom work in human services. His passion is helping nonprofits that serve low and moderate income people to thrive. Contact Rich at \n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Discovering the stories in your organization: The treasure that transforms people

Your organization’s mission points the way but it’s the stories that drive your organization.

This presentation is based on the following principle:

            Organizations thrive on the treasure of meeting deep human needs and being a great work place.

In this value-packed session you will learn practical information you can immediately put into action.  You will learn how to:

• Recognize a great story like the Chicken Soup for the Soul authors
• Identify the stories of transformed lives that define your organization
• Identify your “great workplace” stories
• Tell your organization’s stories without violating confidentiality
• Attract clients, staff, donors and support through stories

A hand out with further resources will be available.

Please Note: This description is just a guide. It will help you find information for your program guide. No program is exactly the same; it is designed for your situation. Whether you choose a keynote, workshop, seminar, or breakout the length and format will be varied to suit your needs.

The tale of two men with disabilities:

Spotting your hidden talents and the talents of those you work with

This presentation is based on the following principle:

Rich mines his personal story of partnering with a blind friend to co-lead a fund-raising program for 15 years in order to help you understand how every person has hidden talents that can help organizations thrive

In this value-packed session you will learn to apply the Gallup Organizations powerful, practical definition of talent to yourself and your organization. You will learn how to:

• Recognize the hidden talents that you have spent a lifetime developing without being aware of them
• Spot the hidden talents in your staff, colleagues, and clients
• Build your talents into your current position
• Use the talents of others to help your organization thrive
• Work around your weaknesses and spend your time doing what you do best

A hand out with further resources will be available.

Please Note: This description is just a guide. It will help you find information for your program guide. No program is exactly the same; it is designed for your situation. Whether you choose a keynote, workshop, seminar, or breakout the length and format will be varied to suit your needs.

In search of little leaders: How leaders and nonprofits thrive by creating space for others

This presentation is based on the following principle:

           Humble leaders combine little personal ambition with an unwavering will to transform the lives of those they serve.

In this value-packed session you will learn practical ways to combine being humble and being powerful as you lead in your organization. You will learn how to:

• Create space for the voices of all connected with your organization
• See critics as teachers who want to bring out the best in your organization
• Create open systems to share information and decision-making
• Include service recipients in making crucial decisions.
• Create a powerful atmosphere of trust

A hand out with further resources will be available.

Please Note: This description is just a guide. It will help you find information for your program guide. No program is exactly the same; it is designed for your situation. Whether you choose a keynote, workshop, seminar, or breakout the length and format will be varied to suit your needs.

Smart and friendly systems: The way things get done in great workplaces

This presentation is based on the following principle:

            Organizations thrive on the systems they set up to produce the treasure of transformed lives.

In this value-packed session you will learn practical ways to create and recreate the ways your organization transforms lives. You will learn how to:

• Recognize the value of smart and friendly systems
• Put in place the first two systems a new employee looks for
• Treat complaints from service recipients as opportunities to develop smarter, friendlier systems
• Change your systems regularly like a farmer does crop rotation
• Create open systems to share information and decision-making
• Use Open Space Technology, the best meeting system developed for talking about complex issues

A hand out with further resources will be available.

Please Note: This description is just a guide. It will help you find information for your program guide. No program is exactly the same; it is designed for your situation. Whether you choose a keynote, workshop, seminar, or breakout the length and format will be varied to suit your needs.

Thriving on upheaval: Getting though chaos and other lessons from becoming disabled

This presentation is based on the following principle:

             Thriving organizations embrace uncertainty for the joy of discovery.

Rich mines his personal story of becoming disabled at age 16 and leading a church through a sex scandal to explore the issues of how organizations can use unexpected upheavals to discover new directions.

In this value-packed session you will learn practical ways to move through the fear and chaos of organizational upheaval to discover new ways of thriving as an individual and an organization. You will learn how to:

• Recognize upheaval not as a problem to be solved but a journey to be taken
• Be brutally honest
• Bring people together in the midst of chaos
• Discover inner strength
• Have confidence in small steps

A hand out with further resources will be available.

Please Note: This description is just a guide. It will help you find information for your program guide. No program is exactly the same; it is designed for your situation. Whether you choose a keynote, workshop, seminar, or breakout the length and format will be varied to suit your need. 

When your neighborhood and the globe changes:

Responding to the ever-changing context of your organization

This presentation is based on the following principle:

            Thriving organizations create healthy, changing relationships with the world outside the organization.

In this value-packed session you will learn practical ways to discover new ways of thriving as an individual and as an organization based on changes in the world around you. You will learn how to:

• Look for openings in the hedge, the hidden opportunities that are always present
• Treat borders between your organization and external organizations as points of creativity.
• Collaborate across and beyond your organization.
• Constantly look for opportunities in community, industry, technological, environmental, and thinking changes
• Reinvent yourself and your organization to take advantage of opportunities to produce the treasure in new ways based on changes in the ecosystem.

A hand out with further resources will be available.

Please Note: This description is just a guide. It will help you find information for your program guide. No program is exactly the same; it is designed for your situation. Whether you choose a keynote, workshop, seminar, or breakout the length and format will be varied to suit your needs.

Riding the waves: Using the rhythms of life to be highly productive.

This presentation is based on the following principle:

            To be productive, we ride the natural rhythms of life.

In this value-packed session you will learn how to manage your energy, not your time, to be highly productive. You will learn how to:

• Recognize your daily energy rhythms
• Adopt the work habits of professional athletes
• Develop positive energy rituals that balance stress and recovery
• Create organizational systems that balance stress and recovery

A hand out with further resources will be available.

Please Note: This description is just a guide. It will help you find information for your program guide. No program is exactly the same; it is designed for your situation. Whether you choose a keynote, workshop, seminar, or breakout the length and format will be varied to suit your needs.