Transformative Process Design and Facilitation

Elevate strategy, innovation and collective decision-making with expertly-guided sessions and retreats

Our strategic and transformative process design and facilitation services foster collaborative experiences where organizations build shared understanding, clarify vision, tap collective intelligence, and unify collective leadership. Through open, generative dialogue among diverse stakeholders, we strengthen relationships, drive collaboration, and foster shared commitment to pathways forward.

Using proven methodologies, we help you engage diverse perspectives, navigate relational dynamics, and remove obstacles. ADAMS facilitation enables groups to develop common language and common cause, embrace different realities, and move beyond debate and negotiation to uncover new perspectives and new ways of working together.

  • Custom strategic visioning and planning retreats and working sessions from new, blue sky aspirations to updates to existing multi-year planning processes

  • Organizational purpose, vision, aligned strategies, objectives, goals and measures

  • Generate transformative scenarios, engage multiple stakeholders, and foster community dialogue

  • Identify and clarify perspectives, tensions, challenges, and opportunities

  • Craft compelling “why change” and “why now” messages that move stakeholders from status quo to action

  • Leverage appreciative, strengths-based and human-centered design inspired methodologies to expand insights and spark new actionable and sustainable innovations

  • Foster trust, learning, and re-imaging to shift perspectives and create new possibilities

  • Build collaborative relationships across stakeholders and networks

Capabilities and Experiences

Community Engagement for a 64-Acre Retail Development in Boulder, Colorado

A developer faced significant community opposition to redeveloping a 64-acre retail site in central Boulder, a progressive community deeply divided over commercial development. For more than a year, led the community engagement efforts, delivering over 100 presentations to various groups, hosting public collaborative design charrettes, and facilitating two-on-two meetings with municipal leaders. In addition, oversaw a local ballot issue campaign and coordinated media engagement to foster public support. Through this comprehensive approach, helped bridge the divide, build understanding, and engage multi stakeholders in meaningful dialogue that shaped the future of the development.

Strategic Visioning for Education Foundation in Leadership Transition

A public education foundation, facing leadership transition and crisis recovery, needed a new strategic vision and plan under its incoming executive director. Organized and facilitated a strategic planning retreat, involving four months of preparation that included working closely with the new Executive Director and staff, interviewing board members, and engaging key outside stakeholders. The retreat fostered open dialogue and committed decision-making, leading to the development of a multi-year strategic vision and integrated communications narratives and messaging. This process provided the foundation with a renewed sense of direction and unity, strengthening its ability to support public education.

10-Year Strategic Plan for Business College

The new dean of a university school of business sought to establish a new, long-term strategic vision that aligned faculty, administration, student needs and external stakeholders. Designed and led a collaborative process, focusing on building a shared purpose, mission, and vision for the school. Through a series of facilitated workshops, we brought together diverse perspectives to define strategic priorities and set clear objectives and measures. The resulting plan provided a strong, unified direction for the college, positioning it for growth, brand differentiation and innovation while engaging key internal and external stakeholders in the process.

Year-Long Transformation Planning for S&P 500 Company

In the wake of the 2009 financial crisis, a S&P 500 company needed to rebuild its business and organizational strategy to evolve and stay competitive. Co-led with the CSO and CHRO a year-long transformation planning initiative, guiding the executive and upper management team through a process to redefine the company’s purpose, vision, and values. This included facilitating the creation of a comprehensive strategic plan, objectives, and a refreshed brand narrative to activate internal and external stakeholders. The approach brought alignment across leadership and ensured that key stakeholders were engaged throughout. As a result, the company emerged with a clear direction, renewed focus, and a stronger foundation for navigating future opportunities and challenges.

Building the Wonder of Science Coalition

Spearheaded the creation of the Wonder of Science, a groundbreaking community partnership celebrating Boulder’s scientific achievements with four federal science centers (NCAR, NOAA, NIST, NREL), Space Science Institute and two University of Colorado research institutes (JILA, LASP). The coalition featured a series of outdoor interactive exhibits and public educational programs to showcase achievements and unique community contributions. Our efforts brought together diverse stakeholders to collaborate on public science learning, and the initiative gained significant attention, being featured in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. The project strengthened community engagement with science and elevated the profile of participating institutions.