Why Is This Topic is Important?

A strengths revolution is taking place and the indicators are:

1)       First, Appreciative Inquiry has emerged as a powerful approach for change and is increasingly being embraced by the OD community. It is based on focusing on strengths and not weaknesses.

2)       Second, Jim Collins in his book Good to Great (2001),  identifies one of the three essentials to go from good to great, “you are doing work for which you have a genetic or God-given talent.” Basically what you do best, or your strengths.

3)       And, third, Positive Psychology is emerging as a promising new way of looking at human beings based on, you guessed it, strengths not deficits.

As Paul has become increasingly aware of this strengths revolution, his mind is turning from “What’s going on?” to “How do I do something?” This is the question this workshop is designed to address. What are the practical aspects that surface when you want to focus on strengths? Where do you start? How do people react? What do people apply their strengths to in order to produce something of practical value?

Paul's strengths model is powerful and comprehensive. It allows people to rapidly tap into their 'positive core', opening pathways that accelerate personal development. Even better, Paul's energy and commitment to this process generated immediate and sustained motivation for me. Conscious knowledge of my strengths--in a form I can really apply--is a personal resource that will pay long-term dividends
Jay Cherney, Cherney Associates

Paul's strength session helped me surface my own resources to create images that I use as my personal support packet for every gig. I use the images to remember my strengths, how they work for me and how I can work from them with my clients. Paul is great at this!
Lonnie Weiss, Weiss Consulting

Paul's enthusiasm (his "command") along with his activator and his other qualities continues to be a foundational spark for all of us! Our group experience as been highly impactful. We've explored our strengths in such as way as to amplify our own expressing and enactment of them in the world. "Positive Image, Positive Action".... we continue to mine them in such a way as to foster the best in each of us"
Ilene Wasserman, ICW Consulting

Paul brings together the best coaching tools using positive approaches, graphic software and conversations in a way that I found extremely useful. In each activity and meeting I discover important connections with people and business opportunities.
Susan Wood, Corporation for Positive Change

Paul models everything he talks about with his clients. He applies his unique combination of strengths to helping people learn to live and work form their own strengths. He not only gives people insight; he helps with very practical things. It's a testament to his work that so many consultants have hired him. He is a consultant's consultant!"
Jane Weiss, Jane Weiss Associates

What You Will Get from the Workshop?

The focus of the day will be on three main areas:

1) What are your strengths? There are various ways to identify your strengths and you will learn about some of the more intriguing ones.

It is strongly recommended that you purchase a copy of Now, Discover Your Strengths (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001, Free Press), review the instructions on how to take the included web-based inventory (p. 76), then take it. You get the results immediately. Please bring them with you because you will get so much more out of the day.

2) How do your strengths work in combination? Knowing your strengths is one thing, understanding how they work in combination is quite another. You will learn what it means to map your strengths. There is nothing like a picture to make visible one’s patterns of behavior so you will learn what’s involved in creating a map of your “strengths territory.”  This is quite likely the most important step in generating useful insights about your past, present, and future.

3) What are ways you can apply this knowledge to enhance your work and life? Paul has worked with dozens of individuals and will share actual examples based on real-life issues upon which individuals have chosen to apply their new strengths knowledge.  Some of these include:

• How to generate new business for a consulting practice?

Results:  Designed strengths-based marketing and sales strategies.

• How to generate energy and enthusiasm based on a client situation that was not stimulating?

Results:  Assessed the situation based on the individual’s strengths and designed a strategy to boost energy and enthusiasm.

• How to address a difficult issue relating to corporate headquarters not recognizing a major business opportunity in a local branch office?

Results: Assessed the situation based on the strengths the individual was currently using and then identified a key strategy to incorporate more of his strengths to improve the situation.

• How to develop new products and services for a consulting practice?

  Results: Identified strengths-based products and services.
     

Who is Paul Hilt?

Paul is intensely passionate about this work. After a week-long Appreciative Inquiry workshop in July 2001, he became convinced that going from a “glass half empty” way of viewing life (his norm at the time) to a “glass half full” view was essential to his future. It was not clear to him how to do this, until he started working with his strengths. Then Paul started to work with others and it became clearer still. Now he has no doubt that building a career/business/life upon one’s strengths is the way to go if you want to see the world from a “glass half view” vantage point.

Paul has his own consulting and coaching practice, Hilt & Associates (“Making Invisible Knowledge Visible”). His purpose is to support personal and professional success through the discovery and application of the hidden assets in each individual – especially who one knows, what one knows, and, most importantly, what one does best.  He is a co-owner of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting and has been a member of PRODN (since about 1992).

Based on the Now, Discover Your Strengths profile, Paul’s five core strengths are Input, Learner, Command, Ideation, Activator. You will see these strengths visibly play out in action – both individually and in combination – during workshop.

Registration

PRODN Members

Non-Members

Prior to January 17,2003

$50.00

$70.00

January 17-January 24

$75.00

$95.00