MGR Consulting - International Association of Facilitators

Part 1. Organization Information:

MGR Consulting

Address (including country): P.O. Box 11,
Glencoe, IL 60022
USA

Company Email Address: grush@mgrconsulting.com

Telephone: +1 773 330 2064

Year Founded: 1985

Fax: +1 773 289 0756

Key Contact Person: Gary Rush, CPF

Affiliation (if part of a larger formal
organization or a local branch of a company):

Telephone:

Email:

Guiding principles/values of the organization:

Gary Rush, IAF CPF and IAF CPF Assessor, heads MGR Consulting. “We envision a collaborative society that respects individualism and embraces diversity.” Our mission: To share what we learn enhancing the lives of others. Our vision: We are the first choice for Facilitator | Facilitative Skills training around the world. Our values: We are dedicated to providing the highest quality in training, content, materials, and experience.

Training – Gary is amongst the most successful and influential Facilitator trainers in the world. As a facilitator trainer he teaches The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy and FoCuSeD On… To be a successful Facilitator, you learn by doing. In Gary’s class, students practice 40% of the class time and receive comprehensive assessments along with recorded workshops facilitated by the student.

Content – Gary believes that theory is needed and he teaches it to provide a background. He teaches specific “how to”; he provides detailed facilitation and process tools and, as an IAF CPF Assessor, he covers the IAF Facilitator Competencies and what students need to do to achieve them.

Materials – The FoCuSeD Facilitator Guide is a radical departure from previous work – a comprehensive reference manual in which Gary shares his step-by-step process so that students can replicate his practices. It consists of five books containing 24 chapters.

Experience – Gary has managed projects since 1980, been facilitating since 1983 and training since 1985. In 1985, Gary created FAST. In 2007, Gary created FoCuSeD - a revolution from FAST (see “It’s time to get FoCuSeD” – www.mgrconsulting.com). Gary has implemented his facilitation technique in some of the largest companies and government agencies. His clients are many of the Fortune 500 companies. His alumni are amongst the most successful and influential leaders; and the successful growth of facilitation in Northern Europe is directly related to his alumni. They often tell us how much Gary has changed their lives.

Comprehensive Tools – The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy – this 5-day highly interactive class teaches the “how to” with the understanding of the “why” to perform as an effective Facilitator. It is the most complete, most comprehensive, and most effective facilitation class available, providing detailed training on the concepts of Holistic Facilitation. It helps build your skills and confidence. It develops Collaborative Leaders. FoCuSeD seamlessly integrates the process of building products along with the process of group dynamics. FoCuSeD is an approach to information gathering where group workshops replace individual interviews. FoCuSeD fully integrates methodologies with communication and group dynamics to derive consensus-based information. With FoCuSeD, you get JAD, FAST, and more, bringing a Holistic approach to structured facilitation – the 1st Holistic Facilitation Technique.

Ability – Gary Rush, IAF CPF, Founder and President of MGR Consulting attended the U.S. Naval Academy. He is a recognized leader in the field of facilitation, Facilitator | Facilitative Skills training and continues to be the leading edge in the industry by continuing as a practicing Facilitator. Gary has written numerous “how to” books, including The FoCuSeD Facilitator Guide. He is Chair of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF).

MGR Consulting – We have been in business since February 1985 when Gary founded MG Rush Systems, Inc. Gary ceased operations of MG Rush Systems, Inc. in June 2004 to become a restaurateur. In June 2005, after a one-year absence, Gary returned reinstating his company MG Rush Systems, Inc. and renaming it MGR Consulting, Inc.

We are a recognized leader in the field of facilitation, training, leadership, strategic planning and data modeling. We facilitate many types of workshops. We are uniquely qualified to assist you in understanding, managing, and implementing Facilitated Workshops supporting your methodology in your organization. We are experts at engaging participants and guiding them to consensus. We improve business performance through effective application of exceptional facilitation processes.

Our core classes also provide effective “soft” skills – facilitative skills to Project Managers, Business Analysts and others who want to become successful collaborators and successfully improve communication to achieve commitment and support from stakeholders - so needed for business success.

We are a PMI Global Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) and an IIBA Endorsed Education Provider (E.E.P.).

Continued Growth – Gary updates MGR Consulting’s materials periodically and delivers The FoCuSeD Advanced Class incorporating new ideas, tools, and concepts in Facilitation. Our Core Classes confer Professional Development Units (PDUs) to attendees who are certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs) as well as Continuing Development Units (CDUs) to attendees who are members of IIBA pursuing their Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) certification.

Part 2. Course / Curriculum Information:

Facilitation Courses Offered: (1) The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy (2) FoCuSeD On... (3) The FoCuSeD Advanced Class (4) FoCuSeD Facilitating Teleconferences

Specialized Types Offered: (1) The FoCuSeD Leader (2) Strategic Planning and Organizational Design (3) Data Modeling Made Easy (4) Team Building Seminar (5) Collaborative Leadership for Young Leaders

Course Activities Focus:

% of Demonstration: 25

% of Theory: 20

% of Practice: 40

% of Feedback: 15

Are Course Agendas on the website?: yes

Are Learning Objectives on the website?: yes

Are the course fees on the website?: no

Course Levels Available: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Special Features: The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy provides the students with The FoCuSeD Facilitator Guide a radical departure from previous work – a comprehensive reference manual in which Gary shares his step-by-step process so that students can replicate his practices. It consists of 5 books containing 24 chapters. The FoCuSeD Facilitator Guide is updated periodically incorporating new ideas, tools, and concepts in facilitation. Our class confers Professional Development Units (PDUs) to attendees who are certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs) as well as Continuing Development Units (CDUs) to attendees who are members of IIBA pursuing their Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) certification.

Part 3. Course Accessibility:

Geographical Locations (list areas where courses are usually offered): The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy is available publicly in Chicago and on-site anywhere in the world. For our next available public class dates and additional information, see our website – www.mgrconsuting.com.

Delivery Mechanisms : Face-to-Face

Languages in Which Courses Taught: English

Public courses: yes

Private / in-house courses available: yes

Part 4. Trainer Qualifications and Credentials. Please list information for up to three trainers:

Trainer 1: Name: Gary Rush, CPF

CPF since: 2006

CPF Assessor: since 2007

IAF member since: 1995, IAF Chair-Elect in 2007, IAF Chair in 2008

Leadership roles in the field of facilitation: Gary Rush, CPF, is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) and has been a Facilitator since 1983. He has facilitated many types of issues and workshops involving a wide variety of numbers of participants. His primary job is to get a group of individuals to form as a team, learn to communicate, and achieve a goal or accomplish a task. Workshops and projects facilitated by Gary have increased productivity resulting in a 20% to 40% reduction in effort required to gather information. Gary successfully ties his extensive facilitating experience with his knowledge of: Project Management, Business Analysis, Data Modeling, Process Modeling, Methodologies, Product Ideation, Business Process Re-engineering, Strategic Planning, and other processes to deliver a complete solution that is developed by engaging the appropriate stakeholders to develop consensus based decisions.

Years of facilitation experience: over 25 – since 1983

Training experience/qualifications?(years/ firms or organizations etc.): Gary Rush, CPF has been training Facilitators since 1985 when he created FAST. In 2007, Gary created FoCuSeD, a revolution from FAST. It is the most complete, most comprehensive, and most effective facilitation class available, providing detailed training on the concepts of Holistic Facilitation. He teaches specific "how to"; he provides detailed facilitation and process tools and, as an IAF CPF Assessor, he covers the IAF Facilitator Competences and what students need to do to achieve them. He has written numerous "how to" books, including The FoCuSeD Facilitator Guide – a comprehensive reference manual in which he shares his step by step process so that students can replicate his practices. Gary has implemented his facilitation technique in some of the largest companies and government agencies. His clients are many of the Fortune 500 companies. His alumni are amongst the most successful and influential leaders; and the successful growth of facilitation in Northern Europe is directly related to his alumni.

Other relevant credentials: In 2006, the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) awarded Gary the IAF Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) designation. In 2007, he became an IAF CPF Assessor and in April 2008, he became Chair of the International Association of Facilitators.

Trainer 2: Name:

CPF since:

CPF Assessor: Not selected

IAF member since:

Leadership roles in the field of facilitation:

Years of facilitation experience:

Training experience/qualifications: (years/ firms or organizations etc.)

Other relevant credentials:

Trainer 3: Name:

CPF since:

CPF Assessor: Not selected

IAF member since:

Leadership roles in the field of facilitation:

Years of facilitation experience:

Training experience/qualifications (years/ firms or organizations etc.):

Other relevant credentials:

Part 5. Feedback Information:

Are participant references available?: yes

Describe the evaluation / curriculum review / continuous improvement process in place: Attendees critique the class at the end. Alumni keep in contact with Gary and share their experiences. The FoCuSeD Facilitator Academy and The FoCuSeD Facilitator Guide are updated periodically to incorporate new ideas tools and concepts in facilitation.