Get to know the team: Katya!

Katya is Floricane's summer intern and on a quest to learn all she can from her colleagues and the world of strategic consulting and leadership development.  Besides adjusting to a vibrant new city and exploring unique nooks and crannies on her runs, you may find her stereotypically reading outside a coffee shop, conversing with strangers, and filling out Q&As.  Here's her latest:

Floricane Q&A

 Do you want to rock 'n roll all night or party everyday? Rock 'n roll all night long, replete with ear-blasting live tunes and warm camaraderie.

 Which President would you most like to have a drink with, past or present? I’d love to ask President Obama how he balances all his various roles—father, husband, one of the world’s leaders—and how he maintains his sanity in doing so. After all, presidents are ordinary people like us with extraordinary job titles.

 If you were not doing this job you’re doing now, what job would you be working? Traversing the world collecting individuals’ stories.

 Pie or Cake or Neither? Oh man, so many marvelous merits to both! How can one choose between the ample pie filling or the decadent cake frosting? Compromise: ice cream cake.

 Do you have a favorite Sharpie color? Periwinkle, or mint green.

 Your favorite place for dinner? As I haven’t been here too long, I’ve not had the chance to explore too many dinner options. Kuba Kuba and Ipanema are notable—both because they’re two of the few places I’ve been, and more importantly because of the company.

 What do you most value in your friends? Their supportive ability to laugh along with or at my terrible puns. 

 What is your idea of happiness? To me, it all lies in experiences and in people—for example: that swelling, radiant feeling when belting out lyrics in the front row of your favorite band’s concert, or staying up until ungodly hours of the morning simply conversing with another human knowing full-well the repercussions of an early wake-up alarm. Happiness is that—an amalgamation of teeny moments that put a smile on one’s face upon waking and falling asleep.

 Who are your favorite writers? Kurt Vonnegut’s my main man, and thus Chuck Palahniuk by proxy. Lately, I’ve been on a David Sedaris kick!

What is your go-to book, relative to the work you do with Floricane, and why? The Art of Possibility by Ben and Rosamund Zander. It so simply and elegantly proposes an optimist’s guide to leading through other people, and trying to act in a manner that makes “others’ eyes shine.” Truly uplifting amidst the difficulties of tackling work issues.

What are three things you love about Richmond? Off the bat, the friendliness of individuals—it’s like getting a warm embrace from a stranger with a simple smile or hello. The river, and all the running trails associated with it. The irreplicable vibe teeming with diversity: people, food, attitudes, landscapes.

And lastly, what are the things that excite you most about Floricane, its clients and the community in 2015? From what I’ve gathered, Floricane attracts and keeps its clients in part due to the individualized service and attention it provides. There is perpetual learning and growth from all angles, and that is indispensable in helping a company to flourish. 

Get to know the team: Julie!

Julie is the newest addition to the Floricane team. As the Experience Coordinator, she manages events and workshops, keeps the team on track, and makes sure that every client's experience is excellent. She loves Q and As, and hates writing in the third person. Read on for all the essential information you could ever want!

Floricane Q&A

1. Do you want to rock n’ roll all night or party everyday?  Just shy of 3 years post-grad, I’ve transitioned from rock and roll all night to party everyday. Unless it's the weekend.

2. Which President would you most like to have a drink with, past or present?  Thomas Jefferson.  I’m reading a biography of him right now, and I’d love to ask him straight up about some of his contradictory views and actions.  Plus, I’ve always felt we had a connection because we share a favorite vegetable in peas.

3. If you were not doing this job you’re doing now, what job would you be working? I would probably still be guarding precious works of art at the VMFA. If I had a choice outside the constraints of reality? Managing a gallery or teaching. Even better, I’d have no job and I’d be taking a cross country national parks adventure.

4. Pie or Cake or Neither? PIE. ALWAYS PIE. I don’t cake about your feelings for Shyndigz.

5. Do you have a favorite Sharpie color?  The minty one. I’m a 20-something female, what do you expect?

6. Your favorite place for dinner? Kuba Kuba. I have never had a less than perfect experience there. It holds a special place in my heart as the first real Richmond restaurant I went to after moving here for college.

7. What do you most value in your friends? People who love me as close to unconditionally as possible, but can call me out and get past my stubbornness when they do. People who don’t take themselves too seriously. Showing up.

8. What is your idea of happiness? Driving down winding roads through the Shenandoah Valley in late summer with the music blaring and the sun filtering in through my windows. Going totally crazy singing cheesy pop songs with high schools kids. Sitting around a bonfire with my best friends on a chilly night. Listening to my grandparents talk after a good meal.

9. Who are your favorite writers? I should really have a more concrete answer to this as an English degree holder. Lately I’ve been loving Wendell Berry. I honestly can’t pick an all time favorite.

10. Excluding your work a Floricane, who was your best boss, and why? Emily Smith and Jolene Giandomenico at 1708 gallery, and not just because they helped me land this job. They both gave me ownership over projects and trusted me. They gave me the confidence I lacked as a baby intern. They were also just really fun to work with, especially when we had giant inflatable fish floating around the gallery.

11. What are three things you love about Richmond? Oh man, only three things? I adore Richmond. There is always a new place to eat or a great band to see. I love that I can walk or ride my bike to the river in less than 15 minutes. My favorite thing, beyond food and music and the river, is the energy and authenticity here.  Lately that has led to a hard, genuine push to grow and progress from our past identities. Richmond is always trying to be better, without losing what already makes it great.

12. If we looked at your Facebook page, what might surprise us?  I have about 5000 pictures of summer camp. I volunteer as a Young Life leader, which means most of my Facebook photos are of me being ridiculous with high school kids at our yearly camping trips.

13. What’s next for you? Growing into my roll here at Floricane, and learning all I can. Where that will take me, I don’t know! But isn’t that half the fun?

14. And lastly, what are the things that excite you most about Floricane, its clients and the community in 2016? We get to call some of the brightest, most talented people our friends, and I’m excited to continue to meet them all. I’m excited to find news ways to partner with our community through events and workshops. Oh, and I’m pretty giddy about our event at Quirk Hotel this Fall! 

Get to know the team: Lesley!

With the addition of two new team members, we thought it was high time to bring back the Floricane Q&A! Starting off strong is our newest consultant Lesley Bruno. She's already written a number of killer blog posts, so we thought we'd throw a different style of self-introspection at her and see how she fared. Read on!

Floricane Q&A

1. Do you want to rock n’ roll all night or party everyday? Both. 

2. Which President would you most like to have a drink with, past or present? John Adams, so I could hang with Abigail mostly. 

3. If you were not doing this job you’re doing now, what job would you be working? I don't know how to answer this question. Ship's Captain?

4. Pie or Cake or Neither? Cake all day. 

5. Do you have a favorite Sharpie color? I do love that fuchsia color. 

6. Your favorite place for dinner? Mama Zu. Not very original, but it's just so damn good. 

7. What do you most value in your friends? Showing up, listening and lots of inside jokes. 

8. What is your idea of happiness? Harmony. A clean house. Beautiful surroundings. Music. Friends. Family. A happy, healthy child. 

9. Who are your favorite writers? So many to name, but for me it always comes back to David Foster Wallace essays.

10. Excluding your work a Floricane, who was your best boss, and why? Sarah at George Washington University. She valued my opinion, challenged and added to my skills, treated me with respect, and honored what was probably an annoyingly overactive social life of an engaged 20-something. 

11. What is your go-to book, relative to the work you do with Floricane, and why? So far, Flawless Consulting by Peter Block

12. What are three things you love about Richmond? I can live in a city and not pay a zillion dollars to do it. The view of the river from just about anywhere, but particularly from the Manchester Bridge. Its inherent creativity. Not the recently resurfaced, branded buzzword kind but the real VCU-centered scene from back in the day. It's still around, we just talk about it a lot more. The first rule about creativity is....

13. What’s next for you? God knows. 

14. And lastly, what are the things that excite you most about Floricane, its clients and the community in 2015?  The diversity of our current and prospective clients. The Quirk party! Amtrak!

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Sweetest of Times

Like bees to honey, or rather to a flowering blackberry bush—as per Floricane’s brand—three sets of hands swarmed around the glorious Sugar Shack box. Upon feasting my eyes, and later my whole being, on a complex maple-bacon creation, I knew I’d come to work at the right place.

Thus began my sweet internship at Floricane, coinciding with post-graduate life as a Richmond transplant. As week two now comes to a close, I feel like I’ve grown, changed, learned—all the clichéd things one is supposed to say about a new city and job, but it’s all with indubitable verity.

During the first week, I began familiarizing myself with the company brand by updating old documents and then curating others, getting a sense of our clients (color me impressed by the variety!), and understanding my fit at Floricane, both professionally and as depicted by the InsightsTM Team Wheel. Day four I found myself speeding down I-95 towards Petersburg with John and Lesley to sit in on a client meeting with FOLAR, and then back to the local conference room (replete with the traditional Post-Its and Sharpies strewn about the table, of course) to brainstorm and reconvene with CodeVA. My head was reeling! I never fathomed how much it takes to build robust client relationships, persist through challenging conversations, and foster meaningful change. And that’s what Floricane is all about. Lessons learned.

Week two’s highlight featured the first in a series of the Summer of Self-Discovery workshops hosted by Floricane in partnership with The Chrysalis Institute. Akin to the mental imagery exercise we performed, picture in your own mind around 40 individuals from all walks of life taking a break from their hectic schedules to learn how to slow down, be mindful, and, of course, enjoy delectable summer treats. Dimmed lights, relaxed bodies meditating on the floor and twisting in simple yoga poses, and tuning into really living fully through all five senses—the workshop was a success and left me excited to help with and participate in the ones down the road.

Reflecting on my time here thus far, I feel so fortunate to be part of a dynamic team comprised of colorful personalities and distinct working styles. At a team lunch the other day, John asked me what words I would use to describe Floricane based on what I’d observed so far. Immediately, “vibrant” flooded my brain—from the orange, red, lime green walls, to the upbeat soundtrack rocking everyone’s energy up, to the endless coffee, both smooth and aromatic, to the velvety wooden table where ideas are born and donuts are shared (did I cover all five senses?)—vibrancy is definitely a foundational theme. And throughout my span of my internship, I am sure as sugar this trend will live on.

Speaking of consistencies, later that inaugural day two weeks ago, there happened to be a Gelati Celesti truck parked right outside the building. Another Richmond favorite! Such serendipity! As you may have gathered by now, there was no question that I had to wrap up the day on a honeyed note. The flavor? You guessed it. Maple bacon. 

The Academy of random surprises

When the email arrived a few months ago, we almost ignored it. We had been recommended to a national organization to facilitate their strategic planning process, but it took us several email exchanges (and a bit of work on Google) to find out who the organization was. (And who referred us, and why!)

As with most of our out-of-left-field inquiries, this one has turned into a center field client.

We start our strategic planning work with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys – also known as The Academy, or Quad A – with a two day trip to Washington for a bit of project planning later in July. But the real work will come later in the summer as we move into our “discovery phase” of work and spend time talking to staff and attorney members of the Academy. We hope to cap off that phase of work by flying a large handful of Academy staff, board and other key stakeholders to Richmond for a strategic session – after the UCI bike races pedal out of town in September.

Having worked with attorney groups before once or twice, we’ve steeled ourselves for battles over punctuation, and maybe an over-the-top performance on my part. (“You’re the Bill of Rights organization! Your brand is the defenders of the Fifth Amendment!” I recall shouting at one meeting with a legal organization…)

Mostly, however, we’re excited to work with another organization interested in hammering out the most effective approach to serving its members – and the thousands of families seeking support as they seek to grow.

Getting lift with the Byrd

We recently finished a strategic planning process for the Byrd Theatre Foundation, and the entire journey was full of new learning and surprises.

I had no idea, for instance, that the Foundation does not actually operate the theater. Or why single screen theaters are so challenging to operate. Or who around the country operates them well.

And I certainly did not know, early on, how willing and ready the Foundation board would be to seize some significant strategic opportunities – and position the Byrd Theatre for greater success. (And, yes, better seats.)

A few weeks ago, the board met with me, and with Alan Hutson of the Monument Group, a fund development consulting business.

My job was to help the board focus in on a very ambitious set of short-term objectives – including some serious heavy lifting on the change front. Alan's work is to help the foundation look at their fundraising model, and built a sustainable focus in this area.

As Floricane’s work began to wind down, the work Alan and his team will do was just picking up steam.

What was most exciting was that the board does have the appetite for change. Lots of change.

You’ve probably read about that appetite in Style Weekly recently. For me, it’s evidence of an organization ready to get busy.

It’s going to be fun in the months ahead to watch the Byrd take flight.

Talking shop with Capital One

What’s in my wallet? Not what you think.

Earlier in the spring, I sat down with a few folks from Capital One. They are part of a team focused on developing new products for small businesses. They wanted to hear my story.

We spent far too much time trudging through the emotional minefield that is my small business narrative – or, how I learned to stop worrying and love cash flow.

I was surprised when they reached back out this summer to see if they could pick my brain some more. Our conversation this go around was largely focused on the types of help I would have valued way back when I started Floricane – if I knew then what I know now.

The list was pretty simple, though it took us a while to unpack it. A couple of items that surfaced for me included:

• Business tools that grew with my business, and business coaching/advice that helped me maximize those tools. An example I gave was a simple budget in Excel that could evolve into a cash flow forecast that could transform over time into a project capacity worksheet. As my business became more complex, it was hard for me to know what tools I needed – much less learn to use them well. Providing business tools that matched the maturity level of my business would be useful.

• A bank that was a partner on the journey. A bank that would provide reasonable access to financing, but not too much. A bank that would hold me accountable, but keep the reins loose. In other words, extend enough credit to be helpful, and give me more latitude on repayment. Help me be smarter than I would be on my own.

I talked about the difference between personal credit and business credit – American Express wouldn’t touch my personal credit with a Taser, but was eager to sign Floricane up for a Platinum Card. But Amex also provides me with some business tools and resources I’ve been able to leverage, and has helped me manage my debt more wisely than I might on my own.

A lot of our discussion was around the tipping point – that moment when a small business stabilizes, moves out of the start-up phase, and starts to consider (and have the capacity for) growth. It’s interesting to think about Floricane as stable, but seven years into this entrepreneur thing and it seems to be making sense.

It’s also interesting to have conversations around ways in which a data-rich organization like Capital One might develop a set of business tools and analysis that most large financial organizations would envy. And that would make smaller businesses like Floricane sit up and take notice.

It’s been interesting to be part of a conversation about ways a very large bank can be useful to a very small business.

Maybe it’s time to reconsider what’s in my wallet.

ACE and the integration of work

If the stars are aligned, by the time you read this our team will be on a train headed for Washington, DC. Or if you took too long, on our way home again!

The story of our latest client engagement is one that helped us see our value as consultants more clearly. That's never a bad thing.

I had a phone call about a month ago that helped solidify something we’ve known for a long time at Floricane. Our best work is at the intersection of our core practice areas – strategic planning, leadership development and organizational change.

The call since evolved into our first major, out-of-Richmond client – the American Council on Education’s leadership division.

It was clear when Nicole Woods, vice president and chief of staff at ACE, first called that she was looking for integrated consulting. ACE’s Leadership Programs team provides a broad range of leadership and professional development opportunities for college and university executives across the country. New competitors, a changing landscape in higher education, and the arrival of a new leader for the Leadership Programs’ group have set the stage for a conversation that is part strategy, part leadership, part culture.

As we wound down our call, I asked Nicole how she found Floricane.

“I Googled you,” she said. She went on to explain that when she did a Google search for firms that integrated strategic planning with organizational change, Floricane surfaced fairly quickly. A review of our website, and subsequent conversations with members of our team, did the rest.

Our new client reminded us that what sets Floricane apart from much of our competition is the integrated approach we bring. It also reminds us that strategic planning is culture change, that organizational change is strategic, and that all change requires new approaches to leadership.