Get to Know the Team: Kathy!

Kathy is the newest addition to the Floricane team. Last week we shared what she will focus on as our Insights Community Specialist, and we promised to share her own gossip about her first two weeks at Floricane. Read on to learn more about Kathy!

Hi, Kathy here! I’m excited to tell you more about myself. I moved to Richmond from NYC almost exactly 5 years ago, right after graduating from law school. I moved for a dream job working at the ACLU of Virginia, directing the organization’s women’s rights and reproductive freedom programs. In past lives I’ve been a teacher, lobbyist, community organizer, project manager, policy analyst, and communications specialist, to name a few. In some ways working at Floricane is a big transition, but actually the organizational development field feels like coming home because I can incorporate a number of my passions, namely facilitating, connecting and developing people, and building community. I thrive on building new programs and new networks from the ground up, and helping people develop skills and achieve their dreams. The past two weeks I’ve observed and absorbed, skilling up to facilitate workshops and beginning to brainstorm what an "alumni program" might look like for those who have engaged Floricane’s Insights offerings.

Floricane Q&A

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

Both. I want no sleep ‘til Brooklyn!

2. Which President would you most like to have a drink with, past or present?

I’d like to be first in line to have a drink with whoever becomes our first female President one day.

3. If you were not doing this job you’re doing now, what job would you be working?

This is hard if I’m constrained by reality, so I’ll say be Ina Garten and/or dominating a cross-continent karaoke awards show circuit. To be clear, in real life I can neither cook nor sing.

4. Pie or Cake or Neither?

Pie! Strawberry Rhubarb, to be precise.

5. Do you have a favorite Sharpie color?

Mint color sharpie, always and forever.

6. Your favorite place for dinner?

In an ideal world, I would never cook (see above). Seriously, I have a Chinese food delivery restaurant programmed in my phone’s favorites. The rapidly growing Richmond dining scene is awesome, so it’s nearly impossible to choose a favorite place for dinner. Some new faves are Belle and James, Maple and Pine, and Pizza Tonight.

7. What do you most value in your friends?

 Sense of humor; boundless love; and a slight cynical streak that speaks to my New Englander nature.

8. What is your idea of happiness?

Jet-setting to exotic locales (with an itinerary I laboriously put together in a detailed, color coded Google Doc).

9. Who are your favorite writers?

Oof, this is hard. Joyce Carol Oates, Joan Didion, John Irving, Alice Munro, and Barbara Kingsolver. I most recently finished Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng and openly cried throughout the ending, on a crowded train.

10. Excluding your work at Floricane, who was your best boss, and why?

A personable supervisor and professor in law school who trusted me to learn by doing, which ensured I had a sense of ownership over my projects.

11. What are three things you love about Richmond?  

The growing food scene. All of Church Hill. Wineries and breweries everywhere.

12. If we looked at your Facebook page, what might surprise us?

That one woman can post so many kitten pictures/videos and not actually have a cat.

13. And lastly, what are the things that excite you most about Floricane, its clients and the community as we approach 2016?

I’m excited to ask a million questions and listen to what our clients have enjoyed most about, and would like more from, our Insights offerings. I’m inspired by bringing together diverse clients in a way that creates a family who learns, creates, and problem-solves together.

Letter from John (December 2015 Newsletter)

Last month, I talked pretty bluntly about burning the candle at both ends, and the consequences of running too hard. But I don't just run. I also spend time rebuilding the candle.

As Floricane welcomes a new consultant to our ranks (see below), it feels like a good time to talk about the importance of quality candle making at work.

In our Manager Development Program, Debra and I refer frequently to the work of the Hay Group. Specifically, we talk about their research that shows the strong causal relationship between leadership, team climate and team performance(orresults).

Think about climate -- which encompasses elements like clarity, commitment, flexibility and rewards -- as the candle. When it burns too fast, people run out of steam. When the candle is poorly formed, the flame flickers. Well- constructed candles create strong, steady light.

At Floricane, our team looks to our periodic "work on the work weeks" as important candle making opportunities -- time together to build clarity and important candle making opportunities -- time together to build clarity and alignment, strengthen our relationships, put processes and systems in place, train and grow.

We value these planning periods as deliberate, concentrated time together without client interruptions to focus on our own business, to strengthen our candles.

This fall we modified our approach to #WotWW. Our team met for three days last week before the Thanksgiving break. We'll regroup just before New Year's Eve for three more days of planning time. That makes for 12 days of #WotWW time in 2015.

I recently did some napkin math on Floricane's assorted holidays, vacations, #WotWW, team meetings and professional development days. Over the course of the year, we spend 25% of our time off-line -- either recharging on a personal level, or planning and growing together as professionals. We're not engaged in client work for almost 60 of the 260 weekdays in a year.

The math can be staggering. For our five full-time employees, that's 300 non- billable days of work each year.

Of course, there's another way to look at it.

For the 1,000 days a year that the five of us are working directly with people, teams, and organizations focused on growth and change, we're more likely to be rested, engaged and fully charged. Our candles are more likely to burn strong.

Last week, four of us met for an abbreviated #WotWW to build on a deliberate reconstruction of our business that started in July. It looked something like this:

• We agreed to dedicate a portion of our time in 2016 to building a stronger consulting practice, where all of us would be aligned around our philosophy of work and passion for community; develop or strengthen our consulting skills; and deepen our passion for working with individuals and organizations at the intersection of growth and change.
• We mapped out business development, pricing and budgets for 2016. (Dull, a bit painful, but ultimately important work!)
• We finalized our calendar of events and workshops for the upcoming year, and discussed the distinctive purpose and feel of each event.
• We dove deeper into our new Client Engagement Map, and identified key activities and processes that will strengthen the experience our clients have with Floricane -- and build on our core values of Relationships, Authenticity, Challenging and Fun.

A couple of years ago, I thought that we'd have to tighten up on hours as the business grew. It's been reassuring to see, instead, a doubling down on the importance of planning, recharging and growing together as a team. As we move into winter, I can think of no better metaphor to embrace than that of brightly burning candles. Cheers! 

We Have A New Teammate!

We welcomed our newest employee to the team this week, and promptly overwhelmed her with a 60-day orientation schedule. Kathy Greenier is Floricane's fifth client-facing consultant, and her focus is on the development of an Insights® Discovery community. What does that mean? (Funny. She had the same question. We expect her to tell us somewhere between Day 28 and Day 61.)

In a nutshell, Kathy will skill up around Insights with an eye toward facilitating more of our public and client-focused workshops; work with our team to develop a stronger marketing approach for Insights; and help us create an "alumni program" for some of the 2,000-plus people who have received an Insights personal profile from Floricane since 2009.

She comes to us by way of the ACLU of Virginia, where she was most recently Director of the Reproductive Freedom Project. She was previously director of the Street Law Program and Civil Liberties Union at New York Law School, where she received her J.D. She lives in Church Hill, and has a full suite of mint and gold hued office accessories! We'll share more gossip as it surfaces -- and keep your eyes peeled for Kathy's own gossip about her first week at Floricane on our blog later this month. In the meantime, welcome her to the team! 

So Long, Farewell, Adieu Adieu Adieu!

Ephemerality is on my mind. With the turning of the leaves, I, too, am embarking on a new chapter—but not before finishing writing this one.

My time as Floricane’s intern is rapidly drawing to a close—much to my dismay—since it means I am leaving the people I’ve come to call my friends, this vibrant city, and of course the terrific atmosphere of my professional home. These past seven weeks have been filled with tremendous learning and lots of hard work, and I’d like to share that with you, in the form of the oft-disputed “listicle,” as suggested by John.

Top Ten Things I Learned Working at Floricane (in no particular order)

Or, My Little Nuggets of Wisdom I Picked Up Along the Way

1.      Insights is a really big deal around here! What color are you? How do you fit in with your team dynamic? “Oh Theran, you’re such a blue!” We as a team really did live up to our colors, I think, and it was exciting to learn why.

2.      On that note, I had to keep reminding myself to not pigeonhole myself or others into their Insights color descriptions, since humans are so much more than a singular color energy, or a four-letter combination, as in the Myers-Briggs test.

3.      A lot of client work requires the simple act of listening. Before that, it means asking the right questions. How applicable this is to our own daily relationships and interactions!

4.      Subsequently, most everything that a group wants or needs, is already there within the individual members. While sitting in on and observing client meetings, I noticed that John’s or Theran’s facilitation entailed eliciting solutions that may have been lying dormant or unnoticed in the corners of the clients’ own minds. Even reframing the problem and angling it differently could help to think about it in a better, more innovative way. Obviously, it’s not that simple (at all, sometimes!), but perspective matters.

5.      Floricane’s music tastes vary widely, and fluctuate wildly. One day it may be Julie’s indie-alternative mix, another—some of John’s punk anthems, or even Lesley and Sam’s favorites from twenty years ago. Musical education: augmented.

6.      Printers are evil and temperamental. I know they’re not sentient creatures, but after hours upon hours of troubleshooting, reading forums, restarting, asking Sam for help, and general despair, no dice. Mind you, this is after the first few weeks of working flawlessly. I’m on to you, printer elves.

7.      Workshops, like the Summer of Self Discovery Mindfulness series or the $10 Toolkits, are a phenomenal way to bring disparate members of the larger community together and make them a cohesive family, if only for an hour or two. While the presented topic is beneficial and stimulates neural activity, we can often learn just as much from each other’s thoughts and experiences in the space enabled by the workshop facilitators.

8.      There’s always money in the banana stand. Wait no, I meant candy in the candy drawer. Yup, chocolate is indisputably the best pick-me-up.

9.      Literature on leadership and organizational change is really interesting, for lack of a better word! While I’ve yet to delve into scientific or empirical articles, some other favorites include The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Ben Zander, and Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute. While this material helps to clarify my personal career goals, these books are applicable to anyone in any field!

10.  If you’ve ever met John, you’d be inclined to say he’s vibrant, expressive, engaging, and gregarious. Imagine my shock when he revealed that he used to be, and still is, a huge introvert. Whaaat?! Lessons to learn here: when given a task that forces you outside—opposite—your comfort zone, view it as a challenge and dive in with fervor. Fake it till you make it. Change is possible, oftentimes leading to wonderful results.

Well, it’s been one hell of a ride: fulfilling, magical, life-altering, truly. As I always say, peace out, Girl Scout; see you later, alligator; and in a while, crocodile. Richmond, I’ll be back for you!

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.