Workshops
Warning: This schedule for 2012 is in process.
Friday, June 15, 2012 - 10:30am
An exciting and energizing aspect of CCMA is the opportunity for directors from around the country to share ideas informally with each other. Every encounter seems to result in new ideas and solutions. Yet, no organizations of board members currently exist to encourage this productive dialogue.
To create opportunities for board networking and education, and also to explore areas where our coops could work together, the Minnesota Food Coop Boards group, a statewide organization open to all board members of coops, startups, and buying clubs, was established. This workshop will discuss the benefits of starting your own local, state, or regonal board organization, and recount the history and process behind the formation of the MFCB.
Join this workshop to continue the conversation with keynote speaker Michael Sansolo. This workshop will allow for a candid and broad audience discussion. Participants will learn more about how the major changes taking place in the retail food industry and how changes in eating, competition and more will impact the co-op industry for years to come.
Food deserts are a serious concern for "We the People" of both pastoral and urban locations. Some communities have addressed the scourge of hunger and poor nutrition through “cooperatives” and “buying clubs.”
This workshop will take on the promise and challenges of using mutual models in the endeavor to restore abundance and prosperity for all who live in these thirteen united sovereign states and the western territories. Resources specific to using the mutual-ownership methods popularized by Benjamin Franklin for the pursuit of the bounty of providence will be delivered.
Research shows that 90% of workers spend 90% of their time as followers and determine 90% of organizational outcomes (Kelley, 2003). In this session, led by Dr. Frances Johnston, participants will learn the importance and key components of good followership. Participants will also be grounded in the basics of Emotional Intelligence and the role it plays in formal and informal power, communication, and collaboration. Dr. Johnston will also talk about what good followership requires of leaders and how good leadership and followership are particularly important in cooperative organizations.
Terry brings 25 years of experience in natural foods retailing to this conversation. He will focus on a brief history of his introduction to the industry at Seven Stars Farm Store and the cooperative formed to manage the 400 acre Biodynamic Farm, yogurt processing, and store. He will also talk about the importance of mission, commitment to sustainable agriculture, and to cooperating in the building of vibrant local economies where co-ops and independents work together for the building of community. Come and enjoy an informal conversation with a successful Pennsylvania grocery retailer.
One obstacle to effective governance can be a lack of a shared understanding of a cooperative and the world affecting it. Are we large or small? Are we financially healthy or struggling? How is competition affecting us? With a common understanding of the fundamental characteristics of their cooperative, board members can efficiently and constructively identify and analyze issues in the board room. This interactive workshop will use structured dialogue and role playing to share strategies and resources for board members seeking to develop organizational self-awareness within their cooperative and thereby increase the effectiveness of their board.
Join this workshop to continue the conversation with keynote speaker Michael Sansolo. This workshop will allow for a candid and broad audience discussion. Participants will learn more about how the major changes taking place in the retail food industry and how changes in eating, competition and more will impact the co-op industry for years to come.
Want to double your membership, build broader community support, garner stellar press coverage and save time for yourself, friends and family (remember them?)? Hire an outreach coordinator, of course! It can be scary to think about hiring staff before you storefront is even open. But with clear expectations and shared responsibility, an outreach coordinator can quickly and easily pay for herself, and advance your co-op towards store opening. Suzi will walk you through the benefits of and best practices for hiring an outreach coordinator. In addition, she’ll discuss what not to expect from part-time staff and other lessons learned during her time with recent start up, Friendly City Food Co-op.
Friday, June 15, 2012 - 3:30pm
The United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives, highlighting the contribution of co-ops to food security, economic development, and employment around the world. Despite this recognition, co-ops do not always understand the contribution of other co-op sectors and industries to more resilient, democratic and sustainable local economies. What are some of the obstacles and opportunities for collaboration? Join our panel as we explore the impact of co-ops across our food system - including farmer co-ops, food co-ops, worker co-ops and credit unions - and the potential of the co-operative economy.
(Panelists will include representatives from the Neighboring Food Co-op Association, Organic Valley, Equal Exchange and a credit union.)
New Technologies in Retail will focus on the changing demands of customers and the new tools available to retailers to fulfill those demands.
In Philadelphia, as in other postindustrial cities in the United States, the empty lots left by the reduction of population and industry provide an opportunity to build urban farms as part of co-operative development. This workshop will provide a look at how Weavers Way Co-op has worked in a collaborative with the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) and their City Harvest program, Awbury Arboretum, the Saul School for Agriculture, and other non-profits. Today Weavers Way has just over five acres of farm land under production.
POWER. That is not a word that gets much love in the co-op world and certainly not the idea of having power "over." Can't we just have power "with" one another? While we may want our co-op community (staff, board, management, owners etc.) to function this way, we often find our people reverting to command and control, turf protection, coalition building and political gaming symptomatic of power "over" organizations. Why? Power “with” approaches beg for a new set of knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to work. This interactive workshop will contrast the two approaches and specifically focus on the leadership work needed to make your co-op community one of cooperative empowerment. Managers and board leaders will want to attend!
POWER. That is not a word that gets much love in the co-op world and certainly not the idea of having power "over." Can't we just have power "with" one another? While we may want our co-op community (staff, board, management, owners etc.) to function this way, we often find our people reverting to command and control, turf protection, coalition building and political gaming symptomatic of power "over" organizations. Why? Power “with” approaches beg for a new set of knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to work. This interactive workshop will contrast the two approaches and specifically focus on the leadership work needed to make your co-op community one of cooperative empowerment. Managers and board leaders will want to attend!
Come prepared to share your story (if you can) and together we'll identify what makes a renegade go rogue, what we share in common, what we can do to reduce the chances of a renegade, and what works (and doesn't!) when renegades go rogue.
Board member(s), organizers, and staff of (TBD) will discuss their path to opening. Find out what worked, where they found help, and how they kept the dream alive. We will go over the entire timeline and see how organizers' roles changed and the community support came together.
Saturday, June 16, 2012 - 11:00am
Every community needs certain goods and services to be vibrant and inviting, food is one of those “anchor needs” along with housing, financial services, retail stores such as hardware, a coffee shop and other locally owned businesses. Do people know that all of these goods and services can be provided through cooperatives? In many cases these stores might be a co-op or are members of a cooperative and are already in your community, but it is not easily known to most people.
This session will explore how you can go about finding the cooperatives that already exist in your community and how you can begin the process of organizing them for mutual business, legislative and social reasons.
Marion Nestle will discuss and answer questions about the politics of food relative to the interests of Cooperative organizations.
This workshop is a forum where co-ops can share their experience & ideas for ways we can all think outside the box to support local & sustainable food systems in our own regions. Many co-ops are looking for ways to reach beyond the traditional vendor/customer relationship with local farmers and producers to take a more holistic approach in support of a healthy food system. Please come and share your experience and ideas!
In this Conflict Management session led by Suzanne Rotondo, participants will be introduced to various conflict styles and gain insight into identifying their own preferred responses to conflict. Participants will also be grounded in the basics of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and guided in how to use two EI competencies, self-awareness and self-management, to become more aware of their default conflict responses. Suzanne will also share how to self-manage around those default responses in order to move more seamlessly toward group and organizational goals and build stronger working relationships with colleagues.
Can boards REALLY make a difference? Are they simply a vulnerability like that famous Greek heel? Or do they have the potential to ring out liberty and help provide the strategic leadership co-ops will need to thrive in the coming century? If the latter, how can it happen? We will tackle these challenging and vital questions together. Through presentation of examples, data and interactive discussions, participants will walk out with a clearer sense of the answers and specific steps to take moving forward. Cooperative leaders, both board and management, will not want to miss this one!
In this Conflict Management session led by Suzanne Rotondo, participants will be introduced to various conflict styles and gain insight into identifying their own preferred responses to conflict. Participants will also be grounded in the basics of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and guided in how to use two EI competencies, self-awareness and self-management, to become more aware of their default conflict responses. Suzanne will also share how to self-manage around those default responses in order to move more seamlessly toward group and organizational goals and build stronger working relationships with colleagues.
Thirty New England food co-ops are collaborating to make wholesome, nutritious food more accessible to all community members. We’ll explore the barriers to healthy food access and the capacity of food co-ops to address these barriers and increase access to healthy food for individuals/families with limited food budgets. Come learn about the “Food Co-ops and Healthy Food Access” project, its goals and challenges, and specific stories of programs that co-ops have created to make their food more accessible. If your co-op has been working to increase healthy food access for underserved communities, please bring your co-op's stories to share.
Saturday, June 16, 2012 - 1:45pm
Consumers and farmers in the same co-op? Employees and producers working together? Who ever heard of such a thing? We have, they are called multi-stakeholder or “solidarity” co-ops and they are the fastest growing kind of cooperative in Quebec and gaining favor worldwide. In the U.S., many of the best examples of cooperatives combining multiple stakeholder groups are in the sustainable foods sector. This session is a reprise of a very popular workshop from last year - -come and hear what’s new!
ENDS, Vision, Mission, Strategic Planning, Market Studies, Grocery Trends, Local Economy...our boards want us to save the world while running successful grocery operations. How do we put it all together?! We'll spend time discussing how to create operational plans that move us in the right direction with a focus on metrics to assess our performance, while not biting off more than we can chew!
Presentation of the challenges, benefits and sustainability of member labor required coops with a focus on Chester's Community Grocery Co-op and the Park Slope Food Coop. The workshop will focus on finances, on how to use member labor effectively, on the member labor effect on governance and transparency, and on the path to creating a strong sense of ownership among members.
Servant leaders start by serving first. This workshop will focus on servant leadership as a culture and philosophy, not another leadership model. Come and learn how servant leadership is ethical, practical, and meaningful. We'll discuss seven practices of servant leadership and learn how they are important steps in your personal journey, but can impact the future of your organization. The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership offers this workshop as a way to better understand that the best leadership has a Heart for Service and a Head for Results.
Happy and engaged staff.
Organizational alignment.
Continuous improvement.
Excellent financial results.
Fun!
Implementing Open Book Management has helped provide all these things at Wheatsville Food Co-op and it can do the same at your co-op!
Over the last several years, Outpost Natural Foods Board of Directors has reviewed and modified its board development policies and practices. We have enhanced our self-evaluation process and have linked it to an ever-expanding set of development options. Come and find out what we have been up to and share your experiences in board development.
Ends policies state what the co-op’s owners want their co-op to accomplish. The co-op’s manager and staff can and should use this statement of direction as the foundation of operational (strategic) plans and priorities – we plan for what we want to accomplish. In this workshop directors and managers can review and learn from some current examples from co-ops that have made a strong connection between Ends policies and operational plans.
What would our membership recruitment goals look like, viewed as an online campaign? How can we use online tools and social media to help accomplish our real-world goals like recruitment, volunteer empowerment, and member engagement?
In this hands-on workshop, we'll be looking at the strategy behind online campaigns, and how to prepare, execute, and evaluate your own. You'll learn to employ powerful tools like Nation Builder, Twitter, and Facebook in service to your co-op's outreach goals, so please bring a laptop.
Participants are asked to RSVP to jake@foodcoopinitiative.coop so that he can prepare accounts and send a brief assessment survey in advance (walk-ins still welcome).
Saturday, June 16, 2012 - 3:45pm
How do cooperatives contribute to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? What does it mean to create wealth in the interest of both family and neighbor? Questions regarding the building of wealth in mutual cooperation for Ourselves and our Posterity will be addressed in this workshop featuring the Seven Forms of Wealth model created by Yellow Wood Associate and Ford Foundation.
In this session we will explore how individual co-op sectors have met their needs to provide capital or other resources that they control. We will discuss how we can utilize our power to create our own solutions so that we can say we own it. Over $1 billion per year goes from the paychecks of co-op employees to buy the stocks of companies like Bank of America, Safeway, Florida Power and Light and so many other investor held businesses that often compete with co-ops. Why? One reason we don’t have a ready-made alternative, a fund that can use 401(k) and other tax deferred programs to recycle our wealth. Join us to learn how we can and will finally be able to declare our independence to meet our capital needs.
The workshop continues...
Servant leaders start by serving first. This workshop will focus on servant leadership as a culture and philosophy, not another leadership model. Come and learn how servant leadership is ethical, practical, and meaningful. We'll discuss seven practices of servant leadership and learn how they are important steps in your personal journey, but can impact the future of your organization. The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership offers this workshop as a way to better understand that the best leadership has a Heart for Service and a Head for Results.
How many times have you wanted to ask a question to someone, anyone, a question about being on your board or working with a board? Here's your opportunity to get some of those questions answered. Marilyn and Ann will facilitate a discussion on any governance questions from board responsibilities to strategic thinking and from policy to finance. Bring your questions and see Marilyn and Ann in action together.
How do a co-op’s owners, board, manager and staff know if they are making the difference they want to make in the world? Only by first clearly stating what they want to accomplish, and then finding ways to measure progress. Many co-ops have found straightforward and/or creative ways to measure accomplishment, and to use data about accomplishment as a basis for “telling the story” of the co-op’s contribution to the community. In this workshop you can learn from other directors and managers and share your own successes in this exciting work.
Join your peers for a chance to find out what everyone else is working on as they organize new co-ops. Ask questions and get inspiration, cry on a friendly shoulder, or just make new friends. This open discussion will be led by Stuart Reid from Food Co-op Initiative, but you get to create the agenda!
