Workshops & Retreats
Our workshops and retreats are customized to fit the needs of our clients and participants. Ranging from half-day introductory workshops to one, two, and three-day retreats, our programming draws upon our own experiences as well as the 55 interviews we conducted with high-impact entrepreneurs for our book, Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives (Jossey-Bass).
NMV conducts small-group retreats and workshops, using experiential learning and drawing upon the wisdom and experiences of participants. With the unique combination of personal discovery and entrepreneurial leadership development, participants recognize the connection between how we lead our lives and how we lead in the world. Through engaging small-group exercises and interactive activities, as well as time for personal reflection, participants can focus on creating an electric sense of what’s possible in their life and work. To see a sample overview of an NMV retreat, please click the image to the right. Here is a sampling of topics we address in our workshops and retreats:
- Discovering “Core Identity”: Becoming acquainted with our authentic selves (including personal history, needs vs. wants, strengths, passions, values, and purpose).
- Authentic Integrity: Integration of all aspects of our lives in a way that coheres with our true nature.
- Patterns of Living: Ensuring that we have not only the drive to do something worthy but also a clear direction for our efforts.
- Awakening to Opportunity: Being “switched on” to the world around us and translating these kernels of recognition into actionable opportunities.
- Envisioning the Future: Developing a vision of who we will be and what we will do with our lives.
- Breakthrough Innovation: Game-changing applied creativity that helps us transcend the boundaries of the present.
- Developing Goals and Strategies: Developing clear and measurable goals (that are aligned with our purpose, values, and vision) with smart strategies for how to achieve them.
- Building Healthy Support Systems: Building meaningful, fulfilling, and enduring relationships with family, friends, colleagues, mentors, and a support network built on trust, diversity, and reciprocity.
- Taking Action and Making a Difference: Summoning the courage to take action and risks, and finding ways to serve and contribute as we do so.
- Action Planning: Including specific actions with clear and measurable milestones and deadlines.
- The Courage to Try: An openness to act in spite of our fears.
- Adaptive Persistence: Tailoring our approach to the circumstances while persevering through adversity.
- Pervasive Service: An ethic of contribution as a defining feature of our lives.
- Avoiding the Pitfalls: Recognizing the likely obstacles to our life path so we can address them proactively.
- Embracing Renewal and Reinvention: Creating space for personal renewal in our busy lives—and making wholesale changes in the fabric of our lives when necessary.
We also provide an array of tools that inform our work, including personalized activities for individuals and customized tools for organizations.
Activities for Individuals:
- Retreat Workbook© (a step‐by‐step program for mapping out an extraordinary life)
- Personal Assessment© (a reflective exercise designed to help you determine whether you are currently leading an “entrepreneurial life” that fits with your desired direction)
- Mutual Support Group Guide© (designed to help you create and make the best use of a mutual support group)
- 360-Degree Review© (designed to give you helpful feedback on how you are perceived by others)
- Time-Mapping Exercise© (designed to help you manage your time according to your priorities)
- Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives, the nationally acclaimed book by Christopher Gergen & Gregg Vanourek
Tools for Organizations:
- Entrepreneurial Leadership Development Workbook© (a set of exercises designed to map out a personal and professional leadership path)
- Individual Leadership Review© (a reflective tool to support personal development and sharpen professional leadership skills)
- Time-Mapping Exercise© (designed to help employees better manage and prioritize their time)
- 360-Degree Review© (designed to give employees helpful feedback on their approach to life and leadership)
- Organizational Culture Inventory© (a self-graded assessment of an organization’s culture)
- Governance Best Practices Guide© (best practices on how to organize and manage a board of directors to strengthen the relationship between the board and the administration and staff)
- Organizational Health Report Survey© (a detailed self-graded assessment of key dimensions of an organization—such as operations, finance, strategy, governance, etc.—designed to identify success factors and problem spots)
Some people don’t just live: they lead a life. They don’t sit around waiting for a lucky break. They create opportunities. They go after their dreams and bring them to life…. They develop a vision of the good life, devise a plan for how to attain it, go for it, and check their progress along the way. As with any great effort, their work is never done but ever-evolving and, often, inspiring to those around them. Welcome to the territory of life entrepreneurs.
