Acknowledgements

Tara Carcillo, President and CEO of The Clearing

“As with many creative products,  inspiration for MeetingPRIMES did not come from just one source. I have had the privilege to learn my craft from academic institutions studying biology at Washington College and whole systems design at Antioch University, and in the field with practitioners such as Alexandra Merrill, Dr. Sharon Benjamin, Dr. Jim Barry, and Chris McGoff. I also want to acknowledge, Pepper Bullock, my partner in creating MeetingPRIMES. This product acknowledges the deep research that created Liberating Structures, system modeling, design thinking and many courses at the National Training Lab. It supports our mission of outfitting leaders taking on causes that matter. The demands of our leaders are dynamic and expansive, and I believe in the possibility of growing leadership skills in children as young as four years old. We imagine that by building on the experts of our past, we can make this information available to anyone. Our work together can evolve into creating new methods and tools for taking on socially and technically complex initiatives. This is a gift to tomorrow’s leaders embodied in my children Victoria, Garon and Siena, today’s social warriors some of whom I get to work with everyday at The Clearing and all those on the edge of an idea that begs for execution.”

Tara Carcillo has spent over fifteen years guiding, designing and advising on enterprise transformation, systems design and modeling, leadership development, and instructional design. Tara has consulted and coached leaders in the Department of Defense, numerous Federal Civilian Agencies, at State and local government levels, in non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.  Tara received a Bachelors of Science in Biology from Washington College and holds a Masters in Whole Systems Design and Organizational Systems Renewal from Antioch University.


pepper

 John “Pepper” Bullock, Founder of Safe Harbor Consulting

“I have the privilege of working as an advisor and Design Thinking instructor to The Clearing team.  The Clearing offers their clients an expertise in project management and consulting, but they are more than experts.  They have become masters in the art of leading productive meetings.   With each meeting I am more impressed with their deftness in convening and engaging teams, noticing that everyone at The Clearing uses their ‘secret sauce’ for great meetings.   This is ‘their way’, their PRIMES for great meetings.

I am grateful to Tara and The Clearing for giving me the opportunity to co-author the MeetingPRIMES, and making it available online at no cost.   They are generous members of the consulting community.   Tara and I are indebted to Molly O’Donnell and Anna-Ruth Beckman for capturing our thoughts and keeping us accountable to our creative commitments.  My wife Gwen patiently endured my endless brainstorming with post-it notes with words of encouragement.  Thank you.”

John “Pepper” Bullock is a thought leader in DESIGN EXECUTION which blends the non-obvious insights of Design Thinking and SMAART teaming to get results.  Bullock created Breakthrough Outcomes an innovative approach to brainstorming.  Bullock is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership and is a Facilitator Partner with ExperiencePoint, an award-winning experience learning company in Toronto, Canada.