Facilitating Case Studies

To preserve skiing history, ISHA needed to preserve itself

International Skiing History Association board members were passionate about sustaining the 20-year-old organization…and passionately divided about which trail to ski to arrive at the future. Board chair Barry Stone decided to turn ISHA’s March 2010 board meeting into a retreat, and he turned to Pierce Management Development to structure and facilitate that critical meeting.

ISHA was braving the perfect blizzard—the retirement of their president on April 1, a decline in financial contributions and, after the final 2012 payment, the end of significant annual funding from the estate of the founder. The board had also received a serious proposal from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame to take over certain administrative and magazine fulfillment duties. Some board members felt strongly that the proposal should be accepted; others felt equally strongly that the proposal should be rejected.

Here is a brief summary of how Tom Pierce applied the Pierce Management Development facilitation process to ISHA’s challenging and potentially contentious situation:

Preparation phase

Tom reviewed years of ISHA’s written policy statements, job descriptions, and correspondence. He then conducted extensive in-person and phone interviews with Chairman Barry Stone and key board members.

In January 2010, Tom listened via phone to ISHA’s entire six-hour Denver board meeting to gain perspective about the people, their positions, and board process when tackling critical issues.

In February 2010, Tom created the title and theme to begin to focus board members on the urgency and importance of their upcoming March retreat: Racing toward the Future to Preserve Skiing’s Past.

Because of the complexity of the interrelated issues facing the ISHA board, and because the time to make major decisions was, quite literally, running out, Tom knew that the order of agenda topics was critical. He crafted the nine key decisions that had to be made, and dictated the order in which they would be discussed.

Excerpt from the ISHA retreat agenda

• DECISION #1: Should ISHA align with another entity?
• DECISION #3: How should the ISHA Board and governance change?
• DECISION #5: What is the optimal way to assure that ISHA Development/Fund-raising will be accomplished continuously, professionally, and productively?

Additional recommendations to Chairman Stone, each of which was accepted

The retreat should begin in the afternoon, break for dinner, and conclude the next morning. Tom noted that much of the important work, as always, will be accomplished during informal conversations between the two sessions. Because of the extent of operational analysis and workflow issues, Tom recommended that his partner Lu Ann Dillon[Link to: Leadership Team page] co-facilitate the retreat.

Results

The retreat, held in Park City, Utah at the beginning of ISHA’s annual Skiing Heritage Week celebration, was an unqualified success. Each of the nine key decisions were resolved in an atmosphere of good dialogue and good will.

Excerpts from ISHA Chairman Barry Stone’s unsolicited letter to Tom

“Where do I begin to thank you for the exceptional job you have done for the International Skiing History Association? …Owing to your leadership, we came away from the Retreat with unanimous support for the steps needed to achieve sustainability, while at the same time revising our business model. Your style of moderating discussion and debate, conducted with a firm but understanding hand, along with warmth and humor, has enabled us to move forward with confidence. I know I can speak for our Board in saying that if we ever again require the services of a gold medal facilitator, yours will be the first call made.”