Strategic Planning
Facilitators guide education leaders through mission, values, current-state analysis, future visioning, goal setting, and tactical planning to produce a clear, actionable strategy.
Bring educators, administrators, board members, and stakeholders together around a shared vision for measurable, sustainable progress. IdeaGuides facilitates education strategic planning workshops that turn complex priorities into clear goals, practical actions, and stronger buy-in. With engaging methods and expert guidance, your group leaves aligned, energized, and ready to create lasting impact.

Focused facilitation, training, and retreat services that help education teams align, decide, and act.
Facilitators guide education leaders through mission, values, current-state analysis, future visioning, goal setting, and tactical planning to produce a clear, actionable strategy.
Customized leadership retreats help executive teams address strategy, decision-making, team alignment, problem solving, creativity, and future direction in a productive offsite format.
Structured facilitation helps groups identify challenges, explore options, evaluate choices, and reach practical decisions with stronger participation and clearer follow-through.
Interactive team development workshops strengthen trust, communication, role clarity, conflict management, and cohesion so implementation teams can work together effectively.
Facilitated ideation sessions use brainstorming, brainwriting, storyboarding, and other creative tools to generate fresh solutions for education programs, services, and initiatives.
Meeting leadership training equips participants with agendas, facilitation tools, follow-up practices, and techniques for handling difficult moments in productive group settings.

IdeaGuides begins by clarifying your purpose, desired outcomes, participant mix, and key planning questions. Preparation may include interviews, surveys, or background review so the workshop is focused, relevant, and designed around your educational organization’s real priorities.
Organizations rely on IdeaGuides for clearer decisions, stronger alignment, and more productive planning sessions.
IdeaGuides combines structured facilitation, creativity, and deep group-process expertise.
Founded in 1999, IdeaGuides brings proven facilitation depth to complex strategic conversations.
Professional guides include IAF members, certified facilitators, trainers, coaches, and published authors.
Highly interactive methods ensure educators, leaders, and stakeholders contribute meaningfully to decisions.
Workshops are built to produce clear decisions, practical plans, and implementation momentum.
Experienced facilitators guiding groups toward better decisions.
Chief Executive Facilitator & Master Trainer
Bruce E. Honig is the founder and Chief Executive Facilitator & Master Trainer at IdeaGuides, bringing over 30+ years of professional facilitation and training experience to organizations across California and nationwide. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bruce leads the IdeaGuides team with a deep commitment to collaborative idea generation and productive decision-making. As a professional facilitator and member of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), he has guided more than 150 clients through strategic planning, team alignment, and innovation sessions. Bruce is also a prolific author, having written over five books on innovation, team building, and meetings, making him a recognized thought leader in the facilitation industry.

Master Facilitator & Trainer
Adam Shames serves as a Master Facilitator & Trainer at IdeaGuides, bringing deep expertise in team development, innovation, and collaborative group processes to clients across California and the nation. With a strong foundation in experiential learning and creative facilitation, Adam designs and leads highly engaging sessions that inspire teams to think differently and work more effectively together. He is the author of Teambreakers, a book focused on innovation and team building, reflecting his passion for helping organizations break through barriers and unlock their collective potential. Adam's facilitation style emphasizes participation, creativity, and practical outcomes that teams can immediately apply in the workplace.

Certified Facilitator
Michael Wong is a Certified Facilitator at IdeaGuides with a specialized focus on supporting non-profit organizations through facilitated meetings, strategic planning sessions, and collaborative decision-making processes. His understanding of the unique dynamics, missions, and challenges that non-profits face allows him to design sessions that are both deeply relevant and highly productive for these organizations. Michael brings professional rigor and genuine dedication to every engagement, helping non-profit teams build alignment, clarify goals, and move forward with confidence. As part of the experienced IdeaGuides team, Michael upholds the firm's core values of collaboration, involvement, and creativity in every session he leads.

Senior Facilitator & Trainer
Jeanne-Marie Grumet is a Senior Facilitator & Trainer at IdeaGuides, contributing her extensive experience and professional expertise to help teams and organizations achieve greater alignment, engagement, and productivity. As a senior member of the IdeaGuides facilitation team, she brings a polished, skilled approach to strategic planning sessions, offsites, retreats, and team building workshops. Jeanne-Marie is committed to creating inclusive, participatory environments where every voice is heard and every participant contributes meaningfully to outcomes. Her work reflects IdeaGuides' mission of guiding clients toward collaborative and productive idea generation and decision-making across a wide variety of industries and organizational contexts.

Expert Facilitator & Trainer
Alice Cochran is an Expert Facilitator & Trainer at IdeaGuides with a distinguished background in meeting facilitation and group process design. A published author of more than two books on meetings, Alice brings authoritative knowledge and practical wisdom to every session she facilitates. Her expertise helps organizations transform how they run meetings — making them more focused, efficient, and results-oriented. Alice's facilitation approach is grounded in best practices and years of hands-on experience guiding executive teams, senior leadership groups, and cross-functional teams toward clearer decisions and stronger collaboration. She is a trusted resource for organizations seeking to dramatically improve the quality and productivity of their group interactions.

Facilitator & Trainer
Ken Homer is a Facilitator & Trainer at IdeaGuides with specialized expertise in large group facilitation methodologies, including Open Space Technology and World Café. His deep knowledge of these powerful participatory approaches makes him an invaluable resource for organizations looking to engage large numbers of stakeholders in meaningful, self-organizing conversations that generate real insights and actionable outcomes. Ken's facilitation style is adaptive, inclusive, and highly effective at bringing out the collective intelligence of groups of all sizes. He works across a variety of sectors to help teams and communities explore complex challenges, build shared understanding, and move forward with clarity and commitment.

Master Facilitator, Trainer & Coach
Ray Madaghiele is a Master Facilitator, Trainer & Coach at IdeaGuides with deep expertise in strategic planning facilitation and organizational development. As the author of a book on strategic planning, Ray brings both scholarly depth and practical experience to his work with leadership teams, helping organizations clarify their vision, align around priorities, and build actionable roadmaps for the future. His coaching background adds an additional dimension to his facilitation, enabling him to support both group processes and individual leadership development simultaneously. Ray is known for his ability to guide organizations through complex strategic conversations with clarity, structure, and lasting impact.

Treasure Hunt Maven & Team Building Facilitator
Dave Blum is IdeaGuides' Treasure Hunt Maven & Team Building Facilitator, bringing a uniquely creative and energizing approach to team engagement and collaboration. As the author of Dr. Clue Build-A-Treasure-Hunt, Dave is a recognized expert in using experiential treasure hunt activities to build team cohesion, communication, and camaraderie in a fun and memorable way. His programs are designed to break down silos, strengthen relationships, and foster the kind of trust and teamwork that translates directly back to the workplace. Dave's innovative facilitation style makes him a go-to resource for organizations looking for dynamic, out-of-the-ordinary team building experiences that deliver real results.

Master Facilitator
Lee Gimpel is a Master Facilitator at IdeaGuides, bringing a high level of skill and professionalism to every meeting, workshop, and retreat he facilitates. With a command of advanced facilitation techniques, Lee helps teams and organizations move through complex discussions with focus and efficiency, ensuring that every session produces meaningful outcomes and that participants feel heard and engaged throughout the process. His work spans a wide range of industries and organizational contexts, from strategic planning and alignment sessions to innovation workshops and leadership offsites. Lee embodies IdeaGuides' commitment to guiding groups toward their best ideas and most important decisions with expertise and care.
An education strategic planning workshop helps school, district, nonprofit, or institutional leaders clarify mission, assess current realities, set priorities, and create an actionable roadmap. IdeaGuides facilitates the conversation so participants stay engaged, every voice is heard, and the group leaves with practical goals, strategies, and next steps instead of disconnected discussion notes.
Connect with IdeaGuides for practical answers and workshop guidance.
IdeaGuides facilitates education planning workshops on-site, off-site, and remotely for organizations nationwide.
Nationwide
Service Area
In-Person & Remote
Formats
150+ Clients
Client Reach
Ask about on-site, off-site, or remote workshop availability.
Professional facilitation association membership.
Founded in 1999 with lasting expertise.
Hundreds of facilitation projects completed.
Share your goals, group size, timeline, and preferred format, and IdeaGuides will help shape a workshop that fits your educational organization.
For immediate assistance, feel free to give us a direct call at 1.415.479.2028. You can also send us a quick email at bruce@IdeaGuides.com.
For immediate assistance, feel free to give us a direct call at 1.415.479.2028. You can also send us a quick email at bruce@IdeaGuides.com.