Strategic Planning
Guide leaders through a structured planning process that connects future possibilities to mission, priorities, goals, tactics, and accountable action.
Scenario planning consulting helps leadership teams prepare for uncertainty before it becomes disruption. IdeaGuides facilitates focused conversations that identify critical forces, explore plausible futures, test strategic choices, and turn insights into practical priorities. Whether you face market shifts, organizational change, or a high-stakes decision, our collaborative workshops help your group build alignment, make informed decisions, and act with greater confidence.
Facilitated planning experiences that help teams examine uncertainty, generate options, and align around resilient strategic action.
Guide leaders through a structured planning process that connects future possibilities to mission, priorities, goals, tactics, and accountable action.
Create an intentional offsite or retreat where executive and department teams can explore uncertainty, make decisions, strengthen alignment, and move forward together.
Use facilitated brainstorming, brainwriting, force-field analysis, and storyboarding to uncover strategic options and fresh responses to emerging scenarios.
Scenario planning is a strategic foresight practice that helps teams move beyond a single forecast. IdeaGuides creates an inclusive, structured setting to examine key uncertainties, develop credible alternative futures, and test how priorities perform in each one. The result is not a prediction; it is a clearer, more adaptable strategy, shared assumptions, and practical contingency actions that leaders can use when conditions change.
See how facilitated collaboration helps organizations turn complex conversations into focused, actionable decisions.
Experienced facilitators help groups do their best strategic thinking together.
More than 25 years guiding strategic conversations from uncertainty to practical action.
A deep team of facilitators brings specialized planning, innovation, and group-process expertise.
Interactive sessions ensure every relevant perspective informs assumptions, scenarios, and decisions.
Over 250 completed projects demonstrate a disciplined focus on useful outcomes.
Experienced guides for collaborative strategic thinking and decisive action.
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. 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.
Facilitator
Michael Wong is a 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.
A practical five-step process is: define the focal decision or challenge; identify driving forces and critical uncertainties; develop a small set of plausible, distinct scenarios; test strategies, risks, and opportunities against each scenario; and select indicators, priorities, and contingency actions. A facilitator keeps the group focused, documents assumptions, and converts discussion into a usable plan rather than a theoretical exercise.
Speak with an experienced facilitator about your strategic challenge.
IdeaGuides supports teams on-site, off-site, and remotely across California and nationwide.
Nationwide Support
Service Area
On-Site or Remote
Engagement Formats
25+ Years
Experience
Ask how we can facilitate your next strategic conversation.
Facilitating teams since 1999
Trusted by organizations nationwide
Practical facilitation outcomes delivered
Tell us about your decision, team, and planning goals. We will help identify a facilitation approach that creates meaningful participation and actionable outcomes.
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.