Jackie Stavros – management professor, consultant, and co-creator of SOAR

This week on Core Dialogues Radio, Jackie Stavros – management professor, consultant, and co-creator of SOAR— shares her strengths-based approach to strategic planning. And it all lies in her SOAR framework.

As an alternate methodology to traditional SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results) is based on the principles of Appreciative Inquiry—a change management process built on the premise that organizations will move in the direction of their focus.

Jackie says that if you focus on what is not working, then your organization is likely to continue not working in the way that you want it to. Instead, your organization should focus on its greatest aspirations. You and your organization will eventually figure out how to get there.

Essentially, it’s all about engaging people within an organization to identify and deliver their desired goals.

Take a listen below, and give it a try. I have personally used this process for many years and trust me when I say…it works.

>>Connect with Jackie at jstavros@comcast.net

IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System. Current active research areas include: artificial intelligence, cognitive science, knowledge modeling and sharing, adjustable autonomy, robotics and exoskeletons, advanced interfaces and displays, cyber security, communication and collaboration, linguistics, computer-mediated learning systems, intelligent data understanding, software agents, expertise studies, work practice simulation, knowledge representation, big data and machine learning, and other related areas.

Wendy Steele-

Wendy Steele as someone who is responsible for starting an epidemic – an epidemic that has positively impacted literally hundreds of thousands of people. Wendy is the founder of Generosity Matters and the “mother” of IMPACT 100. She understands the power of generosity and has been encouraging philanthropy for most of her adult life. She truly lives by the mantra: “When everybody gives, the world benefits.” She believes that there are two kinds of people in this world: those who see human need and realize they can be a part of a solution, and those who still need to be invited to the party.

In 2001, she put this philosophy into action when she shared an idea with a group of women in her then home of Cincinnati, Ohio that was designed to invite more people to the party. Her vision was to create a pass-through foundation that would provide transformational grants to non-profits to help them tackle a variety of community issues.

This was the seed that grew to be IMPACT 100.

In 2003, People magazine featured IMPACT 100 and Wendy—and so the epidemic began. The news spread and the IMPACT 100 model began to be replicated around the country. As they say, the rest is history.

By the end of 2015, IMPACT 100 organizations throughout the United States have given away more than $33 million to people in need. And it is still growing.

In this episode, Wendy shares her story, the unique philanthropy model she birthed and the deep impact she believes generosity has on individuals and organizations.

Wendy brings the ideal combination of corporate leadership (SVP/Regional Manager in the banking industry), entrepreneurship (Successfully launched and led both non-profit and for–profit enterprises) and civic engagement resulting in keen business acumen and thought leadership.

A passionate entrepreneur, innovator and philanthropist with global success in both for profit and nonprofit worlds and a demonstrated ability to execute concepts into successful reality.

With a deep commitment to helping others, Wendy mentors/advises a number of business professionals on an individual basis. In addition, she regularly shares her insights and expertise as a featured speaker at business conferences, industry meetings, civic events and other professional gatherings. A committed volunteer, Wendy and her family can often be found helping others through a variety of community activities.

Specialties: Philanthropy, Problem Solving, Written Communication, Public Speaking, Marketing, Product Development, Finance

Core Dialogues Radio

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Dr. Howard Liebman is the Co-Founder & Superintendent of Schools for Smart Horizons Career Online Education. Howard and his team are taking on the challenge to provide solutions to America’s drop out epidemic. Smart Horizons is the world’s first fully Advanced/SACS/NCA accredited online school district. The organization provides a vehicle to attain a high school diploma for people who have aged out of opportunities available in the traditional school system.