Sometimes, to imagine a new future, you need a partner who can shoulder some of the load ​and help keep you focused on what really matters. If you're looking for someone to help spark ​fresh thinking, develop strategy, build new engagement capacity, retool a coalition, or manage ​a process that brings different people together around a common goal, we’d love to help.

“I'm interested in the moment when two objects collide ​and generate a third. The third object is where the ​interesting work is.”

― Bruce Mau

We have developed a specialty in co-creative and participatory process.

We’ve tested and refined our specialty working in and with philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and government ​institutions.

Our facilitation draws from models such as Dynamic Governance, Technology of Participation, graphic facilitation, ​principles of adult learning styles, and human centered design. These models enable equitable participation, create ​reliable processes for decision-making, offer visual ways to articulate complex ideas, and produce durable, actionable ​results. We focus on making our facilitated sessions not only productive and dynamic, but also enjoyable, inspiring, ​enriching, and fun.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to ​victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise ​before defeat.” - Sun Tzu

Too often, groups get bogged down in a laundry list of exciting ideas that lack cohesion and don’t necessarily serve ​their goals. What’s the difference between goals, objectives, strategies, tactics, frameworks, plans, and activities? We ​get lost in terminology, distracted by shiny new trends, and too often, end up disappointed in the outcome. You can ​free yourself from this feeling of throwing everything at a problem without knowing what will stick, and and feel ​confident that your work aligns from top to bottom--and we can help.

Your longterm success rests on a strong strategic vision coupled with skillful execution. We’ll work alongside you to ​make sense of which ideas are most promising. Together, we’ll build out how to test your hunches and how to make ​sure everything hangs together in a way that makes sense and gets you what you’re aiming for. If you need a ​thought partner and savvy strategist who can sift through your landscape and help you find the wisest course of ​action, Crucible Consulting is here for you.

“It is rare for people to be asked the question ​which puts them squarely in front of ​themselves.” Arthur Miller

You need a trusted partner who can not only help you think about the big picture, but also think about how to move ​your organization forward in a complex world, with limited resources and an urgent mission to realize. Too often, ​the internal organizational dynamics and processes take a back seat to the external work, but this is a mistake--​without internal engagement, external change will not take hold. We can help you think through how to position staff ​for success, how to cultivate internal champions, and how to grow your leadership to meet the needs of your staff ​and the communities you serve. Whether it’s staffing structure, building new systems or practices, or introducing a ​different way of collaborating, we can be a sounding board, advisor, accountability partner, and cheerleader.

“The unlike is joined together, and from differences ​results the most beautiful harmony.”

― Heraclitus

Disrupting structural bias and creating spaces in which all people feel seen and heard is the cornerstone of our ​work. This doesn’t just happen; rather, it requires a systematic approach to a new way of doing things that ​acknowledges systems of oppression and is intentional about changing them. We’ve developed a methodology ​we call “The Four P’s” for DEIBJ--considering the project’s premise, the people involved, the process used, and ​the final product. The Four P’s enable us to ensure that every project we undertake has attention to DIEBJ ​baked in--examining the project’s premise, people, process, and product through an equity lens. This also ​involves:

• Lowering the barriers between learned "expertise" and lived experiences when considering issues, solutions, ​and visioning the future.
  

• Neutralizing power dynamics in order to facilitate candid discussion and effective action
  

• Listening deeply—not just for what’s being said, but also for what isn’t.
  

• Clarifying & Synthesizing—probing the discussion to surface the whole story; weaving together what’s ​being said and reflecting back for confirmation.
  

• Challenging—asking provocative and sometimes challenging questions when there are gaps or flawed ​assumptions and leaning into tension.
  

• Educating—on what racial, gender, and disability equity entails and looks like, from process and participation ​to power.
  

Huda Ahmed

cell (952) 217-0191‬

Huda@CrucibleStrategy.com

Ann Wiesner

cell (612)735-6187‬

Ann@CrucibleStrategy.com