I’m Carl, and I build things.
Growing a successful organization is hard work. It stretches all your capacities, tests your networks, and challenges you daily.
Cast Consulting is designed to give the flexible support that adds the right capacity when you need it. Cast can help you:
Inspire and refine your strategic frameworks
Facilitate gatherings and retreats to build meaning and shared connection
Support your development and communications goals
Operationalize your systems to do the work
Cast is rooted in creativity and culture, and works with organizations, leaders, teams, and boards across sectors. Whether you are launching your work or refreshing your focus, Cast is the added capacity, insight, and expertise to help move you forward.
Photo credit: Ne-Dah-Ness Greene
What does Cast do?
STRATEGIC PLANNING & FACILITATION
At the core of this work is the question, “Where do you want to go?” A good facilitator can make all the difference as you seek to answer that question. Whether you are starting something new, need to focus your work, or are re-inventing your organization, Cast Consulting can support that journey. Using theater and creative training, business school frameworks, and organizational dynamics, Cast leads values and strategic processes for organizations. This form of strategic facilitation is customized, engaging, and empathetic, rooted in equity and inclusion, and designed to get you closer to your future.
Examples of work: Strategic planning processes, Board retreats, leadership team development, team building.
Research & Project management
Sometimes you have a project that needs an outside eye, or extra capacity to get you the information you need. From stakeholder and market research to project management, Cast Consulting can help you stay on top of your work and get ahead of the competition and find new mission-driven opportunities. As a trusted researcher and intermediary, Cast Consulting’s research and project management services are designed to get you the information and results you need to move your work forward.
Examples of work: Stakeholder mapping and interviews, market and opportunity research, grantwriting and development support.
COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT
It can be hard to talk about yourself, or find your unique voice in a crowded marketplace. Using generative facilitation skills and with over a decade of experience in public relations, social media, and brand management, Cast Consulting can work with you to set strategy, suggest tactics, or manage communications and press relations.
Examples of work: Editorial and PR planning and campaigns, event hosting and panel facilitation, artist bios and organizational strategic framing.
WORK EXAMPLES
Initiative Foundation
Strategic framework and long-term visioning. Worked with staff and Board of Trustees of the Initiative Foundation to refine and update their strategic framework, and codify a set of long-term values and projections to guide their future actions. The work was done through in-depth surveying, one-on-one stakeholder interviews, financial review and projections, and an iterative process.
Salzburg Global Seminar
Values articulation facilitation. Led an engaged, multi-dimensional process for an international nonprofit with a social enterprise hotel to uncover and articulate shared practical and aspirational values. These values have been deployed across the organization and with the board to advance the global vision of the organization.
Minneapolis Public Schools
Advisory committee facilitation. Worked with an appointed committee of advisors to review MPS facility names through the district’s equity framework, involving survey design and analysis, historical research, and synthesizing community input for a report submitted to the MPS Board. All three facilities of the priority recommendations have changed or are in the process of changing their names now.
Facilitating for ArtsMidwest. Photo credit: Mia McGill
“Carl brought our vision for a gathering to life through his thoughtful planning, facilitation, and guidance. He identified intersections among a diverse group of media-makers, fostering an environment conducive to deep discussion and knowledge-sharing. Our convening would not have been as successful or meaningful without Carl’s support!”
CAST
CONSULTING
PRICING
RIGHT-sized & Responsive
Cast Consulting is dedicated to providing excellent, responsive services that meet the client’s needs. Whether you are a creative business, a city council, a nonprofit organization, or an independent artist, we’ll find the right fit for a project together.
Rates & estimates
Consulting rates depend on the scope, and duration of the project, with considerations for project complexity, social justice mission, and potential impact. Project travel outside of the Twin Cities metro area is reimbursed at the Federal mileage rate or for airline tickets and per diems, as appropriate. Project estimates can give high and low time estimates for more complex projects. In general, facilitation projects include two hours of preparation and two hours of synthesis and wrap-up for every hour of active facilitation, depending on desired outputs.