The Outlook
March 2006

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I n  T h i s  I s s u e:

Helping the Wood Industry Profit from the Next 10 Years - Less Than 3 Weeks to Go!
Dovetail Commentary: Implementing Diversity; Avoiding 1+1=...1

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W o r k s h o p

http://www.dovetailinc.org/wercworkshop.html

The US Forest Service, Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC) and Dovetail Partners are offering a workshop April 11th and 12th to help the industry constructively respond to the challenges of global competition. The workshop, Helping the Wood Products Industry Profit From the Next 10 Years includes John Brandt as a keynote speaker.

John Brandt is an award-winning columnist for IndustryWeek magazine and founder and CEO of The Manufacturing Performance Institute.

Dovetail has also been able to bring the top leaders of some of the most successful wood products companies in the country to the program. “These companies are thriving because they have been able to identify and implement major changes within their organizations," reports Jeff Howe of Dovetail Partners. "It's a great and unusual opportunity to learn from what they've accomplished!”

The Workshop Website includes the Agenda, Speaker information and

Registration:

Dr. Jeff Howe

Not too long ago, I participated in a two-day conference, the objective of which was to put together “top leaders” of the forest industry and use a professionally facilitated process to identify the three or four key issues that needed to be addressed to ensure both sustainable forestry and a sustainable forest products industry.   A great and noble purpose indeed!   Attendance was by “invitation only,” and the conference organizers were able to get all but one of the fifty or so invitees, to attend.   After the opening round of introductions on the first day, I took a moment to write down on a piece of paper the top three outcomes I would predict the group to develop.   At the end of day two, the group came up with four basic recommendations, the three I had predicted and one more.   So, does this mean I have extra sensory perception (ESP)? No!   Was I being cynical? Yes indeed!   But was I right? Yes. The question is, how was I able to, in less than half an hour, deduce what would be the outcome of two days of hard work by a group of fifty highly skilled (with very valuable time) leaders in forestry and forest products?

From the title of this commentary, you should have anticipated that diversity, or the lack thereof, is going to be a component of the answer to this question.

In this discussion I want to point out the benefits of considering the diversity indicators of gender, age, and personality type.   I contend that inclusion of at least two of those three diversity indicators is not only important in decision-making, but essential to solving any problem worthy of involving more than five people.

To read more, click here.

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D o v e t a i l   R e p o r t s

Biomass Energy - From Farms to Forests an Emerging Opportunity for Rural America
Dr. Jim Bowyer

A revolution is taking place within the United States.   Driven by rising costs of fossil fuels, a marked shift toward greater use of renewable energy is underway. For example, nineteen states have established targets for renewable energy production. Sixteen states have mounted initiatives to encourage production of ethanol, and seven more have enacted laws to encourage its use.   Thirty states have installed wind generated electricity capacity. Many are pursuing possibilities of electricity from various forms of biomass.

The increasing importance of biomass as a source of energy and chemicals translates to a substantial opportunity for the U.S. farm economy, as well as potential for revitalization of the forestry and wood products sector. The opportunity and potential does not come without risk, however.  

This report explores bio-energy opportunities in Minnesota as a model for both how one state might contribute to renewable energy development and also how one state's actions could impact energy availability and costs throughout the country.

To read the introduction or download the report, click here.

“The Outlook” is the monthly e-newsletter of Dovetail Partners Inc, a 501c3 non profit corporation.

Dovetail Partners is a highly skilled team that collaborates to develop unique concepts, systems, programs and models to foster sustainable forestry and catalyze responsible trade and consumption.