
Marie Miyashiro with Anna Schulz and Hanna Kozłowska (seasoned HR professionals and leadership trainers and coaches with NVC at the heart of their work), together with Empathic Way Europe are pleased to announce:
The Giraffe Business School will begin in May 2023!
All sessions will be presented and facilitated by Marie Miyashiro, author of The Empathy Factor Business book.
“…businesses are some of the most violent places on Earth.”
Marshall B. Rosenberg
We are turning the Idea of Business On Its Head!
One-time offer
The first class is now actively forming and will be a one-time-only Pioneer* Group.
*This learning community has a special course fee schedule. While there is an amount we request for the sustainability of the program so that it can be offered in the future, all who have a desire to learn and a commitment to bring NVC to organizations will be welcomed, regardless of your access to financial resources.
For this reason, we encourage you to SHARE THIS EVENT with those who you think would be interested and fit the description below. The larger our learning community of fellow practitioners is, the more the contributions make our program sustainable and whole.
For whom
The Giraffe Business School is for NVC Trainers / Facilitators / Coaches / Consultants who want to bring NVC to organizations (schools, NGOs/nonprofits, government agencies, associations, businesses, etc.) and:
- are Intermediate to Advanced in their work with NVC practices and consciousness;
- work as external support to organizations (newer NVC trainers are welcome so long as they have at least 20 hours of delivering NVC trainings);
- work as dedicated internal support to teams;
- desire to work with organizations more deeply or joyfully in 3-5+ years of cultural change engagements with the same clients;
- have experience working within organizations as a team or meeting leader;
- long for a more sustainable living doing meaningful work that expresses your unique voice, style and passions with/through NVC.
Exceptions to the above will be made based on your desire and background.
About the Course
Each week blends professional development with personal growth. We learn from first-hand success case studies and stories along with research-based knowledge of organizations and business. We grow into our success in a conscious way with personal growth exercises based on research and wellness. We alternate between bite-size information presented by Marie followed by spacious time for questions. Then we work in small and large groups. A weekly Study Buddy assignment accelerates application and learning. We use online collaboration platforms for real-time visual representations of all voices and what we are learning.
The eight-week curriculum builds momentum and gives us time to integrate the tools and concepts into our real-world work. The program includes mini-coaching from Marie to participants with their own client situations. Not all participants will have a chance to be coached. Spirit of the Course: We take our work seriously but ourselves lightly in the spirit of gratitude, humbleness and creativity.
Sessions are supported by orderly and experienced facilitation by Marie with the needs of respect, clarity, learning/growth, competence and encouragement as our guiding stars.
Join this Pioneer Group with organization consultant, trainer, author and speaker, Marie Miyashiro, for this inaugural NVC-community learning experience!
The Flow of Each Week over an 8-Week Course:

The Objective of the Course
To support you as an individual professional practice or as a collective enterprise of practitioners to work in a high sustainability model in bringing NVC to organizations.
“High Sustainability” = A living income that sustains you and your family now and into the future with clients experiencing significant, repeatable results and “who adore you and who you adore” – all with you enjoying time freedom.
When
We have reached the maximum number of participants for the edition starting on 10 May. If you want to be informed about the next one, please join the waiting list.
How
We will meet online on Zoom (we will send you the link to the meeting a few days before the first session – check your email!).
To participate, you need a stable internet connection, your preferred device with a microphone and camera, and a pen and notebook, if you like taking notes.
If you don’t see the registration form above, please, go to THIS PAGE.
Preliminary Course Content
Professional Development:
The Living Energy of Organizations
Learn Simple Models to Make Sense of Systems and Organizations in Life-Serving Ways; Empower Yourself as an Organizational Trainer, Facilitator or Consultant with the Integrated Clarity® Approach to Meet the Needs of People and the Organization; Grow Your Capacity to Work with Organizations in an Effective and Conscious Way.
Best-Practices as Needs-Based Organizational Trainer/Facilitator
Research-Based Principles and Practices; Step-by-Step Guidelines for Key Moments in the Client Relationship – Including Finding New Clients, The Initial Client Interview, Team Facilitation Skills, Work Plan Designs, Conversation Designs and Facilitation Tools.
Business Templates and Editable Materials
Access Templates: Organizational Assessment, Scope & Contracting / Pricing; Project Management; Facilitation Models and Diagrams, Group Exercises, Handouts in MS PowerPoint, Excel and Word files, PDFs; Decision-Making and Authority Models and all the illustrations in The Empathy Factor business book in jpeg and png formats so You Can Use in Your Own Trainings.
Case Studies
First-Hand, Real-World Cases from small businesses to multinationals. Learn how to Apply these Lessons of Success and Failure; Learn to Apply Key Principles to Your Own Success Stories; Develop Your Own Unique Style Based on Your Passions and Skills.
Learning Community Best Practices
Share Your Own Best Practices in small groups or the large group; Develop Your Own Project Based on What You Are Learning in this Course.
Opportunities for Personal Growth
as Part of Your Professional Development:
Healing Pain Around Organizations and Systems
Enemy images of Systems, Power, Money, Capitalism, Planet, Decision-Making, Authority and Burnout; Leadership and Claiming Our Power and Voice in the Context of Organizations; The Power and Necessity of Grief / Loss Work and Forgiveness; Fear of Being Vulnerable and Authentic in Organizations; Self-Sabotage as Trainers; Learn the Concept of “Professional Intimacy” as coined by Marie in 2015 (Paris, France Workshop with 120 Business Leaders).
Developing and/or Refining Your Own Dream to Make a Difference
Live the Integrated Clarity® Process as a Way to gain Clarity and Empowerment for Your Life-Affirming Purpose and Vision; Grow Your Impact with Organizations in Conscious Alignment with Your Values.
Practical = Practice
We make practice a focus with Self-Reflection, work in Small Groups, Study Buddy weekly assignments and work in the Large Group. We also “Test & Learn” with Our Clients or Practice Clients and “Real-Plays” in order to Integrate Learning.
Learning Community & Personal Study
We come together to learn, encourage and support each other; We each share and grow into this community of learners; You and Your Study Buddy Support Each Other Between Sessions – Self-Reflection, Application of the Tools You are Receiving; Noticing What You Resist and What You Love; Feedback from Marie and Peer Group (if wanted) about Your Results from Your Work with Organizations.
Draft Curriculum
Week 1: Ways to Make Sense of Organizations
- Needs-Based Metaphors for Systems Theory and Organization Development (OD)
- How NVC and OD are Related and Validate NVC in Business
- Making Sense of the Pain in Organizations
- Healing Our Pain Around Systems and Organizations
Week 2: Relating to Organizations in Empowered Ways
- Understanding Organizational Needs: Integrated Clarity® (IC)
- Connecting IC and Human Needs
- IC Identity: Facilitating The Hedgehog Concept in Teams
- Exploring Our Own Identity and Hedgehog
Week 3: IC Life-Affirming Purpose and Direction
- IC Life-Affirming Purpose and Direction: How to Facilitate
- The Initial Client Interview: Who, How, Why and Template
- Step-by-Step Guide: 10-Minutes to Clarity Organizational Assessment
- Exploring Our Own IC Direction: Big Hairy Audacious Goal
Week 4: IC Expression: ”The Flower” vs. The Busy Bee
- Attracting Clients: The Science of Synchronicity/Flow and NVC
- How Our Next Talk/Workshop Leads to The Flow of Clients
- How ”Small Moves” Lead to Conscious Products/Services
- Celebrating Our Own Expression and Unique Gifts
Week 5: Putting It All Together for The Client
- Proposals & Contracts: Writing IC and NVC into the Scope and Pricing
- Designing The Work: Doing Certain Things in a Certain Way in a Certain Order (Introducing 3×3 Empathy Factors®: Case Study)
- Co-Creating with The Client What and How to Measure Success
- Healing Our Pain Around Money
Week 6: Facilitating Organizational Needs along with Human Needs
- Understanding the Dynamics of Group Decision-Making
- Step-by-Step Guide: Decision-Making Spectrum
- Your Role and the Role of The Client
- Healing Our Pain Around Power
Week 7: Needs-Based Meetings: The Key to Culture Change
- Learn the Seven Types of Meeting
- Mindfulness in Meetings as Foundation for Empathy Practices
- Team and Organizational Needs-Based Dashboards
- Step-by-Step Guide: Gradients of Agreement
- Expanding How We Bring Mindfulness into Organizations
Week 8: The Client Project Debrief Meeting
- How this Leads to Sustainability for The Client and The Trainer
- Feedback and Debrief Loops
- Participant-Led Facilitations, Case Studies or Training
- Celebrating Our Relationship: The Client and Our Learning Community
Additional information
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You will receive a Certificate of Completion for the course validating the hours you attended live.
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All sessions will be recorded and available for six months. For privacy purposes, the request is that the recordings are not shared with anyone outside of the course participants.
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The course handouts will be available for six months to download for your own personal learning.
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Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions live because the format is heavily Question & Answer. If you miss a session, please watch the recordings before the next week’s sessions.
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By joining this Pioneer Group now, at the end of the course you will receive an invitation to meet with Marie and her team for a private 1:1 feedback session on the course that will also include mini-coaching for your benefit. This offer only applies to this first-time course.
If you are interested in participating:
Please watch the video from Marie Miyashiro to:
– View the CURRICULUM and EIGHT-WEEK learning schedule.
– Understand the METHODOLOGY and PHILOSOPHY of the course.
– Learn what is your approach to money in this first edition of this project.
(Note, that the video was initially recorded for people who expressed their interest in this project a few weeks ago, so some information might not be relevant in your case.)
Course fee
Individuals:
The fee without a discount would be €1800.
At the moment we request €900 – €1200.
Please, choose the amount that best fits your economic situation. If you need some tips, please, have a look at the graphic below where you can find some questions that will guide you:
Organizations/companies:
The fee without a discount would be €2200.
At the moment we request €1200 – €1800.
Please, choose the amount that best fits the size and possibilities of the organisation you work for.

Joyful Giving & Receiving
In the spirit of joyful giving and receiving, we welcome all who are interested and qualified without regard to their access to financial resources. If you cannot pay the requested amount, please contribute less.
At the same time, we would like sustainability for this program for the future, so if you have the capacity to contribute more than the suggested fee, we welcome this. This would help balance participants who may be contributing a fraction of what is requested.
Registration:
Other links
Marie’s QUALIFICATIONS and Slides from “Empathy in Workplaces” Session with Marie Miyashiro:
https://app.box.com/s/
Zoom Recording of “Empathy in Workplaces” Session (8 March 2023):
About Marie
Marie Miyashiro
Marie writes, talks and teaches and now trains NVC and communication trainers on how to bring empathy to organizations. She wrote The Empathy Factor business book and co-authored with Marshall Rosenberg a chapter on NVC in organizations in The Change Handbook – Today’s Definitive Methods for Engaging Whole Systems. A product of a working class family, Marie spent 10 years working for over 10 labor groups and unions organizing and communicating the needs and voice of workers to government groups and the community. Since 2005, she has brought NVC and empathy to over 60,000 people in over 30 countries from small family-run businesses or government agencies to dozens of American universities and multinational corporations. Recognized as a Master Facilitator, she designs and delivers uncommonly transformative and enjoyable learning events and multi-stakeholder strategic conversations. Her client ratings range consistently from 93 to 100 percent satisfaction within multi-year contracts of three to seven years. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in organization communication and interpersonal psychology from Northwestern University in the United States. She mentors Organization Development Ph.D. candidates at Bowling Green State University and is on the faculty of the CrossKnowledge digital learning group, one of the largest online learning platforms for organizations in the world.
Website: https://empathyfactor.com/
Empathic Way Europe