Five Lessons from Camping Adventures for Your Worklife
The Horn Family had an awesome summer. Part of what made it great were three weeklong camping trips with family and friends in some of the most beautiful spots that the West Coast (possibly the world) has to offer. At…
Careering in the Flow of Work
Learning in the flow of work begins with a simple premise: people do not always have time to step away from work, life, or school to learn in formal ways. Learning in the flow of work enables clarity, personalized content,…
Play Without Fear
The FIFA World Cup concludes this week. It feels like Canada’s Men’s National Soccer Team has been out of the tournament for months. Even though we lost badly to Morocco, the experience was rewarding because results do not always tell…
No WIFI
I spent most of the last 10 days in the wilderness of Vancouver Island. Where there is no WIFI. (No – or very limited – cell service, either). The no WIFI constraint engendered two noticeable changes in the adults. First,…
A Canada Haiku
Canada is flawed. And we need more Canada. Kindness keeps us warm. *A Happy Canada Day Haiku from a proud citizen who embraces the paradox of Canada being an awesome work in progress.
When Losing is Winning
Simone Sinek wrote a pretty good book about the infinite game, which explains how “winning” in work and life is different than winning at a board game or a sport or a spelling contest. When winning isn’t zero sum –…
Productivity
If you want to trigger me, answer “things are really busy” when I ask what is new and interesting at work or what problems you are solving today. Busyness is not the same as productivity. Full calendars, constant messages, and…
A Vibes Haiku
Count what counts, wisely. Counting. Data. Insights. Vibes. Vibes are data, too. – A vibes haiku because, in the absence of quantitative data and analytical reasoning, a lot of the decisions we make are vibes-based; and that’s okay.
Why You Should Have an End of Work Ritual
Lately I’ve been struggling with time management. Following a recent promotion (mine) and a recent leave (an awesome manager who is having an awesome baby), I temporarily have a lot of people are reporting to me and the complexity of…
Why You Should Laugh at Yourself
What if I told you that laughing at yourself might be the most underrated leadership skill nobody teaches in business school or the campus career centre? Let me paint you a picture. You’re in a team meeting. Someone makes a…