Five Professional Lessons from the Mission: Impossible Movies
Action mega-star and semi-controversial human being, Tom Cruise, has done it again! Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation has hit theatres and is receiving critical acclaim and all of our money, too. Kurt and I love action movies and we also…
How to Learn from Summer Interns
Interns are adding value to companies, non-profits and the public sector around the world this summer. At Vancity, one of the things that we want from this experience is an exchange of ideas – put another way, we want “reverse…
How my Mom is Winning the Sharing Economy
“In the collaborative economy, people can get what they need from each other – instead of buying from you,” says Jeremiah Owyang in his awesome presentation called “sharing is the new buying” that outlines how to win in the collaborative…
Three Career Lessons I Learned from Tossing Hay Bales
I grew up in a small rural community on Vancouver Island, British Columbia called Merville. When I was a kid I helped my dad help his best friend clear hundreds of hay bales from his field. When I was a…
Three Workplace Lessons from Canada Day Celebrations
All across the country, people are celebrating our nation’s birth today. Eclectic parades are rolling down streets from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Sidney, British Columbia. Folks are firing up their barbecues and grilling premium Alberta beef. Kids are screaming around…
When Employees Win, Organizations Win
Career development within organizations is at its best when corporate culture, learning experiences and peoples’ individual growth align to serve the organization’s vision and values. Simply put, when employees win, organizations win. Vancity is one of Canada’s largest financial co-operatives…
What I Learned from a Week of Prototyping
Creating new learning experiences like onboarding programs, training activities, or youth employment initiatives requires many creative minds, the ability to work rapidly, and a willingness to learn from failures. At Vancity, where I work, our business model of member-led innovation…
Five More Professional Lessons from Superheroes
Superheroes! Last week Kurt kicked-off our two-part series about how the adventures of superheroes, like The Avengers, give us clues about what it takes to build a successful career. Exploring the DC Comics universe this time (because I watched the…
How my Dad Positively Impacts my Work and Life
Today is my dad’s birthday. His name is Geoff and he’s 65 years old. Oh, and he’s awesome. And there is a strong relationship between impactful fathering and success in work and life. Fathers are often a young man’s first…
How to Give a Memorable Toast
Weddings, birthdays, dinner parties, and happy hours are events where people give toasts. We’ve all experienced incredibly touching toasts and we’ve cringed at the train wrecks, too. Great communicators are masters at honouring guests with toasts that are inclusive, entertaining…