Best Practices for Organizing Conferences Within Organizations
Internal conferences foster human connection and learning in hybrid work environments. They encourage team alignment with organizational goals and promote intrapreneurism. Successful conferences require careful planning, collaboration, and alignment of personal and organizational priorities. Integrating fun elements enhances learning, creating engaged and innovative teams that drive overall success.
Kids, Creativity and Careers
When I lived in Vancouver I volunteered at the Writers’ Exchange. One time, I co-created some superawesome – and super educational – literacy programming for kids from East Vancouver during their Winter Holiday Break. The program content was career-related –…
A Father Son Surfing Haiku
Smiles on the water. Sticky wetsuit trauma over. Waves have energy. – A haiku inspired by the hours of rocking waves (struggling, popping, falling, surfing, learning) that the Oldest Boy and I spent on Canada’s West Coast.
Build Strong Relationships Through Community Service
The world is weird and tense and unsettling these days. Building strong, diverse relationships help communities become connected and resilient for the long term. A few weeks ago, I joined dozens of neighbours for a beach cleanup with Surfrider. We…
How to Spread Kindness in Your Community
Many years ago I presented at the University of British Columbia’s Student Leadership Conference (it’s one of the largest conferences in North America). I focused on straightforward tips on how to spread kindness in your community at school, at work…
A Spring Anticipation Haiku
Agility melts. Daffodils punch frozen soil. Anticipation. – A Spring Anticipation Haiku by John Horn that underscores how we humans often get more excited and engaged by the anticipation of something (as opposed to doing/experiencing the actional thing); here is an…
The Community Building Potential of … Malls?!
There we were, skipping and laughing ironically through Kitchener-Waterloo’s largest mall. My grad school roommate and current awesome friend, Jim, and I were hilariously lampooning the community building potential of malls by drawing a clear counterpoint to how they are…
How to Show Love at Work
Expressing gratitude, joy and affection at work boosts productivity and creativity. One effective method is using gratitude jars. Here’s how to show love at work (or school or your community): Create a table with two columns: one for names and…
Five Characteristics of the New Economy
Building the next economy will take a movement. Community builders, educators, economists, urbanists, policymakers, business leaders, cooperators, activists, parents, kids, neighbours, and even a few celebrities must unite to build a better normal through societal recovery. Something that we are…
Reimagine the Grind
In our house, we use a whiteboard to plan meals, activities, and deadlines each week. We used to call it The Grind because of our busy lives as working parents with two kids. But recently, my wife Michelle helped us…