15 Positive Self-Talk Phrases that Will Build Your Confidence
The global pandemic is approximately one year old. Arguably the next few months will be the hardest because we are heading into the final stretch of this hellish marathon. So many of us are hitting walls in our work and…
How to Suspend Judgment
The potential of dialogue Meaningful dialogue is an elusive thing in our communities. Having a respectful conversation with someone about something on which we do not agree isn’t common. Yelling opinions over someone else or building a newsfeed that reinforces…
Eight Professional Lessons from the Movie Chef
Last week I re-watched Chef – written, directed and starring Jon Favreau – on Netflix. The film is about Carl Casper, the head chef at a high-end Los Angeles restaurant who loses his cool, loses his job, loses a lot…
Three Things That Make Cooperatives Different
The cooperative business model advances economic, social, and environmental progress and demonstrates versatility and resilient. Even though nearly two billion people around the world are members and/or directly impacted by cooperative enterprises across virtually every sector, the value of the…
10 Better Descriptions than End-User
“End-user” is a common term that’s used for everything from technical projects to marketing campaigns. It’s a term that just feels weird and, frankly, misused to me. Across North America, communities are being devastated by the injuries and fatalities of…
What I’m Learning from Using Gender-Neutral Pronouns for My Bike
Last year I joined several of my Vancity colleagues in a gender identity workshop delivered by Adrienne Smith, a transgender human rights activist and drug policy lawyer. Adrienne shared simple tips for fostering inclusive communities, especially for folks who identify…
Seven tips for when you have to speak truth to power
Managing up is part of peoples’ jobs. Being able to respond to superiors when you don’t agree with their position is a key skill. Many organizations foster this sort of feedback – particularly those that recognize the importance of radical…
How to Interview like a Professional Actor
Working actors know that essentially, their job is auditioning. Booking a role is a great bonus, so they refine their audition technique, accepting that they will go through this grueling selection process anywhere from once a month, to five times…
Three Professional Lessons from the Fugitive
In the hit 90s film, The Fugitive, Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, a brilliant doctor falsely framed for killing his wife. After being convicted, a shackled Kimble is sent off to death row on a prison bus. During a…
Three Ways to Relate to Fundamentally Different People
Last month our book club tackled Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. The book gave us an illuminating look at moral and evolutionary psychology, exploring the moral pillars that underpin the morality…