The Potentiality

John Horn's Website for Community Builders

Learning & Thinking

In Praise of Silence and “Stillness”

We are bombarded by media and noise all the time. On the bus, many of us are plugged in like zombies, imbibing a steady stream of google music and podcasts in a desperate last ditch effort to battle back the…

Four Professional Epiphanies for Thirtysomethings

As we get older, things change and our career priorities and expectations shift. Let’s focus on how professional priorities shift for Millennials when we leave our twenties and enter our thirties. Here are four professional epiphanies for thirtysomethings. High expectations…

Four Ways to Feed Your Career

As we press through the first few weeks of the new year it is an opportunity to reflect on how we can feed ourselves in a healthy, pragmatic and cost-effective way. A good, balanced diet (where you don’t forget to…

Seven Professional Lessons from Star Wars

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is playing in theatres across the galaxy. It’s all that people can talk about and, if you’re like me, then you might even be more excited to see Star Wars than for Christmas! With seven…

Five Tips for Transitioning to Your Next Job

Changing jobs with great frequency is the new normal. According to Forbes, today’s average worker stays at their job for 4.4 years and younger employees probably stay for about two years. Before you consider a career move, consider the consequences….

Three Questions to Ask Before You Go to Work Sick

Getting sick sucks. It’s particularly frustrating when it happens and you have to work the next day. Agonizing over whether to stay home and let your boss know you’ll be out of commission for the next day (or three) is…

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…

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…

Five Professional Lessons I’ve Learned from my Dentist

Going to the dentist is rarely an enjoyable exercise. It’s stressful, uncomfortable and sometimes painful. But while it is rarely pleasant, there are plenty of professional lessons we can all learn from going to the dentist. Here are five career…

Career Advice from the Watchmen

The Watchmen is a classic graphic novel that was recently turned into a stylistic and pulpy film. If you haven’t seen it before, you can now check it out on Netflix. The Watchmen tells the tale of two generations of…