Seven Innovation Lessons from The Martian
A few weeks ago, I listened to The Rewatchables team discuss The Martian. So, then I re-watched the movie. Obviously. The story of marooned astronaut Mark Watney, played perfectly by Matt Damon, is chock full of creativity, problem solving, and…
Three Ways Cooperatives are Advancing the Sustainable Development Agenda
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by UN Member States in 2015 and they are designed to “achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “explicitly recognizes co-operative enterprises as…
The Definitive Analysis of how Co-operatives Show up in Pop Culture
It’s Co-op Week in Canada. Unfortunately, the co-operative movement has a communication problem. Even though economists, journalists, academics, activists, titans of industry, and communities from around the world laud the traditional, yet disruptive, business model, co-operators often struggle to simplify…
Three Ways Sports Teach us to Manage Disappointment
A lot of us are taking losses these days. For many people and communities on the margins these losses might mean eviction, acceleration into poverty, or death. Many more folks in our communities have lost their job, failed their first…
Why Nerds Should Be Enthusiastic
In the past being a nerd was often seen in a negative light. Nerds were bullied and were the punch line of jokes from sitcoms to locker rooms around the world. These days, though, embracing and unlocking the potential of…
Three Leadership Lessons from How Steve Nash Played Basketball
Steve Nash was inducted into the Hoops Hall of Fame last week. He is my favourite basketball player of all time and he’ll go down in history as a transcendent innovator of the sport in spite of never making it…
10 Ways to Avoid Burnout in Your Worklife
These days the top risk to organizations around the world is employee burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging communities in multiple ways. Families are stressed out because of unplanned homeschooling, decades of female economic empowerment is being undone, racial justice…
Five Co-operative Solutions to Inter-Generational Strife
According to folks like Dr. Christopher Mackie, governments are shortchanging people under 45 by spending an unequal amount on seniors. Unsurprisingly, Susan Eng of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) believes that such a position amounts to nothing short…
Seven Things I’ve Learned as a First-Time Entrepreneur
I remember it vividly. Mexico City, late January, sitting in an Uber in the front seat, while my MBA classmates were chattering away in the back. I’m sure they were talking about something interesting – my cohort has become my…
Three Ways to Blend Your Work and Life
A lot has been written about work-life-balance. Like, a lot. An interesting outcome of the Millennial generation taking our rightful place on the throne of everything is that we’re more inclined to blend our work and life than we are…