Managing Expectations and Canada’s World Cup Exit
The FIFA World Cup final is on Saturday. Argentina will probably play France. Despite Group F’s success (two teams in the semi-finals!), do you know what team has not been playing futbol for a few weeks? Canada. The Kings of CONCACAF finished the tournament with no...
Five Tips for Being the Life of the Party!
About two years ago I received a really great compliment from my friend Alison: “John, I just thought of a perfect job for you – Party Initiator.” From a very young age I’ve always had a knack for exuding contagious enthusiasm, “holding court” with my stories, and...
Five Ways to Create Positive Community Collisions
I think that we need to disrupt our social networks by thinking of and engaging with other people. Wharton super-professor Adam Grant recently tweeted that what actually drives prejudice is “in-group love, not out-group hate”. We need to engage and connect with...
Three Things You Can Say to Enhance Collaboration
Language is an amazing thing. What we say and how we say it reflects who we are and what we value. Whether you are speaking out of habit or stepping out of your comfort zone to make a point, the words that you use matter. In the past few months I've noticed some...
The Potentiality’s Summer Podcast List
Last month our team shared a summer reading list that blended awesome works of fiction and non-fiction literature. The thing about books is that they aren’t easy to consume on road trips, which is a very awesome summer past-time. For car travel or your outdoor commute...
Five Professional Lessons from Back to the Future
Back to the Future is an American cinematic classic. The story of Marty McFly traveling through time to the year 1955 (and then into the future) in a tricked out DeLorean time machine has got everything: cool sci-fi premise, great acting by Michael J Fox and...
Four Professional Lessons from Glow
Glow is the latest Netflix original hit comedy. It tells the fictional story of 1980s women’s wrestling. It’s funny, thoughtful and at times caustic. It’s also got plenty of professional lessons worth considering. Here are four professional lessons from Glow. Have a...
The Potentiality’s Summer Reading List
Summer time means reading time. Some folks dig into books at the beach while soaking up sunshine and others soak in literature under a blanket in a dark, air conditioned basement. Others enjoy audiobooks during long or meandering road trips. My favourite place to read...
Four Project Management Lessons from Our Major Renovation
This summer we began a major renovation in our home. Over the course of a month and a half, we worked closely with a contractor and a range of tradespeople as they gutted, tiled and rebuilt - from the cement floor up - our brand new kitchen and bathroom. Earlier this...
Five Collaborations Lessons From Minority Governments
British Columbia is in new political territory. This week the BC Greens and BC NDP political parties announced that they will collaborate to govern the province for the next four years. Minority and coalition governments are my favourite kind of political leadership...
Five Tips for Successful Paternity Leave
For the past three months I’ve been on paternity leave. Heading into it, I was nervous about how I’d happily fill my days with a six-month-old. Boredom - sometimes exhausting boredom - seemed a distinct possibility, especially because I so value a busy and engaging...
Seven Collaboration Lessons from Shipping Containers
Shipping containers fascinate me. It’s an invention that human civilization agrees on more than anything else. Around the world, people who disagree on politics, Internet access, fashion, art, and what side of the road to drive on. No matter how much money finding...
Four Lessons I Learned When I Cycled from Seattle to Portland
Earlier this month my friend Godfrey and I set out by bike from Seattle, Washington and slowly made our way towards the Oregon Coast and then back inland to Portland. Over the course of five days of riding, we covered close to 500 km, conquered a range of mountains...