Egg Salad Sandwiches
Last week Michelle, my lovely wife who is her own person, and I signed our revised wills and power of attorney documents. Life maintenance and adulting are important, after all. The phrase "serve egg salad sandwiches" is in my will. It's in reference to what I'd like...
Seven Ways to Make Time for Learning
The ability to learn is arguably the most important skill for human beings to develop. Futurist Heather McGowan argues that the rate of technological and demographic change means that we need to learn – not to mention unlearn – at spectacular rates. For me, time, or...
Prosocial
Being a prosocial human means acting in the best interest of our communities because serving the public good is more important than advancing our own agenda. Cooperative economist Stefano Zamagni argues that seeking to help the world is an emerging worklife practice:...
Five Career Lessons from Agile Management
Agile methodology is a business practice that encourages collaboration and empowers people to make decisions as close to customers/members as possible in order to continuously improve the planning and delivery of a project. Last week I listened to this HBR IdeaCast...
Three Professional Lessons from Leicester City Football Club
Leicester City Football Club’s (LCFC) recent Premier League victory has the sports world talking. Such an achievement is unheard of in world football. Their victory is already being heralded by commentators as one of the greatest football achievements in history....
Six Organizational Development Lessons from the San Antonio Spurs
It’s the first round of the NBA Playoffs and the San Antonio Spurs are a title contender. This seems to happen every year. The franchise has become a model of success in the sports entertainment business, as the Spurs have a culture of collaboration, humility,...
Career Lessons from Comedians
These days I’m on a real podcasting kick. One of my favourites is the Nerdist, which is moderated by comedian Chris Hardwick. Hardwick has all sorts of guests, but some of the most interesting are his fellow comics. During the hour long shows, comics such as Steve...
Four Tips For Asking Great Questions
Asking good questions is an important quality of a friend, a partner and a co-worker. It’s also particularly helpful in a work setting. Whether you are meeting with colleagues or attending your monthly board meeting, asking good and insightful questions without fear...
Five Community Building Lessons From Football Supporters
As a partner in a Vancouver Whitecaps FC movement called Curva Collective, I know a thing or two about creating a positive atmosphere through collaboration. Whether you call it “football” or “soccer” (I will call it the F-word), being a member of any sporting...
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 silence (and accompanying boredom) of a long ride home. At...
Three Reasons Why You Should Cultivate Grit
Having grit means being in possession of courage, strength and resolve – it means having passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Literary and cinematic characters that are known for their grit are persistent, resilient and thrive during uncertain times....
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...
Three Ways to Foster Generosity in Kids
Generosity and kindness are important qualities that all parents strive to instill in children. Being incredibly generous will make you a better leader and more successful in work and life. Cultivating these habits at an early age is a very straightforward process....