10 Professional Lessons from Dancing
In April 2015, 25 colleagues and I danced to Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” as part of the entertainment for V After Dark, Vancity Credit Union’s annual employee recognition and celebration event. Here’s the video and a blog post about 10…
Six Professional Game Changers from Improv
I’m part of a team that is delivering a big piece of work using agile methodology, which I’ve written about before. With our project moving and changing so quickly we find ourselves reacting to new circumstances and having to improvise…
Sociocracy
Sociocracy is a system of governance and constant decision making that unlocks the potential of highly democratic, often member-led communities. It seeks to create psychologically safe environments and organizations through human-centric approaches and radical transparency. People feel included in decision-making…
Three Strategies for Effective Brainstorming
Creating an Awesome Brainstorm I love brainstorming. Whether we’re planning a camping trip, riffing on hilarious “what if?!” scenarios, solving a complex technical problem or strategizing for the upcoming school year, the creative exercise of collecting ideas is one of…
Five Ways to Get Work Done Over the Summer
It can be hard to move work forward during the summer. People are away, the out-of-office replies are everywhere, the weather is hot, and things slow down. The problem is that projects need to be completed and results still need…
Six Collaboration Tips from PAW Patrol
As a father of a toddler with a reasonable social network, I am becoming immersed in the world of the hit (I think) children’s animated series and consumer products juggernaut, PAW Patrol. The show’s premise is simple enough. Ryder, a…
Life Lessons I Learned from Flying with a Baby
I recently returned from a vacation in Europe. All told, my wife and 10-month old son managed to commute between Vancouver, Toulouse and Barcelona with six separate flights. Some were long, eight-hour hauls, while others were shorter. Flying with a baby isn’t…
Five Lessons in Awesomeness from Tom Petty
My favourite podcast is called Stop Podcasting Yourself and a few months ago its hosts Dave Shumka and Graham Clark talked about Running Down a Dream, the documentary about Tom Petty that you can find on Netflix. I love Tom…
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…
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…