The world watches and waits with bated breath to see how the European Union (EU) will respond to Greece’s “No” referendum vote. Clearly, as North Americans we are so far removed from European politics and economics that it is difficult…
Ecosystems are not a new phenomenon. The term has existed in relation to the natural environment since 1934 when coined by British ecologist Arthur Tansley and defined as the flow of energy and material through ecological systems. Today, the term’s…
If running a small, medium, large or global enterprise truly requires emotional intelligence as well as industry knowledge and technical expertise, then why do so many corporate leaders score low on emotional intelligence? In a recent study of 1500 senior…
Societies with greater equality between men and women are healthier, safer and more prosperous. The Elders Just the other day, I overheard a young woman say to her friend, “gender discrimination doesn’t apply to me.” At that moment, I realized…
In the late 70s, I learned a painful, but effective, lesson in leadership. At that time, I was playing softball in the Pan Am Games for the Canadian National Team. Leadership of the day was typically male and aggressive, which…
For the past 30 years, I collaborated with small, medium and large organizations in redesigning their structures, systems and processes to fit their strategies and enable employees to serve their customers. In the 70s, we referred to this subsequent flattening of the organizational hierarchy as democratizing the workplace, which suited the social-spiritual ethos of the day. In the 80s and 90s, similar efforts were renamed as building high performing teams and workplaces. Almost two decades into the millennium, and organization designers now refer to these streamlined, democratic workplaces as adaptive enterprises. Regardless of what lessons we learned and labels we invented over the past 50 years, the purpose of an organization has never changed — to provide the necessary resources and training to front line staff so they confidently, considerately and joyfully serve clients.
Each day of my sunny vacation here in Sisal (pronounced Seesal), Mexico, I walk along the six kilometer coastline and marvel at what the sea churns forth during high tide — a dolphin, a manta ray, turtles, other very large…
I offer those around me patience, encouragement, support, a cheerful word, the gift of a smile – and most of all appreciation. Louise Hay I try to practice Louise Hay’s affirmation with every person who crosses my life path…
Whether personally or in business, January is a month for reflecting on the past and renewing commitments that move us forward on our chosen life paths. Without such reflection, our human tendency is to repeat the mistakes of the past.…
In the words of Malcolm Gladwell, “cultural legacies cast a long historical shadow.” They persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social and demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished. Outliers: The Story of Success, 2008 In many…
From the macrocosm of our planet through to the microcosm of our physical bodies, we are experiencing a radical paradigm shift. A paradigm is a thought model or worldview shared by individuals or societies that influences how they think, feel…
In 1990, Peter Senge wrote a seminal article on leadership and what it takes to build an organization capable of continuous learning. Those of us researching for current best practice might bypass this potentially dated information, but have a look…
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