20
Oct

5 Workplace Culture Wows from My G Adventures Tour

I recently went on my first G Adventures tour in Northern Thailand. G Adventures’ business is sustainable travel – they use local vendors, transport and more to create authentic travel experiences for people, and ultimately to change peoples’ lives. I could talk for days about my brief trekking experience with them, but to give you …
01
Oct

Never Give an Apology as a Leader?

SHOULD YOU NEVER SAY YOU’RE SORRY? If we can agree that people are innately not perfect creatures, then we can also agree that leaders will make mistakes at certain points in their career. Some will be small, some will big, and some mistakes will be downright disastrous. It seems common sense that people like apologies. But, how do we REALLY feel …
24
Sep

How to create a disengaged employee in 4 easy steps…

1. Don’t include your employees in the big-picture purpose of their role. This means that when your employees are working, they are completing their tasks – without thinking of the bigger reason why they are completing their tasks. Unfortunately, they won’t feel connected to the company, and they won’t be strategically aligned with overall company …
08
Sep

Leadership Lessons from Ed Sheeran on the Howard Stern show

On days like these, I miss having an hour long commute and being able to listen to my favourite radio show, the Howard Stern show. Today, Howard was interviewing Ed Sheeran, the English singer-songwriter who sings hits like “SING”, “Lego House” and “The A Team”. I’m sure the entire interview was fabulous (and …
14
Aug

Major Restaurant Chain Says – NO Substitutions!

Have you ever made a change to an item on a menu? – Hold the tomatoes? – Tomato sauce instead of cream? – Salad instead of fries? I rarely order right off the menu. I seem to need to mix and match at least something. Not because I like being difficult, but sometimes it’s because of certain food intolerances, or it’s because I’m …
31
Jul

Worst Employee Ever???

QUESTION: Would you hire a person who met EVERYTHING on your criteria list….but then said to you…that they had 10 non-negotiables? Here are the non-negotiables of the potential hire: 1. I will show up late from time to time. 2. I will leave early to pick up groceries for dinner. 3. I will take an extended lunch sometimes because I have a …
10
Jul

Authentic Humanity in the Workplace #reinventwork

* This post is modified from the original, which I wrote on our Impact99 website in 2013.* Recently, I have been reflecting on what Authentic Humanity actually means and why it is so important in the workplace. This is one of my favourite pieces of our Blueprint for Workplace Reinvention. Those of you who know me will know that my style is genuine and …
03
Jul

Awesome Customer Experience from Problem Solver at Home Depot

If you’re in the business of customer service or customer experience, you and your team can likely take a few lessons from Mostafa (aka Moose) at Home Depot in Oakville. I had the pleasure of dealing with him while purchasing a barbecue with a tight timeline. Here’s what happened, how Moose dealt with it, and what we can all learn from him. …