12
Dec

My Mechanic’s Secret to the Customer Experience

This morning I had the pleasure of visiting my auto mechanic. I know, that’s a strange statement in itself – I mean, how much fun is it to take your car in for a repair? But Brucedale Garage in Hamilton is different. My family has been taking our cars there for years, and so have many other satisfied people. “I truly appreciate your …
31
Oct

12 key steps to shaping organizational culture

Organizational culture is defined by BusinessDictionary.com as: “The values and behaviours that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization.” Every organization has a culture. Whether it is a positive one, or the one that is desired by C-level leaders, is a different question. If an organization wants …
26
Oct

HR and Social Media: Impact99

It has been a couple of weeks since Impact99 in Squamish, BC, and I’ve been decompressing, absorbing, and thinking about the things I learned and people I met at the event. Impact99 is a one-day interactive conference for 99 leaders, focused on integrating Social Media and Human Resources. Those of you who know me know I’m passionate about …
03
Oct

HR Professional – Key Traits for Next-Gen HR

Last week I came across an article by Williams Recognition about the 5 traits of a Human Resources Professional. The traits they listed were: Commitment to company and employee; superior organizational skills; ability to multitask; impartiality; and continuous improvement. To me, this seems really 1980s, and helps to prolong the unfortunate stereotype …
19
Sep

Effective Communication – tone, body language, and brevity

I’ve taught many workshops and coached more leaders than I can count on effective communication.  One of the most important lessons that continues to manifest is that it is not what you say that matters, but how you say it. Here are 3 lessons that help you say what you mean with more than your words. A study by Dr Mehrabian investigated the impact …
06
Sep

Reflections on how to find happiness by conquering fear

A few months ago, I ran for a Director of Communication position for my chapter of the HRPA, and lost. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I can’t stand losing anything, but I was fully inspired by the leader who won the position, who had about 20 years of corporate communication experience and runs her own communications company. She was …
15
Aug

3 Simple Steps to Storytelling

I am often reminded, when I am watching a presentation, that storytelling does not come naturally to many people.  I don’t mean telling about what you did last weekend or about a great adventure that you had – lots of people are great at that.  What I mean by storytelling is laying out information and recommendations in a logical way. …
10
Aug

6 things leaders can learn from dog training

My dog, Piper, is awesome.  The reason she’s awesome: shortly after getting her from the local SPCA, I spent a lot of time training her.  I have continued training her over the past 9 years.  The more time I have spent training her, the more I have noticed parallels between dog training and employee training.  Here are a few principles that …