Not all crises are self-inflicted

Not all crises are self-inflicted

In July, the WHO made noise about aspartame as a carcinogen. This isn’t the first time asparatme has been the subject of controversy, nor will it be the last. The truth is that if we look hard enough we can find any number of carcinogens in our food supply. The...
Presentations do NOT begin with PowerPoint!

Presentations do NOT begin with PowerPoint!

When you get asked to make a presentation, do you open PowerPoint and start selecting and re-ordering slides from old decks? You are not alone. The process is labour intensive, time consuming, and doesn’t necessarily achieve results. It doesn’t have to be that way....
Leaders needed

Leaders needed

It’s been a crazy few months.  Our world has changed dramatically. As we close out the year, we are watching; our neighbours to the south heading into a critical election, the rise of anxiety and concern over our economy, the chase for a vaccine that might give us...
Building resilience

Building resilience

In my book, Stuff Happens, I use the resilience cycle to demonstrate that organizations need to be in a continuous cycle of preparation, management and recovery to become resilient. Crises have lifecycles. Being able to communicate effectively with stakeholders...
Proud to be Canadian

Proud to be Canadian

Often those who live outside North America think that Canadians and Americans are the same. The COVID19 pandemic is a stark example of how different we really are. My friend, Pierre Pettigrew summed it up for me one day like this: Canada = Peace, order, and good...
Do Professional Designations have value?

Do Professional Designations have value?

I own an alphabet soup’s worth of designations (not counting my degrees and a couple of designations I dropped): P. Eng.: Registered Professional Engineer ABC: Accredited Business Communicator MC: Master Communicator (an honour bestowed on me by IABC) As my career has...
If you want to win, it helps to have swagger.

If you want to win, it helps to have swagger.

Throughout my life I have been interested in sports so watching the Olympics holds certain appeal for me. Higher. Faster. Stronger. The media loves to find the human-interest stories behind the athletes and show how each overcame adversity to be among the best in the...
Rapido – a power tool for communication

Rapido – a power tool for communication

Recently, I was introduced to a new type of presentation format by my friend and fellow professional communicator Martha Muzychka.  She calls it ‘Rapido’.  I call it a power tool for communication. Rapido works because it is very strictly timed.  Each presenter gets...
Can I have a moment of your time?

Can I have a moment of your time?

Most executives are busy people.  They are often seen running (literally) from meeting to meeting. Those meetings are typically scheduled by an equally busy and often super savvy assistant who knows who to make time for and how urgent the meeting is. One of my former...
Me and my calendar

Me and my calendar

I am obsessed with my calendar because I have an extreme case of FOMO. When a notice arrives or a request comes in for me to attend something. My immediate reaction is to go to my calendar – I check whether I am available, put the date on the calendar and file the...
Have a great and productive workday.

Have a great and productive workday.

I work at home and live alone.  I have a lot of flexibility with my schedule.  It would be easy for me to stay up all night to get work done and play all day or to take an extended break to watch the afternoon soaps.  I don’t.  Why? Because when I lay my head on my...
Team management in a crisis

Team management in a crisis

Most of us who deal with crisis management are adrenalin junkies.  Nothing gets us more energized than pitching in to deal with the immediacy of the crisis. Team cohesiveness and management is critically important in a crisis.  The team will develop a bunker mentality...
A 6-minute crisis preparation exercise

A 6-minute crisis preparation exercise

Preparing for a crisis can feel like a daunting task.  But, what if I were to tell you that you can get a good head start in the time it takes to have a coffee break?  Would you give it a try? Since you decided to read more, I will take your answer as a “yes”.  Grab...
It’s time to thank your “masters”

It’s time to thank your “masters”

It is an honour for me to have been given the designation Master Communicator (MC) by my Canadian peers in the International Association of Business Communicators. Last year, I served as the chair of the selection committee and this year – my last for a bit – I have...
After the crisis

After the crisis

The number of reporters has dwindled.  The number of negative Tweets has decreased dramatically.  You have returned from the war room to your regular desk.  So, is the crisis over?  No!  The underlying issues are far from gone.  Now you face the legal battles and the...
Why we lie

Why we lie

I don’t subscribe to National Geographic although after reading a friend’s copy of the June 2017 issue, I may. The feature article is an in-depth treatise about lying and why we do it.  So, what were my key takeaways as a communicator? Lying is a very human thing to...