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...
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...
FAIL – my new favourite acronym

FAIL – my new favourite acronym

It may not be new to others but it was new to me today when I heard it. FAIL. It stands for the future always involves learning. Since the school year is drawing to a close for many this month, I thought I would share some valuable life lessons from my school days.  I...
Are corporate values important?

Are corporate values important?

Values are the deep-seated beliefs under which each of us conduct our daily lives. To the best of my knowledge, corporations began articulating their values back in the seventies.  In essence, the values of an organization should reflect their cultural norms and...
Stop the ride, I want to get off

Stop the ride, I want to get off

It is that time of year when we all feel rushed and harried.  There are parties to attend, presents to buy and – there’s work to get done.   It is no wonder that many of us just want to “stop the ride”. Of course none of us can stop the ride...
Be at your happy best – work to your strengths

Be at your happy best – work to your strengths

A strength is the combination of natural talent, hard work and a deep satisfaction. It is doing what you love to do, work that energizes you and work in which time seems to pass without notice. All of us have strengths and when given the opportunity to apply our...
Time

Time

We all have the same amount of time given to us each day – no matter our status, stage or age. But when it comes to making decisions about how to spend the time we have, it often looks as though some are richer than others.  Why? A partial answer would be that those...
The value of a professional designation

The value of a professional designation

As someone who owns a literal alphabet soup’s worth of designations (not counting my degrees): P.Eng.: Registered Professional Engineer ABC: Accredited Business Communicator MC: Master Communicator (an honour bestowed on me by IABC) I have been wondering of late...
Swagger – the secret sauce of winning

Swagger – the secret sauce of winning

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...
We are living what Marshall McLuhan envisioned

We are living what Marshall McLuhan envisioned

“The medium is the message.” Like most people, I certainly know the quote and have had an interest in Marshall McLuhan but I really haven’t seriously studied his work. After watching a documentary about him, my takeaway was that he understood that the...