by Jacqui | Oct 19, 2020 | Issues / Crisis Management, Leadership
Especially in times of crisis when speed and accuracy are of paramount important, it is critical that your message can be delivered through layers of the organization without misinterpretation. In other words make your message ‘media proof”. Inside the...
by Jacqui | Feb 27, 2018 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Feb 21, 2018 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Oct 31, 2017 | Communication Tactics, Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Oct 24, 2017 | Communication Skills, Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Oct 17, 2017 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Oct 10, 2017 | Communication Tactics, Leadership
I freely admit to being an email and social media junkie. One of my obsessions is clearing my inbox daily and posting multiple times on social media daily. But that isn’t necessarily work I get paid to do so I can’t and don’t spend my day at it. The best advice I...
by Jacqui | Aug 8, 2017 | Leadership
Over my career, I have worked for many CEOs directly. Each had his own style and agenda and each transition required a significant adjustment for the organization – some even created havoc. Which makes me wonder whether Trump’s presidency is in a crisis or simply...
by Jacqui | Jun 27, 2017 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | May 16, 2017 | Communication Tactics, Leadership
One of my favourite TV shows is Undercover Boss. The show almost always has a lesson about communications in that directives from head office often don’t translate well in the field – proof that one way communication is not effective. So how can companies avoid the...
by Jacqui | May 9, 2017 | Communication Strategy, Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Apr 18, 2017 | Communication Strategy, Leadership
Leadership is difficult and when leaders want to steer their followers in a new direction or significantly change culture or processes, it requires careful thought. This point was driven home for me last week when I was working with a relatively new CEO who needs to...
by Jacqui | Jan 17, 2017 | Leadership
As a proud Maritimer, the colloquial expression that is the title of this blog is one that has held meaning for me for most of my adult life. I am a busy person – one look at my calendar would verify that. I am not asking for sympathy, I enjoy being busy and would...
by Jacqui | Dec 6, 2016 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Nov 29, 2016 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Nov 22, 2016 | Leadership
Have you ever been at a store and asked for help? It can be a frustrating experience and one of the worst answers a clerk can give you is “not my department”. At JAd’E, there are times when we do say, not my department. That is quickly followed with a suggestion...
by Jacqui | Sep 13, 2016 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Aug 30, 2016 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Aug 23, 2016 | Leadership
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...
by Jacqui | Jun 19, 2016 | Leadership
“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...