It begins the moment you sit down. You look around the table and realize the faces are polite, but the decision is already tilting away from you. No one says it outright, yet you can feel the drift. Questions come that aren’t really questions. Support feels soft. And when the meeting ends, your … [Read more...]
Why Ottawa is Home
The canal is quiet at dawn. The water stands still, carrying the first blush of sunlight like a secret it isn’t ready to share. My breath feels amazing in the cool morning air, and the only sound is the soft rhythm of my footsteps along the path. It’s in moments like this - unplanned, unhurried - … [Read more...]
The Funnel is Gone. Your Brand is the Algorithm.
Obaid was in Ottawa this past weekend, and of course we met. These days the core emphasis of our in-person conversations is for me to get a download from him on what is happening in the Valley. In our chat, he described something that felt small at first. It was just a reflection on how … [Read more...]
When the Light Is On but the Door Is Closed
There’s a quiet grief that accompanies the moment you realise your investment in someone’s growth is no longer lifting them. Not because they’re incapable. Not because they’re unworthy. But because they’ve stopped showing up for themselves. You haven’t given up on them. But you’ve stopped … [Read more...]
The Illusion of Tidy
We often confuse tidy with clean. On the surface, they may seem interchangeable, but they are not. Tidy is cosmetic. It is the art of arrangement, the ability to make something look appealing to the eye. Clean, on the other hand, is foundational. It is about integrity, substance, and truth. Tidy … [Read more...]
Plans as Mirrors, Not Maps
I stood in front of my class yesterday and invited them to sketch a five-year leadership plan. That invitation arrived with a confession. I am not, by reputation or by habit, a serial planner. At least not if we define a plan as a crystalline template that foresees every twist in the next … [Read more...]
The Domain You Never Claimed
Why your name is the professional real estate you didn’t know you were losing There’s a quiet but consequential mistake that even the most ambitious professionals make. It isn’t about strategy or skill or networking. It’s about something much simpler and surprisingly overlooked - your … [Read more...]
Why I Love the Simplicity of the Eisenhower Matrix
Most days don’t fall apart because we don’t work hard. They fall apart because we don’t work right. We pour energy into things that are loud but meaningless, urgent but inconsequential. And somewhere in the middle of meetings and messages and multitasking, the stuff that actually matters - the … [Read more...]
Cool Is Not What Most Think It Is
A recent CBC article caught my eye. It referenced a study by researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California that tried to pin down the modern definition of "cool." According to their findings, the traits that make someone cool today include being extroverted, … [Read more...]