In days gone by the nature of things for professional athletes was to take the off-season, well, off.  The players would relax and pursue other things.  Training camp was the time you focused on getting in to shape for the season ahead.

Things have changed however.  While there is some time devoted to rest and relaxation, there is currently significant emphasis put on using the off-season to work on skills, address deficiencies, stay in shape, and generally prepare for the up-coming season.

For many, 2015 probably felt like something of …

It has been a while since I have sent a comment out.  I will admit, it has been a struggle to come up with something that did not sound too cliché given how this last year has gone.  The past number of months have been rough for many people, particularly for those in the oil & gas industry, but anyone living in this part of the world has most likely felt the pressure.  What do you say in a time like this that does not sound trite or make light …

I like it when I find that simple phrase that captures a theme that I have been thinking about.  I am not looking for something cheesy or simply cliché, but a statement that really gets to the heart of an idea and makes it easier to remember and to communicate.  As some of you know I am on the board of a school here in Calgary that seeks to address the needs of children on the autistic spectrum.  A number of weeks ago we held our annual strategic planning day; …

Sarah had just finished playing a game and during the ride home she asked me how I thought she had played.  I told her that I did not think it was her best effort and that there were a couple of things she could work on.  She did not appreciate my answer and responded with something like, ‘you don’t think I am any good at soccer!’  I explained to her that I did indeed think she was a pretty decent soccer player, but if she wanted to get better then …

My daughter Sarah loves to play soccer.  It is her thing.  She has played since she was 4 or 5 years old, and while I admit to being somewhat biased, she is pretty good at it.  It has been fun watching her progress from playing ‘mob ball’ (where a pack of them chase the ball around the field in an amoeba type grouping) to a growing understanding of how a sports team functions at a higher level.  There have been some ‘a-ha’ teaching moments along the way – for both …

“The central problem of our age is how to act decisively in the absence of certainty.”  Bertrand Russell.

I do not know about you, but I am not good with not knowing things.  I realize that it drives those around me crazy at times, but it is who I am.  I just like to know what is happening and where things are going.

Which brings me to 2015.  As we enter this new year there is a great deal of uncertainty and concern, and each of us will respond differently …

Life has been crazy lately.  I know most of us say this far too frequently, but I really cannot believe that we are heading into the middle of November already.  Where did the fall go?!  And I think the craziness of life can be particularly challenging for those of us who are easily distracted by shiny stuff, squirrels, or anything else that happens to move through our peripheral vision.

Over the past few weeks I have had to travel a little more than I usually do, and it eats up …

During her presentation at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Land Administration conference this past year, Bente Nelson used the FedEx sign as an illustration.  She asked us if we could see the arrow within the FedEx logo, which, after a few seconds most of us were able to pick out.  A few days later I was driving my daughter Sarah to school and we were stopped behind a FedEx truck so I asked her if she could see the arrow.  She was not able to at first, but after I …

Yes, January 1st is a long ways off, but in many ways it feels like a new year has begun. I realize that not all of you who might be reading this live in my part of the world, but perhaps what I am going to share will apply to you in some way as well.

Here in Alberta our summers are relatively short. We have some nice days in May and June, and the fall can be enjoyable as well. But the reality is we rely a great deal …

In my last comment I spoke about the dark side of teams, something I believe each of us has had experience with at one point or another.  So the question is, if this experience is so common, then why try?  Why put so much emphasis on teamwork?  There are a variety of responses to that question, but the first thought that pops into my head is because for the most part we do not really have a choice.  The reality is much of what we do in the work world …