Owning a business is usually very hard work. We don’t have one boss – we have many
I should have paid more attention to the fact that my parents and their friends were rather tipsy from the wine they were drinking when they proposed an idea for a new product. However, being 21-years-old, having just finished my business program at college, full of energy and looking for a world of excitement in…
A really good question is fuel for our reflection, awareness and insight. We like to solve our own problems and good questions invite us to do that
Questions are one of the most powerful tools we have in our arsenals as leaders, professionals, parents and humans. One of my favourite stories about the power of a question comes from an interview. My final interview for a job I really wanted was with the CEO of the company. After peppering me with questions,…
If an entrepreneur wants to manage their business and increase their profits, they need to focus on three types of customers
A few years ago I was talking to a clergyman who was struggling with declining church attendance. We had a discussion about the reasons for that and I was telling him that there was not much difference between a church and a business. To overcome his skepticism of my argument, I put it to him…
Understanding how you feel about tears and having a plan to deal with them will make crying less awkward and intimidating
I don’t know if I have an innate ability to make people cry but it seems in the last week, I faced lots of tears. I had clients crying, members of a company where I was working crying and members of the basketball team I coach bawling their eyes out. In 30 years of business…
There are many great teachers who instruct us on how to achieve true happiness and success. You're just not likely to find them in popular culture
I often reflect on where my beliefs come from. I can see they’ve changed significantly over time. As I’ve altered who I listen to, my thoughts and beliefs have changed, and I’ve changed for the better. In my teen years I was strongly influenced by popular culture. I loved the Who, the Rolling Stones, the…
The good news is strategic thinking can be nurtured
I once started working with a leader who suddenly found herself on the executive team. A corporate restructuring resulted in skipping a level and now she is sitting around the table asking, ‘am I strategic enough to do this job?’ Her question is not unique. Twenty years of developing leaders has taught me there are…
Do you eat failure for breakfast?
Turns out your attitude is the most important factor in your success or failure as an entrepreneur. Not personality. And not character. Oh sure, whether you are outgoing or risk averse, full-to-the-brim with new ideas or resilient – can all make a difference. Vince Fowler is a Calgary-based leadership coach, speaker and owner of Vested…
Managers often must have difficult conservations on staff work performance. Professional facilitator Robin Parsons discusses how leaders can prepare
For managers, one of the greatest challenges they face is how to have a difficult conversation with a staff person. Managers often must have difficult conservations on work performance, matters of discipline or in cases of conflict. Professional facilitator Robin Parsons discusses how leaders can prepare for such conversations and handle at times unexpected discoveries.…Entrepreneurs are especially susceptible to burnout and depression. Here's how to conquer those issues, for the betterment of yourself and your business
When winter seems to drag on with dark clouds, snow and short days, I start to feel in the doldrums. I lack energy, enthusiasm, I don’t want to be around people, my projects seem to drag on and I get a sense of dread at the thought of more work. I’m especially cynical of news…
Your nonverbal communication is more powerful at conveying emotions than the content of your message itself
Do you know that your team is constantly evaluating your emotions through cues in your body language – and that they can do so in a fraction of a second? At the Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging at the University of Glasgow, researchers found that it takes only 200 miliseconds to read someone’s emotional state from…