Saying “no” is a subject that I speak on with a whole lot of experience – perhaps more than most.

Ahh, delegation. It’s bittersweet – it provides us with more free time, but perhaps… provides us with more grey hairs ;)

Developing a strategic plan is imperative for any organization. What’s even more important is sticking to that plan, and holding your leadership team accountable.

One of the biggest lessons you can learn in business is to ensure that you understand those who you work with.

You need to start seriously thinking about your succession plan by 45. Ideally you want to work with your successors for 10-20 years before you hand them the keys. If you wait until you’re 65 it’ll be along time before you’re happily spending your days on the golf course.

The best thing you can do for your leadership team is to empower them. The best way to empower them is often to simply get out of their way.

Great Leaders Need to be Trained. Once you’ve identified your leadership candidates, you need to set them up with a development plan. It doesn’t have to be too rigid, but it’s important to make sure it suits their learning style.

Do you know who will lead your business after you retire? Does this question leave you scratching your head? If it does, buckle up, we have a lot to talk about. Lucky for you, we’re talking about leaders in this month’s blogs.

As we conclude this month’s focus on culture, we’re going to dive into the single most powerful way to cultivate good culture: empowerment. Where does the biggest potential lie in your business? In other terms, what’s your biggest unlocked superpower? It’s your people. As a leader, how do you empower your people?

Good culture is more than just free snacks in the breakroom. Although, that’s a good start. To get to the next level, however, it’s going to take a lot more than that. Culture and values aren’t just things you talk about. They must be recognizable in the behaviour of everyone in your organization. They also must be tangible.

You can tell when the person helping you at your favourite cafe has been trained to not just get you coffee, but to set you up to have a great day. They ask your name. They remember your order. They ask you how you are and actually listen to your answer. They may even give you something for free once in a while. They read your body language and they adapt to provide exemplary service just for you. They do this because their supervisors treat them like unique individuals, and they train them to do the same for customers. This organization has a core value of empathy.

The idea of “corporate culture” has been around since the 1950s, but anytime a group of people get together to try and accomplish something, a culture will naturally form. It happens in every kind of organization - sports teams, businesses, governments, families, etc. The thing leaders need to realize is there is no such thing as an organization devoid of culture.

You made it through the whirlwind holiday season. You set your organizational SMART goals during the dark days of winter. Now the days are getting longer, the flowers are blooming and somehow we’re in Q2 already. Before we start longing for the breezy days that await us at the golf course this summer, it’s time for an accountability check-in.

Are you a not-for-profit or charity organization trying to stay up-to-date with the latest CRA and legislative policy changes that affect social enterprises? Or, do you just want insight on the latest bookkeeping technology and how to prepare your NPO’s financial statements?

This is the last post in our Springtime Gut Check series using the Four Decisions (People, Strategy, Execution, Cash) and we’ve saved the best for last: Cash. When talking about business performance, it’s easy to get caught up in the vanity of revenue and profit. Sure, these are important metrics to have, but the lifeblood of any organization is cash flow.

Ah, the signs of Spring. Birds are singing a bit louder. The trees and grass are getting a bit greener. It’s the time of year we decide to finally purge our garages and attics of things that no longer provide us value.

Auditing might sound like a scary word to use this time of year, but don’t worry, we aren’t referring to taxes. As we continue our accountability check-in using the Four Decisions (People, Strategy, Execution, Cash), we’re going to spend some time focusing on Strategy.

If you have not yet sat down to determine your goals for 2022 for your family life, your spiritual life, your health, or your career use this guide to get you started.

Successful people refuse to let the “no’s” keep them from reaching their dreams. Mary Kay states, “One of the secrets of success is to refuse to let temporary setbacks to defeat us.” Throughout history, people have founded success because they refused to let rejection stop them.

Eight days at address 579 Tent City. Eight days with no showers. Eight days with chemical toilets (and we were the lucky ones). One strenuous, challenging trek each day with a rest for an hour, and then another hike to acclimatize.