Life is gut-wrenchingly scary for so many Calgarians as we enter 2016. My heart aches this Christmas for those who have recently lost their jobs. Scrolling through LinkedIn there are too many job titles that are blank, or simply state “… currently seeking new opportunities …”. Of course there’s also the profiles left as they…

It is always a risk to speak to the press: they are likely to report what you say. Hubert H. Humphrey While running a media training workshop a few years ago, I got to the point in the session where I shared this simple but golden nugget, “While you have zero control over reporters, you…

The price of oil. The Canadian dollar. Weird weather. Paris. Welome to the new world order. Living with someone that works in oil and gas, I feel like I’m on the frontlines of a war with my personal, verbal newsletter of the day’s recent crushing blows to the energy industry, with sidebar updates on all…

I love being home when the mail is delivered. There’s something special about participating in this daily ritual. Hearing the heavy footsteps up our 100-year-old verandah stairs … the clunk of the mailbox lid and the thud of mail. This followed by the boisterous enthusiasm that only a Boston terrier and senile pug can bring…

What’s with the ‘know-it-alls’? The friend that’s already been there, done that. The co-worker that always knows best. And even the clients that somehow know your business better than you do. After a few recent run-ins with these types, I’ve been left scratching my head. How can someone be blessed with such misguided self-confidence? Why…

Summer is brilliant. Long languid days on sunny lakes. Car trips, sunscreen, and campfires. The smells of freedom. Yes, there’s something magical about Canadian summers, our payback for enduring the long cold winters. So is it wrong of me to say I’m ready to say good-bye to summer and embrace September, my personal favourite? September…