We often use the term 'a square peg in a round hole' to describe someone that in some way just doesn't fit either in the role, the office, or just the culture. That interpretation comes from an early 19th-century philosophical treatise* that considered people and their situations as a wide range of shapes - including triangles and oblongs, and...
Read MoreMany people who are involved in recruiting are familiar with the classic 3 areas of discovery: can they do the job, will they do the job and will they fit. In these days of skill shortages and low unemployment, some companies seem to be tempted to gloss over the latter 2 areas just to fill an urgent vacancy. But, there are 2 additional areas that...
Read MoreThere is undoubtedly a bit of a major transformation of the working world going on. Some say it's a "clash” between old school and new school management. Unemployment has never been lower, the number of job vacancies has never been higher, and yet there are more and more people choosing not to work – or not do paid work. And this leads to greate...
Read MoreLast week, Andrew wrote about the 3 stages of growth that a company experiences. While a company needs to adjust what it does as it grows, it also needs to change what it is, and this parallel change in being is a cultural journey. Your culture is created by the people within your company. Cultures often naturally drift and evolve over time, but...
Read MoreI am a great believer in the value of a company being in touch with its values. And I am greatly saddened when I see those values distilled into a mere list of words that are written on walls and published in websites. And you know some of the words I'm talking about: Communication, Respect, Integrity and Excellence are a few of the common ones...
Read MoreMy name is Graham Birkenhead and I am a procrastinator. I'm not alone, I'm not even in the minority. It is estimated that 15 to 25% of adults are chronically affected by procrastination, and up to 75% of adults procrastinate on a regular basis. Not only does it mean that you put off doing tasks and activities that need to be done, but the knowled...
Read MoreEach year I mentor a student in the Telfer School of Business at the University of Ottawa. This year the woman I am mentoring has been asked to participate in their Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. A truly noble cause. But… I am reminded of the great experiment underway at the moment to encourage the vaccine hesitant to rethink their opp...
Read MoreOne of my favourite movies is A Knight’s Tale. It’s its 20th anniversary, so I watched it once again to mark the occasion. Without giving too much of the plot away, there is a point in the story where Geoffrey Chaucer (yes, THE Geoffrey Chaucer) is invited to join the small protagonist group; this group had grown to know each other very well, wi...
Read MoreThere really is nothing quite like a good bowl of soup; warming, nutritious and tasty. The thing about soup is that there is almost an infinite variety of possibilities of what you can make – whether it is using a different combination of ingredients or a slight variation of the same ingredients. Adjustments to the cooking time or temperature, or...
Read MoreJelena asked me to provide a picture of myself, in a suit, to update my LinkedIn profile. It occurred to me that I haven’t worn a suit in at least a year. Working from home and meeting people from the waist up sort of negates the whole suit idea. This “going to work” is an interesting concept that has become normal over the last year. That physica...
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