Why Stories Matter

I was asked by a friend and artisan Meredith Nicole of Oden Gallery to share my thoughts on storytelling and craft. Here is the article I wrote for The Province’s blog as part of Meredith’s 5 part series. As we walk through our home, my husband and I are often struck by the amount of […]

Branding MBA schools

Last month, I presented a workshop at the EFMD Conference, a gathering of MBA schools from around the world. I opened the three day conference by speaking about the power of storytelling and the need for story making environments. Over the course of an hour, I shared with the heads of some of the world’s top business schools the […]

The Art of Hosting

It is in the wander that new paths are formed. It is in the wander that old habits are broken. Yet, it is in the pause that we prepare for all that the wander will bring. I love to wander. It is something my partner and I joke about – he likes to have a […]

Letting Go

I am fortunate enough to belong to many communities, including a beautiful Transformational Facilitation Group (TFG) of women in Vancouver. Our group consists of 11 women at similar points in our career who are all interested in using facilitation as a way of bringing about change. We meet once a month for a potluck dinner and […]

Myth Making

Working as a solopreneur can be a lonely road. Sure, we do our best to attend networking events and social gatherings, we join co-working spaces (like the fabulous HiVE Vancouver!) and meet friends and collaborators for coffee or lunch. We might even get a dog so that we have a reason to go outside on […]

Stanford’s Design Thinking Lab

Summer can be a slow time for consultants, especially when you need to engage with your clients on a regular basis the way I do. If I haven’t already started on a project by July, clients are hesitant to start the deep Narrative process when vacation and sunshine beckon. While I do have several clients […]

Getting to “Why”

Why do you do what you do?  It seems like a simple enough question, and yet so many people struggle with it. We know “What” we do, and we often know “How” we do it, but as Simon Sinek points out in his TED talk How great leaders inspire action, “…very few people or organizations know […]

Woman of Distinction

Last night, I had the privilege of being in a room full of passionate business women at the 30th annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards. Not only was I pleased to attend, I was thrilled to be nominated in the Entrepreneurship category. The description for the award category was as follows: Award Category – Entrepreneurship: She […]

Day 3: The Law of Two Feet

Welcome to Open Space. When Harrison Owen, the inventor of Open Space Technology, walked into our room at Connecting4Community and started talking, everyone went silent. He is, after all, a celebrated leader in our community, one that pioneered the way for facilitation and conflict resolution. He is also a master storytelling, and he instantly captivated […]

Day 1: In a World Full of Wonder

“There is a movement afoot” said Peter Block in his opening speech today. This was followed by a group sing-a-long, led by Barbara McAfee, as we chanted “We are in a world full of wonder”. Truer words have never been spoken. I first heard about Connecting4Community last summer when I was at a barbecue in North […]