Preparing for the Unexpected

The workspace is changing, and the pandemic put that change into 'hear gear'. I talk with recognized expert in the area of Group and Team Coaching, and author or Reconnecting Workspaces, Jennifer J. Britton. We talk about: 1. The differing roles of a leader and team member, 2. Groups vs teams, 3. Company culture and how it influences teams etc. (you'll notice I get really into this topic), 4. The TRIAD of Trust, Safety, and Connection, and how it impacts the workspace, 5. Leadership, 6. Conflict and its causes (Yes, it still happens in the virtual world), 7. How to address conflict. Jennifer provides some insights on a very timely and current subject, which is impacted people around the globe. With so many people working remotely it's necessary for us to reconnect our workspaces, and Jennifer does a great job of helping to understand some of the ways we can do this right...and what might be causing us to look at it incorrectly. Enjoy!

To improve and move forward, we have to learn from our mistakes. All too often, we don’t learn from the lessons as they present themselves. I speak with internationally recognized Crisis Management, Emergency Management, and Busine Continuity expert, Christine Miller about Learning Management. Chris offers allot of helpful information including: 1. How to plan for a lesson learned workshop/meeting, 2. Participants (it’s more than you might think), 3. Follow-up, 4. Strong – and courageous – leadership, 5. What the acronym O.I.L.L. means and how it helps Lessons Learned, 6. Successes with O.I.L.L. in Eswatini, 7. Tips for starting a Lessons Learned initiative, 8. Who benefits from OILL and Lessons Learned in Emergency Management. Chris shares allot of information, including allot of her own personal work experiences. Many talk about Lessons Learned, but Chris goes a little bit deeper into the subject than most. Enjoy!

Many believe the impacts of COVID are done - they are over it. But, we've yet to see everything that COVID has touched and impacted. Every leader, manager, and professional needs to know what is on the horizon, and understand how it may impact their organization - or perhaps understand why their organization is still being impacted by COVID. We touch on: 1. The current state of COVID (US & CAN) and the variant XBB.1.5 2. 5 individual societal shift (some are a bit scary), 3. Global societal disruptions, 4. Health impacts yet to be realized, 5. Mental Health, 6. Long COVID, 7. Healthcare Providers & Systems, 8. Lost education & earning potential, 9. Learning poverty (This is a big one!). Once again, Regina brings forward some keys items professional of all stripes are going to have to deal with in the coming weeks, months, and years - if not already being impacted by them. Don't miss these great insights. Enjoy!

Exercising (and testing) our disaster, crisis, and business continuity plans, is important if we want our organization's and our colleagues to respond effectively and efficiently to crisis and disaster situations. I talk with globally recognized crisis management and business continuity specialist, Robert Burton. Rob will walk us through his proven methodology of how to plan and execute effective tests and exercises. We touch on: 1. Pre-exercise planning, 2. Exercise and scenario design, 3. Final logistics, 4. Exercise delivery and evaluation, 5. Post exercise activities (AAR and summary video), 6. A few stories (how exercises can go wrong, a good way to end an exercise and war brings home the seriousness of not preparing). It's a great chat and a great way to help bring your exercises to a new level. Enjoy!

What does Lewis & Clarke, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Jacques Cartier and many other explorers had in common? They are all great examples of key management and leadership concepts that many people and organizations struggle with today. I speak with Project Management and Business Continuity expert, Ralph L. Kliem about his new book 'Management Lessons from the Great Explorers', as we touch on: 1. Strong sponsors, 2. Risk Management, 3. Data and information, 4. Adaptation, 5. Stakeholder Management, and 6. The willingness to say no. It's a fascinating new way of looking at some of today's key issues - by looking at the past. If we don't learn from those that came before, we won't be able to manage today. It's a great chat you won't want to miss. Enjoy!

Building resilient small businesses is an often overlooked segment of the economy, especially considering small businesses make up to 97% of businesses around the globe. I speak with the founder of Resilient Ready Renae Hanvin who talk about small businesses and resilience. Renae talks about: 1. Defining small businesses, 2. Defining resiliency vs resilient, 3. Building business networks, 4. Communities and the impacts of small business, 5. Thinking difference vs doing differently, 6. Kangaroo Island and the response 7. Lessons Learned and being implemented by businesses in Lismore, Australia that suffered from another major flood in early 2022, 8. How businesses can work together (and with the community), 9. The telling signs of a good business eco-system...and so much more. Renae offers some great insights on small business you don't want to miss. Enjoy!

The COVID pandemic and daily life in general, has put a stress on everyone, regardless of their job title. CEOs and other leaders are no exception. I speak with the author of 'The Broken CEO: How to be the Leader You Always Wanted to Be', Chris Pearse. During our chat, Chris touches on: 1. Defines what a leader is...and isn't, 2. The difference between stress and strain, 3. How meditation helps everyone (even if only for 5min a day), 4. Rest - and what rest really means (It's more than what you might think), 5. What's wrong with the phrase ‘work-life balance’, 6. How can a leader can increase their Influence (no matter where you are in your organization), 7. Coaching (not telling), 8. CEOs supporting employees (inverting the hierarchal pyramid), and 9. Upside down Leadership. A great chat with allot of insights from Chris. You don't need to be a CEO to adapt allot of what Chris has to say. Listen in and let your inner leader loose. Enjoy!

The corporate world is changing...and changing fast. It's not just the organization and business that's changing, it's also the behavior of people, and the challenges that come with leading people. I talk with the author of 'Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and other Difficult People', Alan Willett. We talk about: 1. Leadership pressures and challenges, 2. Measuring successful leadership (outside of the usual ‘bottom line’), 3. Why leaders need to ‘Stop Whining’, 4. Keeping commitments, 5. Developing a ‘radar for trouble’, 6. Spotting potential difficult situations and what to do about them, 7. Becoming an exceptional leader, 8. The Need for Mountains, 9. Creating goals and communicating them, 10. Accepting that sometimes you need to ‘restart’, It's clear listening to Alan that he is passionate about leadership - it shows! Listen in to Alan's insights and become a stronger leader - able to lead the unleadable. Enjoy!

Change Management can be a major factor in determining risk mitigation factors and projects & program management activities. I talk with Business Continuity, Change Management, and Risk Management expert, and Change Management for Risk Professional author, Dr. James Leflar. In our talk we discuss: 1. Why Change Mgmt. should be important to Risk Professionals, 2. Defining a change agent”, 3. The types of ‘change’ we should be aware of, 4. Change drivers, 5. Define Organization Resilience Management (ORM), 6. Personal change management, and why it's important, 7. Change Management vs. Project Management, 8. Recommendations for dealing with change denial and resistance, 9. How risk can be a positive and negative, and 10. Communicating change. James provides lots of insights on Change Management, and how if we don't get it right, we run a great risk of having our projects / change initiatives failing...badly. Enjoy!

The pandemic isn't over. Now it's time to talk about the current 'tri-demic' the globe is experiencing and what that means for society. History always repeats. It's time to talk with Regina Phelps about the current state of affairs with regards to RSV, COVID, the Flue and the societal disruptions and impacts we're currently experiencing. We touch on: 1. What is a 'tri-demic'? 2. More new variants!! 3. What's happening around the world (and I give an update on what's happening in Canada), 4. The return of measles? Really? 4. The Long Tail of COVID - Societal Disruptions. It's another fact-filled chat with Regina, as we talk about where we are with COVID...and where things are heading. History always repeats. Don't miss what Regina has to say. Enjoy!