Every end is a new beginning: a conversation with Rachael Radford

Rachael Radford understands that a great entrance depends on a well planned exit. At a young age, she grew a company with partners, learned a lot, and then left. And leaving well is key among the learnings that she applies to her current business, Meira Consulting. We talked about people’s aversion to…

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Anything is better than boring: a conversation with Adam Neilson

Adam Neilson fears boredom. To avoid it, he’s sought out change throughout his career — for better and worse. Mostly, for better. And right now, his focus is on a growing landscaping business, Pika, located in Whistler, just north of Vancouver. We talked about self-knowledge, what it means to be transparent in…

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How to lose a customer

I had the worst customer experience of my life recently – with a telecom. And this tracks what I’m hearing about from friends and colleagues. In fact, every time I’ve shared my terrible experience with someone, they’ve told me about their own terrible experience. It’s not without cost to the companies. Bad…

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How values and systems can help to stay close and connected: a conversation with Belinda Kindschi

This week, I talk to Belinda Kindschi about how her large, distributed organization of 400 employees stays close and connected. We talk about the processes that they started during Covid, that they still find useful today. And about how she navigates uncertainty. Belinda has worked at Service Alternatives for 33 years, and…

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The good, the bad, and the ugly about data-supported entrepreneurialism: a conversation with Mike Gardner

This week, I talked to Mike Gardner about how the entrepreneur’s life has changed radically in the last decade. We talked about how marketing data has sped up the startup phase, how we’ve lost the honeymoon phase, why we need more humility, how business has a lot more in common with sailboats…

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How to make sense of the new world of work: a conversation with Steven Fitzgerald

Steven Fitzgerald’s purpose isn’t to make a business. It’s to use a business to live his purpose. It’s an atypical mandate for a CEO. But not surprising given that his company, Habanero, “exists to transform people’s experience of work, including that deep, rich feeling we get when we contribute to something meaningful,…

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There’s always time to do the most important thing

A common question that comes up in our peer mentoring groups and 1-1 company work is, “How does our organizational set up compare to others?” They want to know what they’re missing. And want to know where they should invest time and money — and where they shouldn’t. Because a company isn’t…

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It’s your movie

We like to use the analogy that an entrepreneur’s life is like a movie. You write the screenplay, direct the action, and star in the production. Of course, you need a team to help you bring it to the screen, and the people you have around you play a major part in…

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End the meeting on time

A 2023 study found that the average CEO has at least 37 meetings per week equating to 72% of their time. That is a depressing statistic. Or perhaps not, if all those meetings are productive. Imagine your life and your business where meetings are engaging, time is well spent. Discussion and debate…

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How to find your sweet spot

There’s a good chance you became an entrepreneur because you were especially good at (and loved doing) something. There’s also a good chance that instead of doing that thing you love to do, you’re bogged down in other responsibilities. After all, you’re the boss, and the boss must worry about everything.  Some…

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Find out about newly announced workshop dates and peer groups. Plus, get occasional think-pieces about the most crucial issues facing small- and medium-sized businesses.