Across the Desk

So what do women talk about when they meet up? Kids? Work? Husbands? Expectations? Trust? Sounds like a typical meeting meeting right? Turns out it can be all of that and so much more. Tuesday night was the joint Ballsy / Women in Tech meetup that featured speaker Norine Jones. Norine was asked to speak to the group based on a conversation that we had during another meeting. Specifically, it was t...

The Huffington Post ran an article last year on "11 Things We Fake in Our Social Media Lives" and I love it. As part of my business (and my inherently nosy personality) I love the peeking in on other people's lives aspect of social media. I love the stories they tell. I love connecting with people over similar interests. But what I don't love is the fakery and insincerity of some accounts on behal...

If you have ever been to a restaurant or event, you might be guilty of this: can you even remember the face of the server at the last restaurant you went to? At the last event you were at (wedding, gala, networking, did you thank the staff that cleared your plates and picked up after you all night? Chances are the answer is no. Sadly that seems to be more common these days. The ME generation has r...

Are you either currently working with a service provider or about to hire one? Do you think you're the only one who should be prepared for meetings? Think again. If you want to maximize the time you have with a service pro and minimize the budget, then do your homework on your pain. Points that is. Take the time to understand what you want to accomplish, what you can take on and the best way you c...

Women in leadership roles has been a bit of a tricky development over the last 100 years. No, I'm not crying the poor me blues. No, I don't want to wear power suits and be like a man. But what I do want is for women to stop limiting themselves because they think they should. Because society is slowly coming on board with losing the judgement of women in leadership roles. And best of all? Women are...

Why are you happy at work? Good boss? Good team? Free coffee? Is it enough to make you get up in the morning and bounce out of bed with that "Yes! I get to go to work today!" feeling? That is awesome! Now, if you are in Canada, think about the 9.5 million people who are unhappy at their jobs. No bounce in their step. No fabulous boss. No team to rely on. In the US, that unhappiness amounts to .......

I am a change management neophyte. Enthusiastic and firmly converted but a neophyte none the less. With Happy Melly Exploration Day coming up on October 19th, I thought it best to bring someone on Across the Desk who has more experience than me. Meet Hazel van der Werken. Since being involved with lean practices in Scotland in 1995 and adding change management in 2009 in the Netherlands, Hazel arr...

If, like me, you've worked for organizations for years and thought it was all in your head, I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. That vague feeling that something is off all the way down to full mental breakdowns because the boss is batshit crazy. That feeling that it's always going to be this way and nothing will ever change. The feeling that you can never be happy at work and just have to acc...

Some "experts" out there are all about the sale, the pitch, the bottom line. Yuck. When that's the place they're sharing their expertise from, you want to send them right back. At least I do. But I kept looking and I found Marie Forleo. Phew. What a relief. Marie Forleo has become my go to background "noise" when I'm working on projects. But I mean noise in the best sense. Because she is funny, au...

There may or may not be the use of the word bullshit in this podcast. Just sayin. Sometimes in business, people can be loathe to partner with others. Why? I'm not sure. I'm a huge fan of partnering with others, combining forces and sharing resources. Not tooting my own horn but stating a fact. The fact is, your business is better off when you keep yourself open to opportunities. This week on an in...

People talk about change all the time. Talk. When you actually delve in to how difficult personal change can be, imagine trying to change an entire organization. Some days I have challenges picking out which funky socks to wear. Being a change agent for a whole organization? Yikes! Well now at least I've got some tools to get the conversation going. About change I mean. Not my socks. 2 years ago I...

When you are a woman in business, you'd think that men would be the challenge. I've learned that this is not always the case. In fact, most of the issues I've had throughout my various careers have been with women not men. Why? Well - I think we've been trained to see other women as competition and not as comrades. That sucks. On top of that, women have also been trained to make everybody else the...

I realize that for some of us, high school was a long time ago. I mean loooonggggg ago. But I for one still love learning. I love taking new courses and got quite excited when I signed up for my 3rd online course to learn how to teach online. Yep - I'm stepping back up to the front of the class! But if I didn't make education a priority, I wouldn't be in a position to improve my business, my knowl...

Are you an original? Do you even know what it means to be an original? I hadn't thought about it until someone called me an original. On top of that? They thought enough of helping me to understand what being an original means that they bought me the book on it. How cool is that? If you've spent your life, like me, being called unique and weird and different, then Originals by Adam Grant is the bo...

An entrepreneurs life is that of a non-conformist. While for some this sounds completely invigorating and awesome, for others it poses challenges. You might even call them blocks. Some kind climb over them. Some get, well, blocked by them. Here's a suggestion: take the time to identify what your blocks might be and learn to love them. Make them your best friend. Why? Because without doing this blo...

Is your online presence lacking verve? Colorless? Boring? Image impaired. Yikes! And to make matters worse, are you graphics skilled impaired? Does Adobe sound like a house you find down in Mexico? I've got a solution that even those with some graphics skills can make good use of. Canva is a resource that was recommended to me a few months ago and I haven't looked back since. I'm fortunate to have...

Are you set up to boldly go where your social media can take you? Yup. I'm was watching Star Trek blooper reels and outtakes from the movie just before recording this podcast and it was magical how it just came together. Deep space exploration and social media. That fits right? Let me explain. Most people work quite hard on their content. In fact, in honor of Labor Day, you could call it a labor o...

Napoleon Hill. An author that walked this earth before I was a twinkle in my parents eye. In fact before my parents' were a twinkle in their parents' eye. In 1908 while interviewing Andrew Carnegie as a journalist for Bob Taylor's Magazine, a partnership and project was born to gather the experiences and wise words of 500 businessmen. Think and Grow Rich was born. Published in 1937, just after the...

It's not odd to see Ken smiling. In fact, it's how I most see his face. When he says hello, he's smiling. When you chat with him, his smile invariably creeps up on his face. His smile is infectious and just makes you feel better to be around. What Ken's smile hides is his battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the pain that can travel around his body like that rogue garden gnome.

It will take 10 minutes of your time but the return on that investment can last for years. A thank you note. One of the most cost effective and authentic ways to promote your business and show your clients that you care. Are you already reaching for the stamps? Great!

Are you looking for graphics that you can use for Instagram, your website or marketing materials? Freepik is a fantastic resource that is worth paying for but there is also lots of fantastic free content. I don't read all the time ;)

Have you ever gone through a situation in your life where you've decided to make the huge decision not to accept status quo? Meet Ken Jaques, a successful Burlington businessman, who decided that the health care system didn't have enough wellness in it to overcome the amount of illness. In this two part intro, we'll meet Ken and discuss his time spent in IT consulting and knowing what it takes to...

Do you ever get to the end of your work day and feel like a sack of poop? Well that could be because you are. Kind of a gross thought right? Even worse? Being that sack of poop is actually killing you. On this episode of Across the Apothecary, I share my new adventure in to the world of working with a standing desk. I've been steadily gaining weight over the past two years despite adjusting my eat...

As a health professional, getting online can be a challenge. After all - your job is to see patients and make them better. Not pin, post, tweet and tumble. So what happens when you want to get online but don't have time? Sometimes you ask staff to write for you. Big mistake. But only if they aren't qualified to discuss what they are writing about. If that's the case - DON'T DO IT! You are going on...

Now a days most of us are so wrapped up in our own drama that we don't always pay attention to what is actually being said to us. The remembering part? Well, that can be a challenge too. Luckily, I've been able to recall some wise words from folks in my life whose opinions actually matter to me. Why is this important? Because those wise words can change your life if you pay attention and put them...