You can’t hate someone whose story you know. I recently discovered the Ear Hustle podcast. “Ear Hustle brings you the stories of life inside prison, shared and produced by those living it. The podcast is a partnership between Nigel Poor, a Bay Area visual artist and Earlonne Woods, formerly incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, and was co-founded with […]
3 Mutual-benefit strategies to reduce conflict and improve the land-use application process
November 28, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
Land-use applications are a rich source of conflict, almost everywhere. That’s certainly my experience, here in Victoria. Too often, the interests of developers, public administrators and community members are in conflict, especially when a rezoning, or amendment to the Official Community Plan, is required. It’s not uncommon for changes proposed by a developer to be […]
Summer before Fall: A technique to cool things down when team conflict gets too hot
November 19, 2018 by · 3 Comments
How often have you been in a team or group meeting of some sort, conflict flares, and before you know it, there’s too much talking and not enough listening? Summer before Fall Summer before Fall is a (non-gender-specific) technique to cool things down when tensions rise in your group. The technique promotes active listening […]
Cultivate a ‘critical thinking’ mindset to improve the quality of your work and life
July 9, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
In the 2018 RBC Royal Bank report, Humans Wanted: How Canadian youth can thrive in the age of disruption, active listening, speaking, critical thinking, and reading comprehension are at the top of the list of “projected skills demands, for all occupations”. IMHO, of those top four “most important” skills, critical thinking doesn’t get enough attention, […]
3 Strategies to help mediate the affordable housing crisis
April 10, 2018 by · Leave a Comment
My city, Victoria, is in the middle of a housing affordability crisis. Even more so, is my city neighbour, Vancouver. Property values have escalated so fast, and high, that all but the wealthy can afford what used to be common aspirations of the middle class – e.g., own your own home. With a growing affordability gap […]
