Catalyst Strategic Consultants

Well, I guess we know the answer to that question!. Calgary usually only hits the news when there’s a big oilco merger or sale. Now we have our very own natural disaster. Flood of gigantic proportions raged over the end of last week. It seems a bit surreal now. The water’s mostly gone. The rivers […]

You never know how what you are laboring on today will be valued over the long haul. Working with Presidents and senior teams, as I do, I am always striving to extend their perspective and let them see what they are doing in a greater context. It makes for expansive visions and bigger stronger leaders. […]

Why go? It surprises me when I encounter those who haven’t gone or are cool to returning. It’s another world, but proximate to ours. Safe, reliable, not so jarring. Similar enough to navigate and operate without intervening resources [you need drivers, translators and tour guides in India, South America, Far East] Europe – no. So […]

From the Heart of the World A treasure – nothing less. Your beat ups a tic as you approach the city. So long in anticipation – on almost every bucket list – even if they don’t know it. Until it becomes a real and proximate possibility. Could I go there? See that? I’m on. And […]

This is a reluctant summer in Europe – cool, off and on raining. Still the scene at dawn from our second floor window is everything you could want from Italy: spires in the distance on hilltops, fog interlaced with ridges in the valleys, all in all – most satisfactory. Living differently – as one does […]

I had the privilege of hearing Thomas Yu perform at Dr. Cam McLean’s house last weekend. If you haven’t heard of Thomas, I’m surprised. He is a highly accomplished classical piano soloist. At the same time, he carries a full dental practice. And an elegant domestic life with his partner. It all summed up in […]

You know, 53 channels and nothing’s on. That’s all changed with the arrival of HBO on the TV production scene. These and a number of their rivals including some quality stalwarts like PBS have been fielding superior product that’s impossible to ignore. Not much of it is available on the conventional channels – the “free” […]

Autism is rampant. It’s an epidemic. A few years ago the incidence spiked. No one knows why, but all of a sudden, a huge spate of cases deluged inadequate treatment resources. Parenting a kid on the autism spectrum is very difficult coping, even crazy making. An autistic child is isolated inside: trapped in a closed […]

You’ll recall the story of Jean and Rivet and the “Here to There” goal of 14 hours to site. We were ready to talk about taking that down to his execution level – the senior “team”. It’s in quotes for a reason. The first thing we discover is that some who are on the “team” […]

Last installment, Rivet and its young President Jean had figured out a “From Here to There” goal that could mobilize the company. Why would I shape this work to only happen with the President – and not with the “team”? Hierarchy has been with humans for centuries. Back in the time of the Pharaohs, he […]