Catalyst Strategic Consultants

Talk about a man who left a mark!  Not just on the landscape [there too – see Kananaskis Country] but in a Province’s culture, in the shape of leaders to come, in the competence of a government, in the optimism of millions. And he understood by whose grace he held position.  He took umbrage when […]

How did such a universal failure become a central feature in most biz processes? You know how it works. You spend 15 minutes laying out your concern as a customer with one of our stellar large scale [or small scale!] enterprises. “Thank you. I’ll just transfer you to the people who can help you with […]

I don’t know if you’ve been through the TransCanada between Lake Louise and Golden lately, but those infrastructure folks have been busy! A remarkable piece of highway is taking shape over a stretch that has been known as a dreaded killer for many years. Once you pass Field and head down into Golden, the slow […]

Well, we’re back. Summer’s over, the kids are off to school and we’re trying to get back in gear for the beginning of the year. This one’s more real than January 1. By that time, we’re already involved with what we’ve chosen to tie ourselves into. Whether that’s joining new associations, stepping into volunteer roles, […]

Zealots Boy, did they sweat it. The Baltimore Symphony has a summer opportunity that the NY Times called “band camp”. Serious amateur musicians, the type who play in volunteer community orchestras, paid almost $2k to play with the pro’s. I mean, to play among, alongside, the pro’s – the paid musicians of an excellent orchestra […]

Geoffrey Moore [he of “Escape Velocity” again] says there are two architectures of biz. The volume model – a standardized product or service to many and the custom mode – the specially tailored offering to a few. And he is clear on this, branding is for the former, much less relevant to the latter. Well, […]

It got me right away when I tried to hang up a jacket on our Greek coat rack. It slipped off, and I thought in my dreamlike state, I’d missed the hook. When I looked closer, I saw my “heavy” Canadian jacket had actually bent the thin gauge steel of the extended hook. Well, I […]

Robert Caro has just released “Path to Power”. It’s the fourth volume of his obsessively detailed and compelling biography of Lyndon Johnson. Wow, but why would I care about that? Caro is fascinated by how power is gathered and wielded, enough that he has devoted a lifetime to that study. And for all time, he […]

I guess it’s a matter of taste. Four – and Five – star stays during holidays here sentence the visitor to isolation and distance. From what? In my experience, the juice of the country they’ve come to experience. Barry Giovanetto taught me the importance of the title phrase of this installment from Greece. He drove […]

It’s not as bad as you might think! And it’s not good either. But the land and its people go on. I missed this part of the grand backpack tour.   Most who, like me, came over young and thumbed around Europe were told tales for the envious by those who’d been. Nights drinking ouzo in […]