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“Hey guys, I am writing something for my sons on manhood: can I ask you a couple of questions?”, I asked the group of 4 twenty-something guys as we sat in the hot tub of a local fitness club. “Sure man – fire away.”, they replied. “Ok, what is a man?” I inquired. “Ahhhh…”, they paused to collect their thoughts …

This could easily be the mantra of every leader.  It’s simple, but it’s not easy.  It’s really the basis of all leadership.  This is something you could frame and put on your wall to remind you of its importance. “Have the Conversation.” That’s it.  Like I said, simple, but not easy. The essence of leadership is communication: communication of all …

“Hey, where’s Chris?” I inquired. “He’s in the hospital.  But he’s coming…” was the reply. What?  And then the story unfolded… My good friend Chris had been teaching his college class when his heart began doing some funny things.  These feelings were not new however.  He had had these strange irregularities before.  He excused himself and went to the campus …

“Hi there.  My name is Jack and I’m with Dickson’s Coffee.  I have some great coffee and new products I’d love to show you.  We’ve just come out with a fabulous pancake mix – how ‘bout I whip up some fresh pancakes for you?” And with that pitch my dad attempted to sell to a restaurant owner on his route …

What? You want me to speak at the ceremony? Are you serious? What would I say? I don’t have any good clothes with me. I don’t even speak their language… Despite all my objections our Cambodian host would not be thwarted from his objective to see me speak at this auspicious occasion. We were in Cambodian in the city of …

The villagers could see the waters flooding into the harbour.  They had to run to higher ground.  They had to flee for their lives. Where could they go? There were two hills: one closer and lower, one farther and higher.  One requiring less effort to reach, the other requiring more effort to reach.  Many of the villagers raced to the …

“Happy birthday Bob.  How old are you?” “Well, I’m 25!” was the reply. Now this did not make sense.  My friend was not totally sure how old his acquaintance was, but he knew for sure he was not 25.  Bob was somewhere in his 50s.  He thought he had heard that Bob was actually turning 60. So, he called Bob …

I just came from an amazing event.  Hundreds of men gathered to contribute to the betterment of their community.  Hundreds of men of all ages, colors and stripes united by the desire to do what they can to spend themselves for the benefit of others: hundreds of men who give a damn. 100 Men Who Give a Damn.  (www.100menkelowna.com)  The …

They strapped him to his wheel chair.  Then, they strapped him to the bungee cord. What?  A guy in a wheel chair bungee jumping – you’ve got to be kidding me?! This was no ruse, no joke.  This was actually Canada’s Man in Motion Rick Hansen about to be pushed off the platform in his wheelchair to go bungee jumping.  …

How is your sense of humour? I think the real test of your sense of humour is your ability to laugh at yourself.  Good leaders can laugh at themselves because they don’t take themselves too seriously.  If you can laugh at yourself and your own mistakes it means you have a strong sense of self-worth: making mistakes doesn’t threaten you. …