Mike’s Blog

Recently, a court ruled against Air Canada after a customer took them to small claims court. The customer needed to buy a last-minute ticket to attend his Mom's funeral. He went to their website to find out if they offered a bereavement discount on tickets (they do.)...

I'm through with talking about safety, physiological safety, and safe spaces. I just returned from leading a team development retreat. Usually, I spend time creating safety in the room. I do this by having a couple of discussions that explore what it means for the...

The past year has been quite the ride. It’s been full of good stuff, challenges, and even a few adventures. Earlier this summer, I found myself feeling lost. Where am I going? Do I have what it takes to be a success? Do I want to do this work anymore? What’s the...

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped and broke a bottle of wine. As much as I hate to ruin a good bottle of wine, I didn't beat myself up because it was an accident. Have you noticed how often people use the word "accident?" For example, a couple is dealing with an...

Growing up, I vaguely remember this lamp in my grandparent’s home. I remember it being a curiosity in my mind. Once my grandparents died, my parents acquired numerous pieces of their furniture, including the lamp. From that day forward, my Dad insisted I take it after...

You get on the stage, and ego rushes in to say, "Don't mess up." That's when the nerves would start to kick in. You'd know it as you'd likely see me pacing about if you were backstage with me. While I had nearly 35 years of experience performing in a band,...

A software team once told me they spend two hours refreshing their testing regions daily. I asked if this situation seemed reasonable to them. "No, it's a complete waste of time as it keeps us from working on the new features." When asked why they did not change this...

"The ginger beer is near the back of the store near the dog food." I nearly fell over when my son, Scott, said this to me. The thing is, he's gone blind in the past year and has only been in this store while blind. I asked him how he knew this. Scott explained that...

“You know what your problem is? You have too much money.” I explained, “What you’re doing is working, as evidenced by your profits and share value. So, you have no real reason to change. You can keep doing what you’re doing, and it’ll work … for now. After all, it did...

While I tend to not get too hung up on language. However, I always try to improve my language to honour our differences and be more inclusive. For example, one of the phrases I’m trying to change is my habit of saying, “You guys.” It’s a long-standing habit of mine to...