BizDr.ca

01/23/2026

Are you and your leaders spending more time putting out fires than moving the business forward?

In our latest article, we look at why leadership teams get stuck in the weeds—and practical steps to move from firefighting to flow: clearer priorities, stronger systems, and protected time to think.

If that sounds familiar in your organization, this one’s for you.

Stuck in daily firefighting? Learn how to free your leadership team from the weeds with clear priorities, better systems, and healthier business performance.

12/20/2025

Has another year passed already? Wow. Here's a short summary from the BizDr.
https://buff.ly/BEK3bWf
Best wishes to you for 2026!

Another year has passed, and Succession Planning was the dominant theme for 2025.

07/04/2025

Humans love stories. Whether we’re sitting around a campfire, sharing a meal and drinks with friends, or just saying hello and sharing an anecdote, we love to hear and tell stories about ourselves and others. Telling stories is a great way to share information.

We can use stories to share information about our organization. Read more to see how we are using stories with our clients.

Stories can help bring to life an organization's vision and mission, its values, its processes, and so much more. In short, stories are a great way to build culture in a meaningful and intentional manner.

06/13/2025

HBR has a wonderful short article about that big jump from Manager to Executive. Definitely worth the read if you have access.
https://buff.ly/bOcMQq6
In a nutshell, three key points:
1. Transition from being an expert to being a coach
2. Stop valuing your own ex*****on and learn to appreciate the work others are doing.
3. Evolve from oversight to scaling systems.

This transition is very difficult and failing that transition creates a lot of ripple effects throughout the organization (and for your career).

Looking for help or guidance? Contact me!

Becoming a leader of leaders is a change of both scope and attitude. Your decisions may now affect dozens (or hundreds) of employees. Your results depend on how well other experienced professionals do their jobs, not on what you can personally make happen. Stepping into these shifts doesn’t happen...

06/12/2025

Will your organization survive your death? Can it thrive without you? Sucession planning helps make sure it does?

I recently experienced a case where the owner's death caused the business to shut down. Hundreds of customers (me included), a dozen employees, and many suppliers are all affected negatively by this very sad event. The owner had a history of ill health and was in his seventies: why wasn't this planned for? Where was the succession planning?

It's human to want to avoid planning for our deaths even when we know it's the right thing to do. Too many people avoid this task and impose all kinds of costs and pain for those left behind. I've seen spouses left high and dry, families get broken up, and businesses close shop because of lack of succession planning.

Yet, it can be fairly simple and inexpensive to plan for the inevitable.

- On the personal side, ensure that you have an up-to-date will and what I call an Emergency Document - a 1-pager that tells the reader what to do and who to call to get things in motion.

On the business side, I like the idea of the Emergency Document too, but there will typically be a little more planning involved. You would really want to clarify:

- What happens to the governance of the organization in your absence.

- Who all the key players are that need to know of the event, and how they can help.

- And, of course, what your will says about ownership of the business.



You have worked hard to build your life and your business to the point it is now. Don't risk it all by ignoring an event that you know will happen sooner or later. The people in your life will thank you for your forward thinking.

If you're looking for help on this topic of succession planning, please contact us now! We would be happy to facilitate conversations and planning sessions to make sure you and your organization can survive (maybe thrive!) if and when something happens to you. Contact us now!
https://buff.ly/daSZmQG

05/29/2025

The requirements for effective leadership are changing. Here is one view:
https://buff.ly/qoq3Knr
What are you doing to develop your own skills, and those of your team?

04/16/2025

What is Fractional Leadership? A good primer article below.
https://buff.ly/9Mjgn9h
Our clients see the benefits too! We are currently engaged fractionally in various COO, CFO, and PMO roles. Contact me to find out more!

As ever-increasing pressures make traditional full-time executive roles psychologically unsustainable, the structure of leadership needs a significant rethink.

02/18/2025

There's a lot to be said for doing good and doing well. Cisco's programme is a great example of how business can be healthy when it helps societies be healthy.

In 50 countries, Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration program shows what tech collaboration to transform societies is all about.

02/12/2025

A recent Gallup At Work survey identified the three top traits people look for in their leaders.
1. Hope (by a large margin)!
2. Trust
3. Compassion

How do these traits show up with you?

There's a lot to unpack here, so it's worth reading the article (it's short) for more context.

Hope is powerful -- and it's what people need most consistently from the leaders in their lives. See what this means for current and future leaders.

02/06/2025

A great article on the responsibilities inherent in setting up a coaching relationship for success:
https://buff.ly/4jKdU6t
My take-away questions:
1. Is Coaching the right answer for this situation?
2. Does the Coachee understand what's expected of them?

I'm adding these to my coaching prospect conversations from now on.

Coaching often fails to deliver because organisations want the benefits of coaching without making the up-front investment in screening individuals for coaching readiness.

01/10/2025

A testament to human innovation and entrepreneurship? Our World in Data analyzes inflation-adjusted prices of commodities over the long run. Perhaps all our fears over scarcity of resources are misplaced? Perhaps we should look for opportunities instead?
https://buff.ly/427Rx4s
A healthy business is one that looks for opportunities instead of problems. Which path are you following?

In the 1980s, economist Julian Simon won his bet with biologist Paul Ehrlich on mineral prices. But what does the long-term data tell us about supply and demand for resources?

12/19/2024

Misalignment between strategy and employee preparedness.
https://buff.ly/4iLhEnS
Leaders MUST improve their communication skills - speaking and listening. Otherwise, no strategy in the world will succeed without the employees who execute that strategy.