One of my favorite entrepreneurs, Gary Vaynerchuk, often tells an anecdote about hard work versus smart work. The exact wording changes when he repeats the story but it goes something like this. Someone says ‘Hey Gary, I don’t…

On a daily basis I receive dozens of email messages from retail stores, online vendors or companies that I’ve purchased from or communicated with in the past — clothing stores, shoe stores, and printing companies —along with recipe…

When I started my career in journalism about 25 years ago (yikes!), the newspaper business was a lot different than it is today. While basic reporting skills such as conducting interviews and story writing haven’t changed very much,…

Google Docs resembles most common word processors. Document Template Your first screen offers choices for a New Document. There are template options for commonly used documents: resumes, letters, brochures, and proposals. You may start with a template, which…

Attending training is a wise career development move, often giving you skills to be more efficient and productive, which can help boost your career. In some cases, training can cause you to think in different ways and give…

When talking about creating an innovative environment we need to first define what innovation is. Innovation in its purest form means to create something new, but it can also mean better solutions, new methods of doing something, finding…

Blended learning refers to combining face-to-face instruction with eLearning, and is also known as hybrid, mixed, or integrative learning. Blended learning must successfully integrate synchronous (at the same time) and asynchronous (not happening at the same time) activities,…

Fostering innovation is good for businesses and yet many don’t do it. Innovative companies grow faster and are more profitable than those that aren’t innovators. Benefits include differentiating from the competition, increasing sales and profits, and better employee…

So what do vegetables have to do with a good learning experience? As it turns out, not much. Recently I was completing an update of one of our softskills courses and I came across an Energizer activity that…

Today, Jan. 28, is Data Privacy Day around the world. As the name suggests, it’s a day to promote good privacy practices and education at home and in the workplace, and to recognize the work being done to…

What is mobbing in the workplace? More and more people are becoming familiar with the harmful effects of bullying. Bullying is a problem that exists in many environments, including workplaces, and inflicts harm on the target through the…

Musicians, actors, magicians, politicians, and trainers all have one thing in common: performing in public. Stage fright is a workplace hazard for these people! While there are many causes of stage fright, one of the most common is…

What and Why? Bullying is a problem that exists in many environments, including workplaces, and inflicts harm on the target through the use of harassment, threats, intimidation, humiliation, or sabotage. It is damaging and often occurs over a…

In today’s economy, finding ways to make every dollar count is more important than ever. What investment will give you the longest-lasting impact? The answer, of course, is training. The old saying, “Give a man a fish and…

Businesses that don’t invest in training and teaching their employees new skills over the next few years are going to get left behind, according to a report released by the World Economic Forum. “New technology adoption drives business…

Strategy and Structure The organization of a code base can greatly affect speed of development as well as the speed at which a page is rendered. Performance As a website’s code base and traffic grows, a new skill…

For about six years beginning in 1997, four female firefighters in Richmond, British Columbia were subjected to harassment from their male colleagues. The women reported incidents including obscenities written inside their helmets and lockers, threatening notes, the display…

I love movies and TV series, especially science fiction. I own copies of all the Star Wars movies, along with all the Star Trek movies and episodes from all the different series. I also have Firefly, Babylon 5,…