Tell-tale toads take to reclaimed land

(Article written for Suncor Energy employee publication) Like the canary in the coal mine signaling air quality, frogs and toads move in when an ecosystem is healthy. “To most people, toads may not be the ‘sexiest’ wildlife species out there,” says Leo Paquin,...
No respect for words

No respect for words

“Words are not much valued on the Internet, perhaps because it features so many of them.” So reads a line in a recent article by David Streitfeld in The New York Times, called “Funny or Die: Groupon’s Fate Hinges on Words.” The article...
Freelancing 101 tips

Freelancing 101 tips

“You can have it fast, you can have it good, you can have it cheap. Pick any two.” If these are words for independent communicators to live by – reflecting the value of what we do – why do so many of us buckle when a prospective client balks at the price we propose? A...
Brand You, no margaritas required

Brand You, no margaritas required

Are you always the same person, or do you act one way with friends and family, and a different way with clients and colleagues? While on vacation, I was chatting (over a few margaritas) with a few ladies I had just met, and one of the women spoke warmly of her son....
Don’t be a hoarder

Don’t be a hoarder

You wouldn’t believe it, looking at my office last week, but I am not a hoarder. Hoarders, as displayed to the world in the A&E show of the same name, have “an inability to part with their belongings” that is so out of control, they are on the...
Is the client buying ‘you’?

Is the client buying ‘you’?

While at the dentist’s office getting my teeth cleaned, the dental hygienist mentioned something we both found shocking: The dentist got his sister-in-law to buy everything for his wife’s Christmas stocking. Okay, so spinmasters will say Dr. P. was...