Here in my hometown we’re entering really week 3 of this lock-down, physical distancing, isolate-yourself-at-home world. I’ve noticed that the initial adrenaline and quick action o getting my pantry stocked and making sure my kids were safe and sound has subsided. There’s a new vibe out there in the world.
Change isn’t easy. Unless you have a magic wand, making the changes needed so you achieve your goals isn’t something that typically happens right away. Yet in the pressurized and stressful world of change that is our new norm, the urge to just find a “quick fix”…
I had the great fortune to graphically record the keynotes from an incredible line-up of speakers at The Art of Leadership in Toronto. This was an inspiring day, with knowledge nuggets being dropped from the stage continuously by world-renowned authors, speakers, and researchers, as well as from executives leading the charge on navigating change in their own organizations.
At the 2019 International Forum of Visual Practitioners annual conference, I was so fortunate to be in the company of 180 other graphic facilitators from 25 countries. We came from different cultures, different languages, and different experiences, but we all shared a common burning desire to use visual tools to spark great understanding, creativity and be a force for good when it comes to understanding and solving complex problems.
I do believe that life throws us these curve balls not to challenge us, but to change us. Now that I’m several months along in this grief walk, I feel I can start to articulate some of the choices that have helped along the way. I realize these choices are useful in any period of intense transition. Grieving the loss of a dream – a long and happy marriage, your health, a job you loved – can be just as painful and challenging as grieving the loss of a loved one.
Leadership is changing rapidly. Organizations are trying to shift cultures developed in the “command-and-control” model to become more collaborative, more responsive, and more engaging to meet the evolving needs and priorities of their marketplace. Even in society in general, this last year has seen a rise in public activism, in people speaking up for what they feel is important and right instead of sitting back to let elected leaders dominate public policy and discourse.
There’s something wonderfully inspiring about spending a day with almost 2,000 women leaders from all different kinds of professions listening to the wisdom and insight of some powerhouse women. That’s what I had the chance to do at The Art of Leadership for Women at the Metro Convention Centre. It was an honour to graphically capture the key insights and experience from a diverse and talented line-up of keynote speakers who shared their experience, research and insights on women and leadership.
There are two major brands that must have their crisis public relations team working overtime. United Airlines well-known tagline of “Fly the friendly skies” can, in light of recent events, only ever be heard now as an ironic punchline. A second brand that had had their marketing efforts hit the proverbial fan in terms of public response, was Pepsi with its “protest” ad featuring Kendall Jenner bridging the gap between police and protesters by offering a can of their product. With these current marketing debacles swirling in the news, the timing of The Art of Marketing was perfect.
Warren Beatty stepped on a communications land mine when presenting the Oscar for Best Picture in 2017. The Oscar ceremony always goes longer than you think it will, and the thing that keeps everyone there until the bitter end is finding out the big reveal of which film takes away the big prize. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway had the honour of presenting best film, and it went terribly wrong.
Leadership is a topic on the minds of most organizations – corporate, public sector, non-profit, entrepreneurial. The volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity that characterize the world we live in even has its own acronym now to provide a shorthand way of talking about it. How do you lead and succeed in a VUCA world?
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