In 1987, at my first job as an engineer, my boss’s boss—Fraser Blair—felt larger than life. He had a booming voice, a big presence, and a senior title that honestly intimidated me. One day I asked him a simple question about the origin of “Mahone Bay.” That night, at 10pm, he called me at home with the answer. That quiet act of follow-through completely disarmed my fear and built a bridge of trust and camaraderie that changed how I worked.

This experience taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten: follow-through builds trust faster than authority. In this short video, I share the story and invite you to consider one outstanding commitment you could close today—an email, an introduction, a decision, a promise.

👉 Watch the video below and reflect on how your own follow-through shapes trust at work. 🎥

👉 Catch the full story here

“Steve, I’ve tried the gratitude list thing… it just doesn’t work for me.”

That’s what a participant told me at a recent gratitude retreat. Her experience is more common than you might think. A lot of people—and a lot of leaders—are faithfully writing gratitude lists that never really touch the heart. The problem isn’t gratitude itself; it’s that we’re only practicing one-third of it.

In this video, I walk through three components of meaningful gratitude:

👉 Catch the full story here

In the video below, I share how I shifted from vague expectations to a clear, five‑minute integrity talk that spelled out what cheating looked like, what the consequences were, and why it mattered. More importantly, I share the leadership question that changed everything: “What did I not say, clarify, model, or reinforce that might have made this outcome more likely?”

👉 Watch the full story here

In 1997, I bought a Mother’s Day gift that backfired – and it changed how I lead. I realized that good intentions don’t automatically translate into positive impact. This principle applies to teams, decisions, and relationships. In this post, I share the story and the question every leader should ask before acting.

👉 Watch the full story here

Leadership isn’t about avoiding challenges—it’s about how you respond when they hit close to home. I learned this after catching a student cheating in an ethics exam. My instinct was personal, but the right response was principle-based. Here’s the full story and the lesson every leader needs.

👉 Watch now 🎥

After more than a decade of running the same trail, I thought I knew every regular. Then, one day, I met someone I already knew—and had never seen before.

That moment reminded me of a truth every leader needs to hear: the more experience you have, the more likely you are to miss something important.

Blindspots aren’t harmless—they’re costly. In this post, I’ll share why staying curious and humble is critical for leadership success.

👉 Watch the video and start uncovering what you’re missing! 🎥

Ever notice how kids never stop asking “Why”? Last week, my 3-year-old grandson reminded me of something powerful: as adults—and especially as leaders—we often stop asking, and even worse, we stop answering.

When you make changes in your organization, your team is just as curious as a child… but they’ll only ask once. If your answer doesn’t make sense, trust erodes. In this video, I share a simple truth about why explaining your “why” matters more than you think.

👉 Watch now and discover how to build trust by embracing curiosity.

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Sometimes the biggest relief comes from finally doing the thing you’ve been putting off.

In this short story, I share a personal experience that reminded me how often leaders delay decisions—even when the tools and resources are right in front of us.

If you're a CEO or business leader, this one's for you.

👉 What decision are you sitting on that could unlock clarity, growth, or momentum? <more>

Ever heard of pronoia?
It’s the opposite of paranoia—the belief that the universe is conspiring in your favour.

Last weekend, two friends sent me an article on gratitude from the NY Times. I hadn’t seen it yet, but they had me covered.

Fifteen years ago, my reaction would’ve been very different. <more>

One of my weekly check-ins with my boss 30 years ago is embossed in my mind. Watch the video to find out why ! <more>

The nurse asked me a routine medical question that made me freeze:

"Do you do any recreational drugs—like <more>

Last week our daughter Stef drops off 2 year old Mae at daycare. Accompanying her is our 10 year old grandson Max.

What happens next is amazing <more>

It’s July 31. We finish dinner and I say,

“Max, let’s get your sister in the stroller and go for a walk around the neighbour.”

“Sure thing Bump."

As we’re passing the school where Max will be going into grade 5, <more>

I have a few standard lines when I pass people from behind while running on our local trail.

As I’m coming up to pass, you’ll hear me, <more>

Imagine you’re heading out on summer vacation. Your 4 year old and 7 year old are all excited and jabbering away in the back seat. You double check the trailer hitch to make sure the camper is securely attached and pull out of the driveway at 9:30am. You figure you’ll be at today's destination by 3pm and you think back to when you were one of the kids in the back seat. You glance at your partner, “It’s beautiful out, I’m really looking forward to the drive.".

You’re not one kilometre from home and you hear a loud noise and then see <more>

Tomorrow we head out for our annual family vacation— kids, spouses and grandkids. It’s something we all look forward to each year. Unfortunately, we’re down one person this year as our son-in-law is on an extended voyage at sea for his work with the Navy.

As the grandkids have gotten older, we’ve <more>

After 4 years in our new house I decided to put a few finishing touches on the garage. Specifically, paint the floor and take the rough "construction look" out of a small set of steps.

I move stuff from one side of the garage to the other, paint and then reverse the process for the other side. I think I handled everything in the garage <more>

I’ve been thinking about retreats a lot lately. Probably because I just finished two this month, finalizing one in July and a few on the docket in the fall.

This "retreat thinking" caused me to recall <more>

This past weekend we were looking after our 2-year old granddaughter, Maesey, for an hour or so to cover for our daughter who wanted to get out for a long run.

We did the usual kid activities—some food, some colouring, some hide-the-duckies, some toys and some reading.

What strikes me is her <more>

A few weeks back I was speaking with the senior leadership team of a large national police force. During one of the exercises someone asks, "In our work, we are constantly barraged with negative situations. What advice do you have so that we can be grateful ?" He goes on, "Our work is <more>