Catalyst Strategic Consultants

I wrote a while ago about getting involved, getting engaged in the fall.  It’s the natural season for activation after the lazy summer. I want to tell you about a project I’ve gotten hold of: or rather, it’s got hold of me.  And Bob.  Bob Carrothers from Denver is my partner in crime. Some may […]

This eerie time of year when, after the pause of summer, everything starts up. “Everyone’s cured for the summer” was a mentor’s explanation. Most structured activity breaks off. A looseness sets in, latitude is wide, the field is more open. It used to be quieter in summer – it was hard to connect with people, […]

Docked here in Joeys Sherwood Park. They give a lie to the idea that all franchise operations are the same. My friend and client Jeremy Leonard of Canada Pump and Power led me here during our planning sessions. It is ‘way better than it SHOULD be. The servers are always convivial and meet us with […]

This week marks two national days of consolidation. Canada Day and Independence Day. Coming over the big rocks to our alternate home on the Coast is a state change. It’s a different culture, a different world out here in BC. And those differences have become a factor now that our two provinces are in a […]

The Best There Is.. How did I nearly miss this?? On a Tuesday evening the Tallis Scholars graced the gorgeous Bella Concert Hall with their consummate grasp of renaissance choral music. I’ve always wanted to be in the presence of the best in the world. Bowling? I’m there. Because there is something transcendent in experiencing […]

Some of you enjoy my travel writing. Some of you keep up with my business / leadership musings in these pages. If you want the travel installments as I savour the south, hit reply. I’m about to make a transition- from Calgary to Mexico: a different mode of life, for a month. It is a […]

At some point, the wick of a meaningful event, an era, a life starts to burn down. The fuel of the lantern is getting low. Well, that’s as far as that metaphor will take us – maybe. Endings are often allowed to pass without using them appropriately to signal the significance of our work together, […]

The first issue of this year is to have a full impact on how long time it will… That sentence was built entirely out of the “suggested word” function on the IPad. Don’t let 2018 turn out that way! What do you think? Do you want your year come at you in that form, just […]

The Zocalo is a magnet in Mexican cities. That’s the main square, cathedral on one side and a generous space in front, making one full block around. The zocalo in Mexico City is immense – how did they ever figure to leave that much space back in 1530 or whenever it was that city was […]

Made it overnight from Calgary to Mexico City and on to Puebla today. This is a delightful fine city – about 21C each day and an elegant colonial street scape. We are staying in a hotel that is a converted nunnery- the hotel Quinta Real. Just back from a generous supper at a high end […]