Stubborn optimism is not about wishful thinking, but about concrete action in combination with purpose and meaning. Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change and Senior Political Strategist (2010-2016) In their book, The Future We Choose, they propose: Let go of the old world: Ignore nostalgia, burst your own bubble and […]
Leadership: laying the groundwork
Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success and letting them shine. Chris Hadfield, An astronaut’s guide […]
Instrument of peace
The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace. Carlos Santana, a Mexican and American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock ‘n’ roll and Latin […]
Uncertainty: knowing in a complex world
Science is the best intellectual tool we have for dealing with COVID-19. But it’s not magic. Talking with our kids, we can acknowledge the vaccine hopes, the changing mask rules, the uncertainty and share that this is what it is to be human, seeking to know in a complex, mysterious world. Jacob Berkowitz, University of […]
Global village
Canadians have more power to stop a pandemic than we do to stop climate change. Foresight and discipline are already bending this virus’s curve. But climate change shatters the illusion that any country can wall itself off from the rest of the world; it proves what another Canadian said long ago, that nations are mere […]