Why the advice you get doesn’t work

The best advice—or at least the advice I recall most vividly—that I ever got from my father was not about golf, school or business. It was about how to talk to a girl. Early one morning in our suburban living room, both of us in our pyjamas sitting on our floral coach, I told Dad about my predicament. At my high school, there was this angelic black-haired girl with dark brown eyes and olive skin. I was completely head-over-heels. But I was in … [Read more...]

Real leaders get it. It’s not about power. It’s about service

If you need more reasons to say thanks to the person who serves you your morning coffee, here’s a couple: By doing so, you will be committing an act of service. and honing your leadership skills. Among the silver linings of the pandemic lockdown is that we’ve been pushed out of our rote ways of living. We’ve all had to adapt. You could resist. Some are. I believe that a contributing factor to this whole mess is that we have demanded the world … [Read more...]

How can you help someone during the virus crisis? Just listen

We must love one another or die.                                          From the poem September 1, 1939 by W.H. AudenAs a society, our survival depends on loving each other, but our culture doesn’t know how to do it very well.Especially now, when there’s so much fear and stress, we need to connect more than ever with each … [Read more...]

A question for men: You hear a sexist joke. Do you say anything?

Victory was declared yesterday in the worldwide movement against sexual misconduct. Harvey Weinstein was convicted of sexual assault, and now faces up to 29 years in jail. “It’s a perfect test case of what happens when a culture begins to shift,” Deborah Tuerkheimer, a law professor, told The New York Times.This momentary victory will add momentum to the fight against predators, but it’s my sense that a significant change … [Read more...]

How can men make the world safer for women?

On Saturday morning, I was steeling myself for another Globe and Mail article connected to the sexual abuse of Megan Brown, a former University of Guelph athlete. I coach the golf team at Guelph.Instead, I found a disturbing story about a report that the late Jean Vanier, the Canadian founder of L’Arche, had sexually exploited a number of women employees.Really? Jean Vanier! This hit me hard because as a Roman Catholic, and the nephew of two … [Read more...]