Creative Lives

Duane Jones: Most Inspiring Immigrants 2021

April 13, 2021 rbudd Leave a Comment

“Artists have the power to spark joy, inspire revolutions, grow businesses, push culture forward and much more, yet most people, artists included underestimate the power of art. We want to change that.

Duane Jones, MIM (Class of 2014)

Duane Jones MIM (Class of 2014)

CEGE Connection sends our congratulations to Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014), creative director and founder of the lifestyle brand and podcast Art Pays Me, for being named by My East Coast Experience as one of the most inspiring immigrants in the Maritime provinces for 2021.

Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014) is a visual branding, graphic design, and information management specialist. His competitive advantage comes from a unique ability to bring together information management with the creative world of art and graphic design.

CEGE Connection reached out to Duane for his thoughts on receiving this prestigious recognition.

Duane Jones Most Inspiring Immigrants 2021

Duane Jones:

I am honoured and grateful to be added to this amazing list of people. Thank you to the person who nominated me and the friends who wrote in support of my nomination to be one of My East Coast Experience’s Most Inspiring Immigrants of 2021. Thank you to the judging panel for including me on this distinguished list of accomplished individuals who actively choose to make the Maritimes their home.

I want to give a shoutout to Bermuda, my friends, family, and the elders who laid the foundation for me.

Thank you to my parents for having high expectations of me in every aspect of life – making sure that my school uniform was always ironed and clean, encouraging me to pursue further education, keeping my brother and me busy with extra curricular activities like music sports and martial arts – but most of all making sure that through it all we became good people.

I also want to thank my wife Natasha for being there from day one of my business journey and supporting me when I need an extra push despite having a busy career of her own.

Thank you to my kids, Ava and Ella, for being my biggest inspiration. They are both a lot like me in their own unique ways and so much more talented at everything they do than I was at their ages. They remind me to keep pushing so I can give them the leg up that my parents were able to give me. I hope that by seeing their dad get acknowledged for this will inspire them as much as they inspire me.

Krista Phillips: Making a Positive Impact in the Climate Change and Clean Energy Sectors

January 12, 2021 rbudd Leave a Comment

Krista Phillips MBA(Leadership) Class of 2020

Krista Phillips, Clean Energy and Transportation Strategist, Government of Nova Scotia, is passionate about the development of vibrant communities. She believes that by supporting our entrepreneurs and promoting new and innovative development, our communities can be energized, dynamic, and culturally exciting places to live! A civil engineer and project management professional with over 20 years experience, Krista has worked in the environmental remediation sector across Canada. She is currently working to develop policy and programs to modernize the transportation systems in Nova Scotia, including electric and alternative fuels in both land and marine transportation.

Krista crossed the virtual state to receive her MBA(Leadership) in October 2020. CEGE Connection reached out to Krista for her thoughts on her MBA journey and how life-long learning has opened her to new opportunities.

Krista Phillips

I enrolled in the MBA program to change the direction of my career. I am an engineer and worked in the environmental consulting industry for many years. My main role was as a project, team, and client manager. I found that once I moved into a government position, I was largely seen as an exclusively technical person, which can limit opportunities for advancement and continued career growth, certainly in the direction I wanted to pursue.

Also, working in consulting had given me a background in some aspects of business management, but I found I had many questions related to senior decision making and corporate strategy. For those reasons, I decided an MBA would give me strengths in areas where I was lacking, as well as a different perspective and way of looking at both problems and opportunities.

Keeping the balance between work, study, and life required focus and a flexible mindset. When I initially considered doing an MBA, my consulting job required a lot of evenings and weekend work, and last-minute travel. With my current position I was fortunate that I had available time, which allowed me to schedule my schoolwork in such a way that I could work full time and study three or so evenings each week, working on weekends as needed. Typically, I would do all my reading and study work during the week and complete my assignments on weekends, when there were more periods of uninterrupted time.

The distance learning model used by Centre for Executive and Graduate Education for their MBA programs made it easy to schedule my own time, without having to attend a series of regular classes. I was able to study when I wanted, and still maintain a personal life.

Many people have said to me that they would have difficulty combining a full-time career with a robust academic course load. It certainly does require discipline to sidestep the temptation of procrastination, but once I became accustomed to the routine it became a part of my daily activities.

My work for the government is focused on addressing climate change through innovation, renewable energy, and clean transportation. These are all new and emerging sectors which need support to be adopted and integrated into our daily lives. The MBA(Leadership) positioned me to identify and employ strategic thinking and planning, skillsets necessary to evaluate and explore solutions for complex situations.

I now look at problems from various points of view and understand how senior leadership manages the decision-making processes. This MBA(Leadership) program helped me to change how I see each situation, to allow more room for differing opinions, and to remain flexible in my approach.

The program has a heavy focus on presentations to professors and classmates. Having delivered at least a dozen presentations has increased my confidence in public speaking events at conferences and seminars. This confidence is evident when I deliver briefings to senior executives and present my ideas to colleagues.

I chose the leadership stream of the MBA program, the direction in which my career is taking me. Whether it is in a senior executive leadership position, or simply applying my learnings while mentoring junior staff, these skills will be valuable throughout the rest of my career.

What are my next steps? Now that I have completed my MBA, this is the question I am currently exploring. I have a few ideas and avenues I am pursuing that will allow me to keep growing within an industry that I love. My goal is to make a positive impact in the climate change and clean energy sectors.

Carrie Morrison: My Journey to Find More

October 13, 2020 rbudd Leave a Comment

“I have found the ‘more’ I had been looking for. I found it with Epilepsy Canada. In hindsight, I see that my personal quest and perseverance to obtain my MBA was to honour the memory of my little girl. She was my inspiration and it is my soul-fulfilling honour to be able use my hard-earned MBA to help find a cure for epilepsy.”

Carrie Morrison MBA(FS) Class of 2018

Carrie Morrison MBA(FS) Class of 2018

At the end of my academic journey with Dal and my MBA goal achieved, many people asked, “what are you going to do with your degree?” To be honest, I always knew I wanted to do more… more than my role at the bank, which fulfills my need for professional growth, my ambition and pays my bills. The problem was I did not know what “more” looked like or how it would manifest itself or materialize.

Currently, I work as the Chief of Staff for Enterprise Systems, Security and Solutions, TD Bank. I work closely with senior leaders to run, protect and transform the bank. This means we ensure stable and secure operations through technological solutions, enablement, advancements and innovations. Sounds kind of fancy but in simplified terms, the team I work with delivers information and cyber security, enterprise technology and transformational programs and initiatives. It is a role, to be honest, which challenges me daily and provides me a new-found knowledge and insight beyond what I had imagined. And yet, even though I feel engaged professionally, I acknowledged that I was ready for something outside my career path.

I determined that it was time to search for the “more” by exploring options and opportunities. I asked myself some soul-searching questions: What could I do with my MBA? How could I leverage my education and degree for the greater good? Why had I persevered through years of school? What was it all for? I recognized that I was personally invested in school, but it was during this time of reflection and discovery that I came to find its true connection.

My MBA gave me a professional distinction which was recognized not only within my company and industry, but across the country and, in fact, world. Those three letters, MBA, are a universal acronym and symbol that tells people, ‘hey, that person knows a thing or two…’! My MBA gives me credibility – a credibility for which I am responsible to live up to and uphold, a credibility which is tangible and understandable inside and outside of a business context.

This credibility led me to consider opportunities which would have otherwise been out of immediate reach. Opportunities like: becoming an Exec at a fintech or startup, something new and exciting and almost entrepreneurial in spirit; possibly teaching, taking additional adult learning courses in order to inspire and instill knowledge in others, which I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to receive; and/or finally join a Board. Not just any board, a board which had salience for me. A board which fulfilled my soul and personal quest for “more”.

This was it! Joining a Board would allow me to leverage my MBA for a good cause. My MBA was an allowance, giving me the permission to apply within this arena without having to have work for 25+years. It provided me credibility which is usually gained through years of service. Through my journey of self-discovery, which followed graduation and lasted about a year, I had finally figured out what “more” meant to me.

Before I started my MBA, my husband and I sadly lost a child, Carlee Dale, when she was an infant, to a rare epileptic disorder called Ohtahara Syndrome. The experience of losing a child changed me forever and I hope no one will ever have to live with the lasting sorrow, like I do. I persevered through some personally tragic, hard and dark times. As time progressed, so has my healing. However, I continued to crave a challenge of perseverance. The challenge gave me relief and solace. It gave me something on which to focus my energy, while providing a distraction.

Fast forward, having my MBA in hand, the only thing that made sense was to fight in Carlee Dale’s memory and for other people impacted by epilepsy. I applied to the Board for Epilepsy Canada and was welcomed to join the Board in September 2019. Epilepsy Canada is a Canadian charity which works to raise funds to fund research and find a cure for epilepsy. Its funding is driven primarily by social media, individual events and sadly, estates. We are actively seeking corporate partnerships and alliances in order to strengthen and support our ability to fund important research initiatives to find a cure across Canada.

I have found the ‘more’ I had been looking for. I found it with Epilepsy Canada. In hindsight, I see that my personal quest and perseverance to obtain my MBA was to honour the memory of my little girl. She was my inspiration and it is my soul-fulfilling honour to be able to use my hard-earned MBA to help find a cure for epilepsy.

Epilepsy Canada. – Canada’s only national, registered charity, dedicated to raising funds for Epilepsy research and education.

Founded in 1966.

Did you know:

Over 350,000 Canadian men, women and children live with Epilepsy. It affects 65 million worldwide.
There is no cure.
Epilepsy affects more people than cerebral palsy + muscular dystrophy + multiple sclerosis + cystic fibrosis, combined
Epilepsy causes more deaths than breast cancer, prescription overdoses, skin cancer and drunk driving accidents
The epileptic population is 2x as likely as the general population to suffer from depression

Carrie Morrison: My Journey to Find More

June 2, 2020 rbudd 4 Comments

Carrie Morrison MBA(FS) Class of 2018

Epilepsy Canada. – Canada’s only national, registered charity, dedicated to raising funds for Epilepsy research and education.

Founded in 1966.

Did you know:

Over 350,000 Canadian men, women and children live with Epilepsy. It affects 65 million worldwide.
There is no cure.
Epilepsy affects more people than cerebral palsy + muscular dystrophy + multiple sclerosis + cystic fibrosis, combined
Epilepsy causes more deaths than breast cancer, prescription overdoses, skin cancer and drunk driving accidents
The epileptic population is 2x as likely as the general population to suffer from depression

Editors note: CEGE Connection is pleased to advise that Carrie has graciously agreed to be a repeat contributor on CEGE Connection.

Tyler Saito: Sharing Knowledge, Building Resilience

August 6, 2019 rbudd Leave a Comment

“Once we start on the learning path, the addiction to knowledge acquisition takes over. Life-long learning becomes embedded in everything we do…. Acquiring knowledge is only the beginning of a journey. Sharing knowledge sustains us on the road ahead.

Tyler Saito, Class of 2016

Tyler Saito, MBA(FS) Class of 2016

Tyler Saito, Director, Wealth Management Business Solutions at Coast Capital Wealth Management crossed the stage in 2016 to receive his MBA(FS). In a July 2017 virtual interview with CEGE Connection, Tyler shared his thoughts on the idea of “Deeper Learning” as presented by Martine Durier-Copp and Joyline Makani’s award-winning research. A recent MBA(FS) grad, Tyler outlined his next steps within the context of this research:

Reconnecting with friends and family. They were an invaluable support and encouragement all through my years of study. As well, I am committed to utilizing and mastering what I have learned in my chosen career path with Coast Capital Financial Management, an organization that reflects my values and gives a purpose to work. I enjoy engaging in community endeavours and have used my Dal experience to coach little league fast-pitch and establish a communication strategy within this dedicated organization. Acquiring knowledge is only the beginning of a journey. Sharing knowledge sustains us on the road ahead.

Fast forward to 2019. In a following up interview with CEGE Connection, Tyler spoke of his commitment of reconnecting with family and friends, sharing knowledge and engaging in community endeavours.

Tyler Saito:

Since graduating, my family became my focus. My wife and children gave me their full support during the time that I was involved in professional development. They kept me grounded.

Summer has come and I am right in the middle of softball season with my girls. Both of my girls play fastpitch. It is an exciting time. I have enjoyed being their coach, for at least one of them, over the past four years. Being a coach of a softball team has given me an extraordinary opportunity to foster sportsmanship, collaboration and discipline, values that will build resilience as these children grow into adulthood. Simple acts like sitting with the team before and after the game and sharing how they felt during the game or practice helps them bond and trust each other, knowing that they are in a safe environment. While the focus of the team is playing a game, I have learned that one of the keys of keeping kids in the game is helping them make great friends and gain a sense of belonging.

With warmer weather, I am back to cycling and running outdoors. Last year I was able to complete two triathlons and two Gran Fondos. When I am putting in a couple hours of running or cycling, it gives me time to think and mentally reset a bit. It is also nice that these activities are excellent enablers of disconnecting from electronics and just focusing on breathing and moving. There is an interesting sense of camaraderie among cyclists and among runners. We are all out to beat our own times and efforts. Neither activity ever gets any easier with time, you just get a little faster.

Tyler Saito, Global News Morning, Money Matters

Editor’s Note: Tyler’s commitment to sharing knowledge and research is evident on Global News Morning, Money Matters. Check out Tyler’s recommended “Summer Financial Reads to Help Your Bank Account.”

Tyler Saito, Global News Morning, Money Matters

Stephen J. Boyd: Willing to Go Beyond

July 11, 2019 rbudd 2 Comments

“One of our friends asked me how I manage to incorporate endurance sporting events within a busy lifestyle. I had to think for a moment, before offering the only reasonable response that came to me – that I am willing to go beyond what others would do.”

Stephen J. Boyd MBA(FS) Class of 2018

Stephen Boyd Surfing The Point at Lawrencetown, Photo Credit, Stephen Boyd

Stephen Boyd is taking on the challenge of the Big Swim to be held August 18, 2019. Over the past months, Stephen has focused on training for this “epic” swim. CEGE Connection has been following Stephen on his journey. This is the second in the series of The Big Swim – A Give to Live Project.

Stephen J. Boyd MBA(FS) Class of 2018: Update July 2019

My wife, Sarah and I met up with friends a few weeks ago to celebrate the recent purchase of our new house. Over an animated dinner conversation, the topic of swimming came up. Our friends were interested in Sarah’s upcoming national synchronized swimming competition in Quebec City, including hearing about the sacrifices that had to be made to participate in this physical activity (her team did very well- proud husband). The discussion soon shifted to my participation in the BIG SWIM charity event, held in August each year. The event combines an epic feat of endurance, swimming from New Brunswick to PEI, with the opportunity to raise funds for an awesome charity. The BIG SWIM is not a race and supports swimmers of all abilities to get out into the Northumberland Strait and achieve the unimaginable. For normal people who cross the Northumberland Strait by bridge or ferry, the distance is roughly 13 kilometers. Due to currents, and other unknowns, I am told that the average swimmer will cover 15+ kilometers. It is a truly an epic undertaking.

One of our friends asked me how I manage to incorporate endurance sporting events within a busy lifestyle. I had to think for a moment, before offering the only reasonable response that came to me – that I am willing to go beyond what others would do.

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.

Since that dinner, I have reflected on my response regarding my willingness to commit to a physical challenge that demands a lot of dedication. Taking on the BIG SWIM will test my courage and resolve. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I do not have extraordinary athletic abilities, but I am prepared to make sacrifices such as getting up at 3:15 AM to train for an Ironman triathlon. This past Saturday, I swam approximately 8 KMs at the Dalplex. Although it does not appear to be a daunting task, Sarah, my greatest supporter, reminded me that distance equated to 160 + laps of an Olympic long-course pool.

Overall, training is going as planned. On those 5:30a.m. drives to the pool, I stay motivated by thinking about the exhilaration of participating in an endurance event. The charity swim is scheduled for August 18^th, and I still have a lot of hard training ahead. I remind myself that I have taken on an epic feat of endurance. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Going beyond takes a person to the next level of personal fulfillment. It builds resilience to seek out the next challenge. I am certain that I will do other marathon swimming events.

While driving to our new home this weekend, a local school had a billboard that read: “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” I am uncertain who originally came up with this thought, but I think it is brilliant.

Steve
July 2019

Big Swim

Dr. Rick Nason: Consumer Spending, Economic Performance and GDP Growth

June 25, 2019 rbudd 1 Comment

Dr. Rick Nason

Kevin Ebert MBA(FS) Class of 2014 sent in a question to Dr. Rick Nason:

“Major FI’s around the world currently see Canadian consumers being massively over-levered and the Toronto/Vancouver housing markets as ‘bubble-concerns’. Viewed another way: Consumer spending, via low interest rate credit, has been the ‘fuel’ for Canada’s economic performance and GDP growth. What advice would you give MBAs currently leading Canadian-domiciled companies, looking to maximize growth & opportunity, while minimizing risk/exposure to these issues?” Kevin Ebert MBA(FS)

In the fifth installment of striving for success in 2019, Dr. Rick Nason discusses consumer spending, economic performance and GDP growth.

Dr. Rick Nason:

Consumer spending is the only engine behind GDP. If consumers do not buy anything, then businesses don’t make things, which in turn means that businesses don’t buy anything, and so on into the box top of the classic box of Moirs chocolates[1]. So, we cannot put the blame on consumers.

Having said that, Canadian consumers are arguably over-leveraged. However, we have also been, in my humble opinion, coasting on a variety of made-in-Canada factors for a very long period of time. I won’t go into the specific factors that I believe we have been coasting under for fear of this being labeled a political blog. I am sure that the reader can make their own list.

As Canadians we are incredibly lucky. We have a relatively stable and responsible government (my comment in the previous paragraph notwithstanding), we have an embarrassment of natural resources, and we have, for the most part, a suitable climate. What this has produced is a corporate culture that has become fat and lazy; despite our daily machinations about working such long and hard hours. Of course, some of us (ahem ahem) have literally got fat and lazy, but we will leave my personal state of affairs out of this blog.

I believe that there are two short and simple responses to your question. The first is to stop thinking that you are a Canadian company. Yes, take the advantages that being Canadian provides you, but take those advantages and learn to play on the world stage. Yes, that means that you need to leave behind some of the Canadian advantages, such as protectionism, behind. But wake up, we are a big country with not many people. As the rest of the world develops, it is learning to do more with less, and on a much larger scale of people, and yes, that includes a much larger base of consumer spending. That means that the rest of the world is developing experience at scale. We do not have the scale, and to get it you must go out and think and behave globally.

Leaving your familiar backyard is scary. I remember leaving my neighbourhood when I was approximately 10 years old with a group of my friends to play a street hockey game against a neighbourhood on the other side of the town that none of us had ever been to. It felt as if we were taking a trip to the moon. It sounds silly, but I think that is what many Canadian companies still feel. Admittedly, as Canadians we have one heck of a nice neighbourhood, but how are you to develop your street hockey skills unless you get out there and test your skills, and learn new skills from other neighbourhoods? (Hope you appreciate my Canadian spelling of “neighbourhood” in this paragraph and the home-grown theme of street-hockey.)

The second, and related solution is to compete! compete! compete! Except for hockey, and perhaps only women’s hockey at that, we have forgotten about how to compete. (Okay – time to break the no politics rule.) Take for instance interprovincial trade. We don’t even want to compete interprovincially! Historically, there were arguably some valid reasons to prevent too much competition. Unfortunately, that is now being laughed at by the rest of the world (although one prominent figure with arguably worse hair than mine – although I have undisputedly the more natural complexion – is making a mockery of international trade and competition for the moment.)

Since you brought it up, Canadian financial institutions, in particular, have forgotten how to compete for the simple reason that they never needed to. Retail Canadians, and corporate Canada for that matter, are notoriously sticky consumers of financial institutions. We pick our financial institutions based on proximity, and the only time we change is when we change our neighbourhood – and even then, we keep our old accounts going. Canadian financial institutions constitute a classic oligopoly.

I love Canada. If you slit my wrists, instead of red and white blood cells you get Maple leaves, hockey pucks, and whatever crap the pulp mill in my neighbourhood was spitting out the day that I was born. However, I got most of my post-secondary education south of the border, and spent most of my non-academic career south of the border. The difference in the willingness to compete, in both academia, and in business continues to astonish and annoy me. We are a wonderful and blessed country, but if you want GDP growth (we can argue whether that is a worthy goal or not), we gotta step outside the neighbourhood and compete.

[1] For those of a too tender age who did not get the reference, do an internet search for vintage Moirs Pot of Gold Chocolate box

Dr. Rick Nason: Removing Complacency within a Dynamic Global Business Environment

June 11, 2019 rbudd Leave a Comment

Craig Macklin MBA(FS) Class of 2014 sent in a question to Dr. Rick Nason:

“I’ve taken a position of continually considering the changing global business environment as a way to remove complacency in my strategies when improving a company’s results…what are the 2-3 most important elements you see globally, that company leaders should pay attention to so that they can start getting comfortable being uncomfortable, especially in the face of the looming recession?” Craig Macklin MBA(FS)

In the fourth installment of striving for success in 2019, Dr. Rick Nason discusses the changing global business environment, getting comfortable being uncomfortable and removing complacency in strategic thinking.

Dr. Rick Nason:

Being comfortable with being uncomfortable is likely to be a phenomenon of the 20’s; the 2020’s that is. The pace of globalization, the pace of AI and Big Data, and the pace of FinTech, HealthTech, RegTech, PersonTech, WhateverTech, combined with a demographic shift in the workforce that has not been experienced since the end of the Second World War will mean that the role and responsibilities of the manager are going to be altered like never before.

Trying to fight the onset of these forces facing the manager is a Sisyphean task. I believe that we are already experiencing the less than optimal individual managerial actions of a cohort nearing retirement who are striving to make their methods that worked in the 1980’s and 90’s effective today. This is for an age when the seemingly inexperienced millennium upstarts, with nothing more than gumption, upset another industry on an almost daily basis. It is a phenomenon that I call the “constipated middle”. That is, it is the group of relatively senior managers who are hanging on to a world that no longer exists in hopes that they can make it to retirement without being exposed. By the way, the same effect is true for those who are relying on their credentials for success, regardless of age or experience.

If you have ever been in one of my classes, or heard one of my seminars, then you know that one of my favorite quotes comes from philosopher Eric Hoffer. He stated, “In time of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists”. You need to select whether you will be learned, or a learner. Unfortunately, and ironically, as academics, we focus on being learned, despite our proclamations that we are institutions of higher learning. The evidence is clear; our focus on rubrics (please, shoot me now!), multiple choice tests, objectivity in marking, tests designed for computer marking, etc… This is reinforced with our emphasis on credentials; gotta get more letters behind my name to be competitive (and so I can be picked by the HR computer filters for a promotion)!

The first rule of becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable is to be a learner. Learn broadly. Learn creatively. Learn diversely. One of my favorite techniques when I am faced with a problem, is to go to the bookstore and buy the three magazines on topics or areas that I know nothing about and have zero previous interest in. Going into places you have never gone before not only works for StarTrek fans, but also for your ability to learn, to be creative, and to develop your dots. Managers would be much better off if they would only spend as much time and effort on their network of learning as they do on their professional networking and building their social media profile.

Being comfortable with being uncomfortable means you need to develop the skill of learning. However, this is much more than knowing stuff. Knowing stuff is a commodity; hey Alexa, what’s … ? Knowing stuff is an almost valueless commodity today with not only the developments in AI, but also the ready access to AI. The new learner doesn’t source knowledge but connects knowledge. The manager who can connect the most dots, as well as the most diverse dots, is the manager with the competitive advantage. The person who knows stuff is being replaced by a bot, or someone with a decent internet connection in an emerging economy who is willing to put in the effort to know more stuff, more efficiently, and to do it for less than you spend on coffee in a day.

What is left after AI takes away knowledge is empathy. Rita McGrath, a Columbia University professor, wrote a short Harvard Business Review article titled “Management’s Three Eras: A Brief History”[1]. In this paradigm shifting article, she talks about how management was first about technology; how do manufacture a pin most efficiently. Then came scientific management and Taylorism; how do we optimize the assembly line. The third era, the era we are coming into, she labels the “era of empathy”, and I agree with her. Empathy is nothing more than understanding people; and I stress that empathy is not sympathy or pity. Empathy is understanding why people think and act as they do. Empathy does not mean that you agree with them.

In a related, but tangential theme, Geoff Colvin’s book “Humans are Underrated”[2], states that many professionals mistakenly try to fight the onset of the bots by asking: “what is it that I can do that a computer, or a bot cannot do?” Colvin’s answer is nothing! He states that the better question to ask is: “what is it that I can do that people do not want or will not allow a computer, or a bot to do?” I think he is on to something. What is left after AI takes the basic knowledge component is relationships, and I don’t mean relationships of the swipe left or right variety.

I would be remiss, as well as hypocritical if I did not mention the importance of complexity. I believe that all of the above is wrapped up in complexity. The manager of the 20’s needs to understand and appreciate complexity. That is a different set of skills, and a different set of attributes than we normally associate with management. Our management paradigms, as well as our educational paradigms, both in business education, and general education, have almost completely ignored complexity. I believe that complexity knowledge is the killer app for managers. I have a recommended reading on complexity if anyone is interested.

Ultimately being comfortable with being uncomfortable is being comfortable with being a human being, rather than some stereotype that the media and business schools give us of the business leader. Being comfortable with being uncomfortable requires humility, self-esteem, and a thrill and lust for the challenge. That’s what makes being a manager fun!

[1] McGarth, Rita, “Management’s Three Eras: A Brief History”, Harvard Business Review, July 30, 2014, https://hbr.org/2014/07/managements-three-eras-a-brief-history

[2] Colvin, Geoff, “Humans are Underrated: What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will”, Portfolio, 2016

Dr. Rick Nason: Transparency, Risk & Social Media

June 4, 2019 rbudd Leave a Comment

Dr. Rick Nason

Nancy Fijan MBA(FS) Class of 2013 sent in a question to Dr. Rick Nason: We all have pressure and noise in our lives, and in business, sometimes it manifests itself in rash decision making by executives. And for publicly traded companies, this can be costly – for example, the recent $40 million SEC settlement that Elon Musk paid for his tweet about going private. In addition to this $20 million civil penalty and $20 million fine imposed on Tesla, he had to give up his role as chairman of the board for at least three years. Is this a lesson about the risk of being too transparent? Or is the complexity of business running up against outdated regulations created before the social media age?

In the third installment of striving for success in 2019, Dr. Rick Nason discusses transparency, and how risk is ever-evolving in the age of social media.

Dr. Rick Nason:

Elon Musk had sanctions imposed upon him by regulators after tweeting some of his thoughts on the prospects for his company Tesla. The question is: Is this a lesson about the risk of being too transparent? Or is the complexity of business running up against outdated regulations created before the social media age?

I am going to slightly (hopefully only slightly) reframe this question to “is regulation adequately adopting to changes in complexity and transparency brought about by social media?” The answer is “NO!” in my opinion.

Regulation is in place in large part to manage downside risk. For those who have taken a class from me or read any of my books, knows that I believe that risk is the “possibility that bad or good things may happen.” Thus, simply managing downside risk is about as intelligent and practical as chewing your food with only your upper teeth. From the outset, regulation is missing half of the equation. Sometimes half of the equation is all the equation – again, see example of eating with only your top teeth.

Social media is changing business is many ways; some obvious, and some less obvious. The less obvious way is that social media is increasing complexity. Social media is creating the data for artificial intelligence to diminish the human value of complicated thinking and analysis by doing it quicker and more accurately. (This would be a great discussion for a future blog – so stay tuned).

Regulators, in large part, miss both of these important consequences of social media and thus appear as out of touch as characters from Downton Abby showing up to the latest university Cuban spring break beach party. Regulations operate on the assumption that the world is complicated; that the world works by a command and control mechanism. The reality is that increasingly business and governmental affairs are complex. (Editor’s Note: We highly recommend Dr. Nason’s book, It’s Not Complicated: The Art and Science of Complexity in Business, which discusses the difference between complicated and complex systems.)

Social media increases the connectedness of individuals and groups. Furthermore, developing technologies are focused on expanding the momentum of that connectedness. This, in turn, leads to increased speed and magnitude of adaptiveness. Both effects increase complexity.

Complex systems cannot be solved; they at best can be managed. Regulation is set up with the implicit assumption that it will solve or prevent problems. Orgel’s Law, which argues that evolution is smarter than you are, is a fundamental consequence of complexity and its resultant emergence that illustrates the folly of much regulation.

This is not to say that regulation is worthless or not required. Unfortunately, the nature of humanity and markets is that we need regulation for the collective good. However, prescriptive regulation is only effective for complicated systems. Too much regulation is based on “letter of the law”, while “spirit of the law” is a much sounder principle, especially so in the presence of complexity. Regulation based on spirit of the law, which also applies context specific judgment, helps in the implementation of “manage; not solve”.

Regrettably, the legal system, particularly in the United States, will prevent this from being the mode of operation for at least as long as I am taking up space and oxygen on this planet. So, the answer of whether regulation is keeping up with the increasing complexity caused by social media is an emphatic “No!”.

Before concluding however, I would like to point out that it is incumbent upon each of us to also realize and react appropriately to the increasing complexity in society. Ironically, the increasing complexity is escalating the expectations that we, individually and collectively, seem to have of government; and by extension, regulation. As we have higher expectations for governmental solutions, we need to appreciate the paradox that complexity in society is diminishing the ability of government, and regulators, to “command and control”.

Trying to control a complex system with complicated thinking leads to many unintended consequences. One of the unintended consequences is frustration. I believe in part this mismatch between complicated thinking / complex reality, and ineffective governmental and regulatory control is leading to increasing voter frustration which manifests itself as increased partisan politics, and potentially a more fractured society. Social media brings us together, but the complexity is entails may be also ripping us apart.

Stephen J. Boyd: Taking the Challenge of The Big Swim

May 7, 2019 rbudd Leave a Comment

Big Swim

Have you ever considered swimming across the Northumberland Strait? Most haven’t. But for those who have there is the BIG SWIM, your chance to do something truly epic. The BIG SWIM is a supported event held in August each year that combines an epic feat of endurance with the opportunity to raise funds for an awesome charity. The BIG SWIM is not a race and supports swimmers of all abilities to get out into the Northumberland Strait and achieve the unimaginable.” The Big Swim

Stephen Boyd is taking on the challenge of the Big Swim to be held August 18, 2019. In the coming months, Stephen will be focused on training for this “epic” swim. CEGE Connection is pleased to advise that we will be covering this event over the months, following Stephen on his journey. This is the first in the series of The Big Swim – A Give to Live Project.

Big Swim

Stephen J. Boyd (Class of 2018):

Life has so many wonderful opportunities to offer

As mentioned in a previous post, I am recovering from an injury that will prevent me from competing this summer in my first 100-mile ultramarathon. During my period of self-pity, Sarah (my best support and spouse), suggested I consider the BIG SWIM event, where athletes of all abilities swim from New Brunswick to Prince-Edward-Island. For normal people who cross the Northumberland Strait by bridge or ferry, the distance is roughly 13 Kms. Due to currents, and other unknowns, I am told that the average swimmer will cover 15+ Kms.

The Big Swim – Give to Live gives participants the opportunity to accomplish a feat that few have, while raising funds for a charity that supports children. It is a great opportunity to give back to my community. Without any hesitation, or putting any thought into logistics, I registered the moment the portal opened.

For the last month or so, I have been swimming at Dalhousie’s recreation and athletic center, where I log miles in the pool. Since there are not too many of us who show up for 5:45 am (other than the varsity teams), I have had the opportunity to speak with one of the “regulars”. One on occasion, he asked me if I was training for anything in particular; I went on to explain that I was intending on swimming across the Northumberland Strait. As is the case with most people, his question to me was: “why?”

My immediate response was: “why not?” I further elaborated on the importance of my two kids embracing that life is about going beyond the ordinary, and welcoming the unknown.

Recently, during an exchange of correspondence, Rebecca Budd (CEGE Editor) reminded me that on occasion we have re-evaluate our priorities, and that success in life goes further beyond our careers. Don’t misunderstand me; I appreciate my professional career, but it is only a small part of who I am. Later in the spring, Sarah will be competing with her synchronized swimming team in Quebec City. Despite working full-time and being an exemplary mother of two, she has the tenacity to train hard during the week; that is success I admire.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with someone that had reached the summit of the world’s highest mountains. His advice to me was to never forget that we really only compete against ourselves, and to keep winning; perhaps, that was some of the best advice I’ve ever received. Besides, ordinary is exactly as it sounds. As Mark Twain once wrote:

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

I look forward to sharing my thoughts as I embark on the exciting journey.

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