Across The Desk With Elizabeth Plouffe

Are you either currently working with a service provider or about to hire one? Do you think you're the only one who should be prepared for meetings? Think again. If you want to maximize the time you have with a service pro and minimize the budget, then do your homework on your pain. Points that is. Take the time to understand what you want to accomplish, what you can take on and the best way you can support the service provider so that they give you the best bang for your painfully earned buck.

Women in leadership roles has been a bit of a tricky development over the last 100 years. No, I'm not crying the poor me blues. No, I don't want to wear power suits and be like a man. But what I do want is for women to stop limiting themselves because they think they should. Because society is slowly coming on board with losing the judgement of women in leadership roles. And best of all? Women are slowly stopping the judgement of themselves. Why is this important? Because even the strongest women leaders, who appear to show no fear, are still battling inner demons. This is especially true for women entrepreneurs. We still believe we have to prove we're capable and fit for our role. And when strong women leaders don't admit to feeling this way, the rest of us believe something is wrong with us because we do. So today, you can meet Norine Jones, CEO/President/Leader of PowerVac Services Hamilton who successfully runs a successful business in a traditionally male dominated industry. She is also a devoted wife,

Why are you happy at work? Good boss? Good team? Free coffee? Is it enough to make you get up in the morning and bounce out of bed with that "Yes! I get to go to work today!" feeling? That is awesome! Now, if you are in Canada, think about the 9.5 million people who are unhappy at their jobs. No bounce in their step. No fabulous boss. No team to rely on. In the US, that unhappiness amounts to .... Wait for it. $450 BILLION dollars per year. Yup. Billion. In general, asshat bosses who can't lead a team, don't know how to foster communication and team work and wouldn't know how to lead without fear are costing the economy billions of dollars every year. We can fix that. I'm joined by Jason Little, author of Lean Change Management and globe trotting coach, who has dedicated his working passion to helping employees become one thing: happy. How? You'll have to listen to find out!

I am a change management neophyte. Enthusiastic and firmly converted but a neophyte none the less. With Happy Melly Exploration Day coming up on October 19th, I thought it best to bring someone on Across the Desk who has more experience than me. Meet Hazel van der Werken. Since being involved with lean practices in Scotland in 1995 and adding change management in 2009 in the Netherlands, Hazel arrived in Canada in 2013 and found Silicon Halton. Thank goodness because it was through Silicon Halton that Hazel found Spark the Change Toronto where we met in 2015. While Hazel is unable to be at the Happy Melly event next week due to a work trip, she's a staunch advocate for all levels of an organization regardless of industry taking advantage of the Happy Melly Exploration Day. Why? Because Hazel is all about the right tools for the job and Happy Melly has a toolbox that will blow your mind. www.happymellyexplorationday.com

If, like me, you've worked for organizations for years and thought it was all in your head, I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. That vague feeling that something is off all the way down to full mental breakdowns because the boss is batshit crazy. That feeling that it's always going to be this way and nothing will ever change. The feeling that you can never be happy at work and just have to accept it. WRONG! It took me over 20 years and a chance meeting to discover how wrong I was and how many people are working to change it. Three years ago I was introduced to the world of agile and change management. I'm still learning what all that entails but what I did learn in a big way is that there are tools, experts, coaches and more to help organizations not suck. To help employees learn how to make things better. To help bosses, managers and supervisors find the way to the light that shows them communicating with their employees doesn't have to include condescension, fear and ego. How? One way is Happy Mell

Some "experts" out there are all about the sale, the pitch, the bottom line. Yuck. When that's the place they're sharing their expertise from, you want to send them right back. At least I do. But I kept looking and I found Marie Forleo. Phew. What a relief. Marie Forleo has become my go to background "noise" when I'm working on projects. But I mean noise in the best sense. Because she is funny, authentic, intelligent and engaging, it's a pleasure to have her on in the background. I learn and get entertained at the same time which for my ADD brain is awesome! If, like me, you are building your mentor list and are struggling to find someone that inspires and educates, then I recommend giving www.marieforleo.com a visit and getting your Marie on.

There may or may not be the use of the word bullshit in this podcast. Just sayin. Sometimes in business, people can be loathe to partner with others. Why? I'm not sure. I'm a huge fan of partnering with others, combining forces and sharing resources. Not tooting my own horn but stating a fact. The fact is, your business is better off when you keep yourself open to opportunities. This week on an interim Ballsy in Review, we officially launched the partnership of Ballsy and Women in Tech. WIT is a group through Silicon Halton, a local organization that brings together entrepreneurs and small businesses to learn, train and support growth and development. The goal of partnering? To increase the value to the members. That's it. So what better way to add value than to embrace my love of partnering and kick off with an awesome mini-workshop with Carol Shulte? I can't think of a better way to set yourself up for success!

People talk about change all the time. Talk. When you actually delve in to how difficult personal change can be, imagine trying to change an entire organization. Some days I have challenges picking out which funky socks to wear. Being a change agent for a whole organization? Yikes! Well now at least I've got some tools to get the conversation going. About change I mean. Not my socks. 2 years ago I met a guy. This guy had a big, audacious plan to have a conference in Toronto called Spark the Change. This was my first introduction to what agile, lean change management and the tools to make it happen. The guy? That's Jason Little. And as I've told him before, he changed my life. Lean Change Management is the book Jason has written based on his experience as an agile coach, researcher, change expert and disturber of the status quo. He doesn't want you to make change happen just for the sake of it. He wants to give you the tools so the change will have minimum blast radius, maximum insights and turn even the mos

When you are a woman in business, you'd think that men would be the challenge. I've learned that this is not always the case. In fact, most of the issues I've had throughout my various careers have been with women not men. Why? Well - I think we've been trained to see other women as competition and not as comrades. That sucks. On top of that, women have also been trained to make everybody else the priority and they take the back seat. Not all women, granted, but I can honestly say that for a while I was one of those women. This is particularly challenging if you run your own business. You can't afford to take the back seat otherwise your business has no one driving. This also sucks. This week at Ballsy, our focus was on education and how women HAVE to make it a priority. Is this advice just for business owners? No. This is for anyone looking to get ahead in the business world. Feel like you've been sent to the principles office?

I realize that for some of us, high school was a long time ago. I mean loooonggggg ago. But I for one still love learning. I love taking new courses and got quite excited when I signed up for my 3rd online course to learn how to teach online. Yep - I'm stepping back up to the front of the class! But if I didn't make education a priority, I wouldn't be in a position to improve my business, my knowledge base and my ability to earn a better living. Who doesn't want to do that? Sometimes stuff gets in the way of learning. Could be family. Could be an asshat boss. Or it could be the one person we rely on to make sure we're not only moving towards the glass ceiling but are ready to bust through it - ourselves. And that, my friend, is where you need to evaluate the priority you place on education as a means of getting ahead. So put your big kids pants on. We're going back to school!

Are you an original? Do you even know what it means to be an original? I hadn't thought about it until someone called me an original. On top of that? They thought enough of helping me to understand what being an original means that they bought me the book on it. How cool is that? If you've spent your life, like me, being called unique and weird and different, then Originals by Adam Grant is the book for you. Why? Because it has helped me understand that just because I think differently, doesn't mean my thoughts aren't valid. Just because I like to improve processes and tinker with ideas doesn't mean I don't accept the status quo. Oh wait ... that's exactly what it means ;) And in case you're wondering? I use Chrome as my browser. Read the book to find out why that matters.

An entrepreneurs life is that of a non-conformist. While for some this sounds completely invigorating and awesome, for others it poses challenges. You might even call them blocks. Some kind climb over them. Some get, well, blocked by them. Here's a suggestion: take the time to identify what your blocks might be and learn to love them. Make them your best friend. Why? Because without doing this blocks can derail your business, leave you choking in the dust of others and keep you at the starting block instead of winning the race.

Is your online presence lacking verve? Colorless? Boring? Image impaired. Yikes! And to make matters worse, are you graphics skilled impaired? Does Adobe sound like a house you find down in Mexico? I've got a solution that even those with some graphics skills can make good use of. Canva is a resource that was recommended to me a few months ago and I haven't looked back since. I'm fortunate to have more than a passing acquaintance with with Adobe Illustrator. Canva makes it so easy to create social media headers, posts and resumes that you'd be nuts not to learn how it can up the verve factor for your online profiles. https://www.canva.com/

Are you set up to boldly go where your social media can take you? Yup. I'm was watching Star Trek blooper reels and outtakes from the movie just before recording this podcast and it was magical how it just came together. Deep space exploration and social media. That fits right? Let me explain. Most people work quite hard on their content. In fact, in honor of Labor Day, you could call it a labor of love. Now if you create crap content, don't take this advice because you want that crap to stay right where it is. But if you have put effort in, then make your social media channels work harder for you. Instagram is a sextuple threat that is worth getting to know. LinkedIn can be the filter you need to make sure some of your content is business audience friendly. And if you happen to suffer from "look at me" syndrome and are forever pushing out offers and email grabs, well, I've got some advice on that as well. What's the point of all of this? Make your social media work as hard as you do. Make sure your busi

Napoleon Hill. An author that walked this earth before I was a twinkle in my parents eye. In fact before my parents' were a twinkle in their parents' eye. In 1908 while interviewing Andrew Carnegie as a journalist for Bob Taylor's Magazine, a partnership and project was born to gather the experiences and wise words of 500 businessmen. Think and Grow Rich was born. Published in 1937, just after the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent great depression, the insights offered on leadership and personal development are incredible. 79 years later you can see the full circle coming back to quality leadership and honorable business. This book has inspired me to recommit to my business in a way that I never expected. It's also reassured me that my dedication to not being an asshat business owner is absolutely the right thing to do. Not that it was actually in question but just sayin' ...

It's not odd to see Ken smiling. In fact, it's how I most see his face. When he says hello, he's smiling. When you chat with him, his smile invariably creeps up on his face. His smile is infectious and just makes you feel better to be around. What Ken's smile hides is his battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the pain that can travel around his body like that rogue garden gnome.

It will take 10 minutes of your time but the return on that investment can last for years. A thank you note. One of the most cost effective and authentic ways to promote your business and show your clients that you care. Are you already reaching for the stamps? Great!

Are you looking for graphics that you can use for Instagram, your website or marketing materials? Freepik is a fantastic resource that is worth paying for but there is also lots of fantastic free content. I don't read all the time ;)

Have you ever gone through a situation in your life where you've decided to make the huge decision not to accept status quo? Meet Ken Jaques, a successful Burlington businessman, who decided that the health care system didn't have enough wellness in it to overcome the amount of illness. In this two part intro, we'll meet Ken and discuss his time spent in IT consulting and knowing what it takes to grow a successful business and how he's taking on the current health care model.

Do you ever get to the end of your work day and feel like a sack of poop? Well that could be because you are. Kind of a gross thought right? Even worse? Being that sack of poop is actually killing you. On this episode of Across the Apothecary, I share my new adventure in to the world of working with a standing desk. I've been steadily gaining weight over the past two years despite adjusting my eating habits and incorporating walking. Not a gym kind of person but I'm also not scarfing down poutine and cheesecake on a regular basis. What have I been doing? Sitting. A lot. Between having to work at a desk for my business and then feeding my documentary / movie addiction, I've probably been sitting in excess of 12 hours a day. Yikes! No wonder my insides and outsides are not working properly! Give a listen for the stats on what sitting is doing to you, ways to get up more and the first step on my journey to getting poop done while standing up. Pun intended ;)