John's Blog

Aligning Policies and Procedures: Why "My Policies Don’t Match the Procedures on the Ground" is a Red Flag for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses In the world of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), owners juggle countless priorities—sales, operations, customer relations, and compliance, to name a few.  In the hustle of running a business, many overlook one crucial aspect: ensuring that their policies match the procedures carried out daily. As a safety consultant, I wish I had a quarter for every time a business owner or a manager said that the work they do is very different from the policies on file. This is concerning for many reasons.  This disconnect puts the business owner at risk and has an effect on operational efficiency, posing severe operational, legal, and financial risks. Although this issue is particularly obvious around safety management, where the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), 85 of 1993 , requires a thorough alignment between safety policies...

  The Power of Focus: The Game-Changer for Success in 2025 Success is built on four unshakeable pillars: clarity, focus, momentum, and influence. Of these, focus is the keystone, the one that holds everything else together. Without it, your momentum falters, your influence wavers, and your vision blurs into a distant dream.  Focus is the fuel that powers action and the light that cuts through the chaos. If you’re a business owner or someone with a big goal in 2025, focus isn’t just important—it’s your superpower. Why Focus is the Cornerstone of Success Let me ask you something. How often do you feel like you’re juggling too many balls at once? Meetings, emails, social media, family obligations, that new business idea you’ve been dreaming of—it’s like you’re spinning plates, praying none of them shatter.  Here’s the hard truth: scattered energy leads to scattered results. Focus sharpens your actions like a laser. It aligns your energy, time, and resources toward what t...

  The Buzz About Bees: Why Our Survival Depends on Them Imagine a world without apples, almonds, coffee, or even chocolate. Unsettling, isn't it? These staples of our diets, along with countless other fruits, vegetables, and nuts, depend on the unassuming yet extraordinary pollinators we call bees. Despite their small size, bees play an outsized role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems and supporting human life. However, these industrious creatures are facing severe challenges, and it’s up to us to ensure their survival—and ours. A Keystone Species Bees, particularly honeybees, are often referred to as keystone species. This term means that their activities are crucial to the health and sustainability of ecosystems. Bees pollinate about 75% of the world's flowering plants, including more than 130 types of fruits and vegetables. Without bees, many plants would fail to reproduce, leading to cascading effects throughout the food web. Animals that depend on these plants wou...

  The Leadership Triangle: Fueling the Fire of Success A fire needs three elements to burn: heat, oxygen, and fuel . Together, they form the Fire Triangle . Take one element away, and the fire sputters out. It’s not a suggestion—it’s science. Leadership is no different. To spark success, you need the Leadership Triangle , which burns brightly when fueled by three essentials: Vision : The guiding light. A Leader : The Firestarter. A Team : The lifeblood. But if even one element was removed, the Leadership Triangle collapses. Just like a fire dies, so too will a team’s ability to succeed. No Vision, No Direction Imagine trying to navigate a forest at night without a flashlight. You’d stumble over roots, circle back on yourself, and ultimately, never make it out. Take vision out of the Leadership Triangle, and that’s exactly what happens. A team without vision is like a soccer match with no nets—players run, sweat, and kick the ball, but for what? There’s no destination, no scoreboard...

  The Power of Your Inner Voice: A Guide to Personal Development Your inner voice is one of the most profound mental tools you possess. It’s your constant companion, shaping your thoughts, guiding your decisions, and influencing your emotions.  Yet, this mysterious presence often gets misunderstood. Some might label it as self-doubt or negativity, but your inner voice isn’t inherently evil. In fact, when harnessed correctly, it becomes a critical ally in your journey toward personal growth and sustainable success. In this blog post, we’ll explore what the inner voice truly is, dispel myths about its nature, and share five actionable ways to use your inner voice to elevate your life.  What Is the Inner Voice? The inner voice is the stream of thoughts, ideas, and reflections that runs through your mind. It’s the voice that narrates your life, comments on your actions, and processes the world around you. Psychologists often refer to it as "self-talk." Far from being an...

  The Myths and Magic of Influence in Leadership Leadership cannot be assigned, delegated, or awarded. Rather, it is recognised within someone by their ability to influence people, organisations, situations, and paradigms.  The essence of true leadership lies in influence. A leader is measured by their ability to influence, and this cannot be “passed on” to someone else. Instead, leadership and influence must be earned. All the skills and strategies one learns as a leader are aimed at influencing effectively. The Myths of Influence Three common myths feed misconceptions about the source of influence: The Management Myth: Managers are Leaders This myth assumes that managers are automatically leaders. However, management mainly involves processes, systems, and administrative controls. While managers can maintain the direction set by a leader and assist in moving people forward, they are not inherently leaders. In rare instances, managers can fulfill a leadership role, but this d...