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The words we use matter. And the word that is used a lot these days in the public discourse is “fight”. Every news report, whether it is about education workers fighting for better pay and working conditions, or politicians fighting for their constituents, or Russia fighting for more territory in Ukraine, or whatever the issue …
We have been hearing a lot about diversity and inclusion, but what does this really mean? Diversity is not just about achieving parity of gender and ethnicity in our workforces. It is all about surrounding ourselves with people who think differently than we do, listening to them, and asking good questions in order to really …
Humans are born to socialize and share community. It is in our DNA. But sometimes this urge to share can lead us down a negative path to gossip. The idea of honouring the absent is an important one to remind ourselves of often. It has never been easier to include people in a meeting or …
The month of May is Safety Month at Cooper – a time for creating heightened awareness through health and safety focused activities. Just as we did last year, we have chosen a theme for each week of May. May 1 to 7 – SEE IT. LOG IT. FIX IT. May 8 to 14 – SITUATIONAL …
I was looking for inspiration for this month’s blog and my wife showed me this picture. I laughed because it was so cute. I have no idea what sport or game these kids were playing, and it doesn’t matter. The look on the face of the kid on top of the podium as he looks …
When I was a kid my father was in the equipment rental business and I think I always knew I would join the family business. In fact, my uncle used to tell me a story about asking me at 5 years old what I wanted to be when I grew up. My answer was I …
Happy New Year! There is so much to celebrate, not least of which is the 50th Birthday of Cooper Equipment Rentals. Cooper was born in 1972 in a job shack in the back of a contractor’s yard in Toronto. Gord Cooper founded the company on the belief that being honest and real and following through …
Think about a time when you had a decision to make. How did that go? Was it easy for you or did you find it tough? Did you make a good decision? Did you even make the decision or did you let someone or something else make the decision for you? What was the outcome? …
As I write this today I am sitting on a plane on the way to Vancouver. It has been more than a year since I travelled to the west coast to visit branches and see the fine people of West Coast Cooper face to face on the ground. In September 2020, we closed a deal …
I was born in 1956 into a traditional middle class Canadian family – two older sisters and an older brother and a house in the suburbs. I was the baby by six years. My dad was a successful businessman, and my mom was a housewife, although I’m aware that’s not how we refer to women …
Kicking off with the National Day of Mourning on April 28th, a day that commemorates workers who have lost their lives or suffered serious injuries in the workplace, the entire month of May 2021 has been designated by the Construction Industry as a time for health and safety focused activities with an emphasis on Fitness for Duty.
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word Serendipity as “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way”. This idea has always intrigued me. The notion that experiences will develop in a way that we do not control or have any ability to predict is exciting. There is an element of …
It’s a new year and I’m sure there are lots of New Year resolutions out there. Everything from losing weight or getting in shape to cutting down on drinking or resolving to eat healthy. But why do people tend to fail so badly at keeping the New Year resolutions they make? I believe one reason …
I was watching the 2018 Netflix documentary “Quincy” recently and in it, Quincy Jones credits Count Basie as teaching him to “learn to deal with the valleys and the hills will take care of themselves”. In case you don’t know who Count Basie is, he was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. He …
Two weeks ago, I called the furnace guy to come and perform annual maintenance on the furnace. “The furnace is working great” I told him. “It just needs a little TLC to make sure we have no problems over the winter. Maybe bring along a new filter.” We set a date and time for service. …
The mighty Athabasca River, with its headwaters in the Columbia Icefields of Alberta flows purposefully northeastward to its mouth at Lake Athabasca in Saskatchewan.
So much has been written in recent months about the “New Normal”… whatever that means. TV is talking 24/7 about the pandemic, politics, the economy, racial tensions and violence. I have grown weary of the news, mostly because it can feel like there is nothing good happening. I want to focus on the positive and …
In the future, when we look back on 2020 we will remember many things. No question there has been much uncertainty and pain for many people, but there have been positive things that have come out of this period that are life changing, and we would do well to remember them and keep them close. …
On March 13, 2020 the world as we know it was turned upside down. The declaration of a state of emergency by our government and the resulting shutdown of large parts of the economy precipitated a decline in business that for a time had no end in sight. It has been a very unsettling and …
Many years ago, I took a walk with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. We were talking about an opportunity and I was expressing my concern that I would not be a good fit for the role being offered. He was a bit shocked that I had anything to worry about and he told …
Everywhere I turn recently I meet people who are totally engaged, extremely interesting, broad-minded and adventurous. Just yesterday I met a seventy-year-old bus driver who was 8 years into his second professional and athletic career, enjoying an active lifestyle, and loving life. Last week I played tennis against an eighty-three-year-old man and a seventy-seven-year-old woman, …
Wow, it’s been quite a holiday season and now that we are through that time of year when we all stress about what gifts to give, who to give them to, how much to spend, and how our gift will be received, perhaps it’s a good time to reflect on things and think about how …
I’ve been thinking about the difference between accountability and responsibility for the last while. Well, truthfully, I think it’s always been on my mind, or at least in the back of it. I really started pondering what the difference is between accountability and responsibility several years ago while working at a company where there was a …
I have been reading a lot about how something must be done about climate change. We all hear politicians talk about their plans to address it. Greta Thunberg, the teenage climate advocate from Sweden has become an overnight sensation for standing up for the planet. This all makes for good headlines, but what is the …