Sunwapta Blog

Sunwapta Blog2020-06-10T21:41:48-06:00
13Nov 2015

Does Your Workplace Encourage a Culture of Codependency?

By |November 13th, 2015|

Culture and Business People Arm Wrestling

A dysfunctional culture can doom your organization to mediocrity or outright failure. How can you tell if you should be worried?

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” ~Peter Drucker

We often see a sports team that seems to have a great pool of individual talent, yet it can’t seem to win consistently and fails to get very far in the playoffs. Then we have the underdog team that surprises everyone with a playoff run, sometimes even taking the top prize.

The difference between winning and losing in […]

13Nov 2015

An Introvert’s Guide To Personal Success

By |November 13th, 2015|

Introvert Speaking and Reading from Phone

If the world seems to demand that you become something you’re not, don’t worry. You can be authentic and follow your own path to success.

I remember coming out of high school straight into the military as a shy and introverted officer in training. I was so quiet a lot of people thought I would quit. I didn’t.

After studying electrical engineering for five years, I went off to serve another seven years in the Air […]

5Nov 2015

When Do Your Strongest Success Traits Make You Codependent?

By |November 5th, 2015|

Codependency and Entrepreneur Meeting with Stuffed Animals

Startling but true, these success-driven behaviours can be your worst dysfunctional nightmare.

“You have that enormously positive expectation that you’ll be free, and then you realize that you are in a worse prison than before because it’s one of your own making.”  ~ Michael Gerber

Entrepreneurship puts intense pressures on people, and when that happens, we dial up those success traits to the extreme, or take a few shortcuts to survive.

You’ve probably seen this yourself as the business leader or the employee.

This Could Be Your […]

19Oct 2015

The Distractions That Will Cause Your Business To Crash

By |October 19th, 2015|

Car Accident - Distractions That Can Cause Your Business to Crash

Not all distractions are external. In business we have enough challenges without letting our own minds get in the way of success.

We tend to wrap a lot of who we are up in what we do. For many of us in business, life has gotten more competitive, busy, and stressful, so we don’t need to be sabotaging ourselves on top of it all.

As an entrepreneur, leader […]

9Oct 2015

What Happens At Work Doesn’t Stay At Work: That Can Be Good

By |October 9th, 2015|

Business Recognition Team
Work is a big part of our lives. What if we can create our business in a way that creates good?

What can happen when people feel disconnected from others and lack a sense of purpose or significance?

If you are aware of events making the news recently, it turns out things can get pretty ugly at the extreme.

The average full-time employee spends one-third of their weekly hours either at work, traveling to and from work, or preparing for work. If you are a […]

2Oct 2015

Want Real Change? The Shift Begins in the Middle

By |October 2nd, 2015|

Business Crowd - Shifting Minds - Creating Change

Tired of preaching to the choir or confronting your most vocal opponents and seeing no real change or impact from your efforts?

Maybe you are talking to the wrong people.

The longer you hang out online, the more you realize that society seems to be getting more polarized on just about every issue. Politicians are getting compared to Hitler or Stalin. Vague statements, with little basis in fact, are made to back […]

1Oct 2015

Expecting Better Results Without Changing Anything At All

By |October 1st, 2015|

Changing World and Business Change

It is autumn and change is in the air. Not just the seasons but all around us.

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about change lately.

Not just the stuff that directly impacts me, but the stuff that is impacting our business and even more importantly, our client’s businesses.

I’ve talked to business owners directly impacted by some of the macro trends: oil prices, the dollar, globalization, innovation, technology and the competitive landscape.

For many people, this change generates fear or resistance.

Fear and resistance lead to an attempt at maintaining the status […]

17Jul 2015

Rainy Days Can Lead To Growth

By |July 17th, 2015|

Plant Growing in Hands - Rain and Business Growth

Not a lot of snow cover and a dry spring has led to fear of drought and poor crop yields in southern Alberta. Some areas have been hit with flooding during recent thunderstorms, yet on average the rain hasn’t been enough.

Today it is raining. For some that is a good thing. Hope.

Other people see it as an inconvenience, infringing on our already short summers here in Calgary.

Perspective and perception changes how you view everything.

Water is required for growth.

If things are slow for your business […]

1Jun 2015

Marketing Your Business: Being Unique Or Useful

By |June 1st, 2015|

Goats in a Tree - Be Useful

I’ve met a lot of really interesting entrepreneurs and business owners over the years. Almost every single one of them had either a passion for serving that made them stand out or a product or service offering that had great value.

In marketing people often refer to their unique selling proposition or selling point (USP).

The definition of unique is:

“Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.” ~ Google

Here is the thing.

Unless you […]