October 17 2011, Toronto Watch the video Listen to the Podcast Hi, this is Mike Lipkin. It’s Monday, October 17 and I’m in Toronto. If you have a body, you’re an athlete, says Nike. We’re all competitors in the game of life and 2011 has been an amazing race, but it’s almost over. It’s a sprint to the finish line. It’s also a sprint to the starting line of 2012 – The year of the London Olympics. That’s what I’m…

September 7 2011, Toronto Watch the video Listen to the Podcast It’s the week after Labour Day. It’s time to be lucky. You know why? Because LUCK stands for Labouring Under Correct Knowledge. There are two kinds of labour: the first holds one back, weighs one down and wears one out. This is the kind of labour that exhausts one with unnecessary tasks or details. This is the kind of labour that gives work a bad name and makes us…

Toronto, June 21 2011 Watch the video Listen to the Podcast Today is my favourite private holiday – it’s the official start of summer. The season that reminds us how good it can be. In fact, the Random House Dictionary defines Summer as “the period of finest development, perfection or beauty previous to any decline.” Well, we’ll all decline at some stage but Summer is now. Our period of finest development, perfection and beauty is now. So let’s revel in…

Lady Gaga is my hero. According to The New York Times (05/22/11), she has become “the flashiest and most ubiquitous pop star of the 21st Century”. She is “the queen that pop needs her to be”. She refreshes her image at Internet speed, while she sells multi-millions of albums and plays to sold-out arenas around the world.

Toronto, April 13, 2011 Watch the video Listen to the Podcast It’s Election Time, And I’m Not Talking Federal Politics. Today is Election Day. Surprise, surprise: every day is Election Day. That’s the problem with life – it’s so daily. 24 hours is the new term of office. We are all our own party. We have our own riding. We have our own electorate – they’re our family, friends, community, customers, colleagues, and fellow-citizens of our country and our planet.…

Toronto, February 14, 2011 Watch the video Listen to the Podcast We’re almost at the fifty-day mark of 2011. In dog years, an entire year has already passed. It’s been epic. The climate is changing dramatically, both physically and metaphysically. As Elisabeth Rosenthal asks in the February 13 issue of the New York Times: “What happens when 100 year storms are seen every 10 years, and 10 year storms become regular events? How many structures will reach their limits?” My…

Toronto January 1, 2011 Watch the video Listen to the Podcast Hi this is Mike Lipkin and welcome to the Year of The Maestro, pronounced my-he-stroh Literally, Maestro is the Italian word for Master or Teacher. It comes from the world of classical music, but it is also the ultimate professional accolade. Maestro is the title awarded to people who inspire us through their mastery of their art. It may be the art of music, painting, theatre, dancing, cooking, manufacturing,…

Toronto, October 17 2010. Watch the video Listen to the Podcast We’re well into the final quarter of 2010. And here’s my mantra: Make this the best quarter ever. Finish 2010 the way you want to begin 2011: on a High. 2010 has been exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure. After the shock of 2009, this year has been resurgent. We’re living in a post-apocalypse reality. After the universal destruction of so many established models and beliefs, there is a…

Toronto, September 6, 2010 Watch the video Listen to the Podcast Welcome back, it’s time to get working. July and August are just distant memories but September is here and it’s now. So are you recharged? Are you regenerated? Are you ready to rock your world? Because that’s what it’s going to take. It’s about being amazing because that’s what your best clients and customers expect. Customer satisfaction is the starting point not the aspiration. The aspiration is Customer Amazement,…

Toronto, July 19 2010 Watch the video Listen to the Podcast 2010 is halfway gone. We’re deep into the relaxing warmth of summer. It’s time to kick back and chill out. It’s also the perfect time to think about what happens next. As your work winds down (and I hope it does) your planning should be gearing up. It’s time to dream, not do. The quality of your fall and winter depends on what you see this summer. So take…