Being an interlocutor doesn't take much.
Being present in someone's life despite geographical distance is as easy as you mentally make it.
Let me introduce you to Brian Reid. (@number1brian)
In the winter of 1997, Denise and I made the decision to move to Ottawa, Ontario. Our car was packed by June as we headed East from Vancouver so I could pursue additional higher education in my quest to tackle (and combine) the tenets of learning, technology and leadership. Denise, in turn, found employment at the Ottawa-Carlton Separate School Board as a high school teacher.
The one-year intensive program I enrolled in was entitled the Information Technology Professional (ITP) program offered in a pan-Canadian partnership with the Software Human Resource Council, now a part of the Information and Communications Technology Council. Over the course of the 12 months, students in a cohort of 30 would immerse themselves in the running of a fictitious business. In addition to the experiential learning aspect of the business simulation, students were pelted with a torrential downpour of technology, leadership and professional development formal education.
I met Brian on the first day of the ITP program in August of 1997. His role in the program was 'facilitator', which was a horrendously undervalued title. He was more than a facilitator; he was the chief motivator, coach, business educator, counsellor and mentor.
The intensity of the program was akin to holding your hands over a 400 degree kelvin fire.
If there was no Brian, you'd very likely have seen a large contingent of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree holding adults withering away to shadows of their former selves.
But that's not why you need a Brian Reid in your life.
Once the program completed, Denise and I hastily retreated back to the serenity that is a West Coast lifestyle in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since 1998 I've only seen Brian (and his lovely wife Luise) once in person, face-to-face.
But what has transpired since 1998 is a deep contributing relationship where Brian does the following:
Singing birthday voicemails or quick live phone calls to not only me, but our three goats on our birthdays
Retweets on Twitter or additional discussion tweets regarding something I've written
Accepted requests for telephone chats where I can bounce ideas off of him
I've never asked him why he continues to be so kind to me and my family with his feedback, ideas, contribution and, well ... love.
He has asked for nothing in return.
I reckon he's somewhere between 60 and 65 years in age, enjoying retirement and grand-kids.
But, as I continue to write, research and think about our evolving society and workplace, particularly as it relates to becoming more collaborative and a desire to see more interlocutors out there ... I had to share with you the story about Brian.
I think the world of him.
Equally important ... ask yourself if you have a Brian Reid in your life.
More important? Are you a Brian Reid to anyone?
Thank you Brian. I had to share this story in hopes that others use it as a source of inspiration.
Enjoy those grand-kids of yours.
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We are so proud to have had you at our event. Your talk was a big hit. It moved us. We can’t thank you enough.
Malin Björnell, Salesforce
Dan challenged us to have clarity of purpose, both as individuals and as an organization. He related inspiring stories drawing on his experience in business, technology and academia. As he said, ‘There is no ownership without belonging.’
Christian Pantel, D2L
Fantastic engaging talk for our global partner summit. Thank you so much, Dan!
Barb Kinnard, CEO Response Biomedical Corp
Dan not only brought his presentation to life with his charisma, but also content, style and presentation finesse. Our members were especially interested in his thought provoking and top of mind topic on the future of work and how we’re going to be leading the next generation of leaders.
Cheryl Goodwin, CPA
Dan is a conference organizer’s ideal speaker. Not only did he inspire and energize our group, but he also masterfully adapted his content so it resonated with the audience and our conference theme. As a bonus, Dan is able to nimbly navigate to adjust to a reduced time slot when other speakers went over time without sacrificing the impact of his session.
Director and General Counsel
Dan accomplished what we set out to do, which was not only to be inspirational, but also to leave everyone with tools and food for thought / self-reflection to improve their personal and professional lives.
Being an interlocutor doesn't take much.
Being present in someone's life despite geographical distance is as easy as you mentally make it.
Let me introduce you to Brian Reid. (@number1brian)
In the winter of 1997, Denise and I made the decision to move to Ottawa, Ontario. Our car was packed by June as we headed East from Vancouver so I could pursue additional higher education in my quest to tackle (and combine) the tenets of learning, technology and leadership. Denise, in turn, found employment at the Ottawa-Carlton Separate School Board as a high school teacher.
The one-year intensive program I enrolled in was entitled the Information Technology Professional (ITP) program offered in a pan-Canadian partnership with the Software Human Resource Council, now a part of the Information and Communications Technology Council. Over the course of the 12 months, students in a cohort of 30 would immerse themselves in the running of a fictitious business. In addition to the experiential learning aspect of the business simulation, students were pelted with a torrential downpour of technology, leadership and professional development formal education.
I met Brian on the first day of the ITP program in August of 1997. His role in the program was 'facilitator', which was a horrendously undervalued title. He was more than a facilitator; he was the chief motivator, coach, business educator, counsellor and mentor.
The intensity of the program was akin to holding your hands over a 400 degree kelvin fire.
If there was no Brian, you'd very likely have seen a large contingent of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree holding adults withering away to shadows of their former selves.
But that's not why you need a Brian Reid in your life.
Once the program completed, Denise and I hastily retreated back to the serenity that is a West Coast lifestyle in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since 1998 I've only seen Brian (and his lovely wife Luise) once in person, face-to-face.
But what has transpired since 1998 is a deep contributing relationship where Brian does the following:
But, as I continue to write, research and think about our evolving society and workplace, particularly as it relates to becoming more collaborative and a desire to see more interlocutors out there ... I had to share with you the story about Brian.
I think the world of him.
Equally important ... ask yourself if you have a Brian Reid in your life.
More important? Are you a Brian Reid to anyone?
Thank you Brian. I had to share this story in hopes that others use it as a source of inspiration.
Enjoy those grand-kids of yours.
