Chamber Updates & Local News

The promise of freelancing as an equalizer for women may be overstated By Alan Morantz | Oct 9, 2025 Text originally published at: Smith School of Business   The gig economy was supposed to be different. Without corporate hierarchies, traditional promotion processes or office politics, freelancing promised a level playing field where talent and results would speak louder than…

How to tell if you are geared up for change-or stuck in neutral By Alan Morantz | Apr 23, 2025 Text originally published at: Smith School of Business   COVID was a global tragedy, but also a revelation. The epic public health crisis revealed that organizations could be transformed by digital technology, and that it could happen sooner…

How everyday acts of appreciation can make bosses-and their teams-better and more fulfilled By Deborah Aarts | Dec 15, 2025 Text originally published at: Smith School of Business Neil Pasricha, BCom ’02, knows he has plenty to be thankful for. Yes, there’s the highlight-reel career stuff. He has 11 wildly popular books, including 2010’s smash The Book of…

Most professionals were never taught how emotions actually work, yet we’re expected to lead, communicate, and make high-stakes decisions under pressure every day. The truth is: emotions aren’t automatic reactions. They’re constructed. According to Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s Theory of Constructed Emotion, your brain builds emotions using four components: body cues, learned concepts, situational context,…

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of our business, BmDodo Strategic Design. Over the past two decades, we’ve seen first-hand that the organizations that thrive are not always the biggest or the loudest. They are the ones that know how to stand out. Time and again, one factor has proven decisive: using design as a strategic…

For more than a decade, my days were defined by spreadsheets, quarterly targets, and the familiar hum of the office cubicle. Finance gave me structure, stability, and experience-but it also left me restless. I craved a project that blended my passion for sports, community, and hospitality. That spark grew into a bold leap: leaving the…

Why a Swiss chocolate maker’s $10,000 digital fix delivered more growth than million-dollar expansions-and what Canadian executives can learn from looking inward instead of outward. By Sai Srikar Desina – Sep 10, 2025 Text originally published at: Smith School of Business   Every executive’s objective is an uninterrupted period of growth. And when margins tighten and growth slows, their…

The MIND framework asks first-order questions to help identify internal strengths and gaping needs. By Alan Morantz – Oct 1, 2025 Text originally published at: Smith School of Business   You’ve just read about a startling digitally-powered corporate makeover, one that has redefined the customer experience for the better. You think, We can do that. Now, six months later,…

Even well-meaning coaches can do harm. The fix? Reframing coaching as a shared responsibility among coach, learner and the organization By Hari Chandana Chinni – Sep 16, 2025 Text originally published at: Smith School of Business   We often hear about coaching as a powerful development tool. Organizations pour billions into it every year. Usually, the story ends well,…

It’s a tough time to be building a business in Canada. A panel of entrepreneurial thinkers share what might make things easier By Deborah Aarts – Sep 24, 2025 Text originally published at: Smith School of Business   It’s never particularly easy to start and grow a business: Doing so almost always requires grit, ambition and a willingness to…