Built for HARD Blog

Most entrepreneurs underestimate how predictable growth really is. Sure, every founder thinks their business is “unique.” And it is—until payroll hits. Then suddenly, your struggles look an awful lot like everyone else’s. Researchers like Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis mapped this out decades ago in their classic Harvard Business Review piece on small […]

Most conferences promise quick fixes. Catapult pushed us to dig into our vision, endurance, and enable real business systems for change. Let's keep that momentum going. Thank you to everyone who joined me at the Cultivate Advisors Catapult Conference in Chicago. I left energized by the conversations, the curiosity in the room, and the commitment […]

Noble Failure Playbook Turn Fast Mistakes into Lasting Momentum Designed for Challenge. Built for Hard™.When targets keep rising and easy dopamine steals focus, the quickest way back to performance is to reframe failure. A Noble Failure is a chosen, well‑designed risk that delivers a lesson within 24 hours—fuel for the next iteration. What is a […]

Leadership Drill Playbook 3R Challenge‑Stress Ritual – Turn Quiet Burnout into Challenge‑Fuelled Momentum Quiet burnout shows up as busy calendars and tired eyes. Modern work rewards hustle just when the job demands endurance, courage and crystal‑clear thinking. This one‑page playbook gives leaders a proven drill to convert latent stress into performance momentum—no budget approvals required. […]

Built for Hard™ — Momentum Guide Turn Pressure into Traction in 48 Hours When cash gaps widen or projects stall at 80 per cent, leaders often grind harder or freeze. Top performers do neither—they convert stress into disciplined momentum. These three research-backed moves turned a seven-figure cash shortfall into a fully funded bridge round in […]

A concise guide for converting volatility into consistent performance Why Cadence Beats Chaos The Problem Modern work arrives in spikes—market shocks, AI roll-outs, climate surprises. Chronic reactivity drives fatigue and slows decision speed (World Economic Forum, 2024). The Science Behind Cadence From Random Stress → Adaptive Cadence Endless workload → Time-boxed sprints Vague priorities → […]

(And Actually Use Them to Build Cohesion) If your team doesn't know your shared philosophy – often represented in a shared mission, values, and purpose—don’t expect cohesion. Expect confusion, conflict, and coasting. In too many organizations, Mission, Vision, Values, and Purpose and other components of a shared philosophy are treated like corporate wallpaper. They’re posted […]

Are you procrastinating right now? You might be reading this blog instead of sending that one email you don’t want to write. Or maybe you’re scrolling for motivation while your to-do list grows louder in the background. That’s the problem with procrastination: we usually turn to consumption instead of creation. We doomscroll, we binge-watch, we […]

Why do I have to journal, meditate, and exercise—just to answer my damn emails? Welcome to resistance. Hard Work Paradox There’s a frustrating paradox that high performers don’t talk about enough. You have good work to do. You want to do it. But somehow... you just can’t start. So you check your email again. You […]

Agile may feel like a buzzword today, but its roots stretch back thousands of years. At its heart, Agile is about adaptability, iteration, and continuous improvement—principles that leaders, philosophers, and innovators have been using long before software development existed. Here’s a quick journey through the history of Agile, inspired by the timeline you see below. […]

Most companies want better results. Fewer companies are willing to build the discipline of continuous improvement that actually produces them. This is where Kaizen—the Japanese practice of small, steady improvements—comes in. Toyota, through its legendary Toyota Production System (TPS), turned Kaizen into a cultural force. It’s how they grew from a small post-war carmaker into […]

Why Kaizen Matters Every leader wants a motivated team, an innovative culture, and work done with discipline. The challenge? In smaller companies, it often feels like we don’t have the time, budget, or bandwidth for “big system changes.” That’s where Kaizen comes in. Popularized by Toyota, Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. It’s about […]

Why Testing Matters It’s one thing to pick value words. It’s another to know if they actually work together. Not all values are created equal, and not all values can coexist peacefully. Some will naturally conflict. Others might sound good on paper but crumble in a crisis. As I explored in my earlier post, Discovering […]

Why We Fail to Live Our Values Most organizations don’t fail because they pick the wrong values. They fail because they don’t know how to put them into action. As I explored in my earlier post, Discovering Core Values for Your Company, Team, or Organization, values are the invisible levers that drive results and resilience. […]

Why This Matters Values aren’t just lofty ideals—they’re the “how we do things” of your team. They shape culture, decision‑making, and everyday interactions. As I explored in my earlier post, Discovering Core Values for Your Company, Team, or Organization, values are the invisible levers that drive results and resilience. This post lays out the how—a clear, […]

Why Core Values Matter Values are not slogans. They are not motivational posters in the lunchroom. They are the invisible operators of our actions. Values as the invisible drivers of culture and results Values define the culture of our organizations. They change slowly and, when honoured, become the steady rhythm that guides decisions, behaviours, and […]

What if you treated recruiting like marketing? Instead of passively waiting for résumés to land in your inbox, you could identify, pursue, and win the talent that makes your business thrive. That’s where the Talent Profile Map comes in. I use this tool with clients during strategy sessions and organizational design workshops. It flips recruiting […]

What if your business stopped chasing vague “target markets” and instead built products and strategies for real people? That’s where the Customer Profile Map comes in. I use this tool with clients and teams during workshops and strategy sessions. It turns abstract customer data into living, breathing characters. Suddenly, marketing stops being guesswork, and service […]

What if everyone in your business truly understood each other—and every customer? That’s not a utopian dream. It’s a process. And one of the simplest, most powerful tools to get there is the Empathy Map. I use empathy maps in workshops and strategic planning sessions with clients. They help teams cut through assumptions and actually […]

If you’ve ever struggled with the nagging question, “Is this person the right fit for this role?”, you’re not alone. Leaders everywhere wrestle with how to assess whether team members truly belong in their seats. That’s where the Get It, Want It, Capacity (GWC) framework comes in. This deceptively simple tool provides a clear, structured […]

We’ve all worked with that person: brilliant at their job, but a drain on the team’s energy.High-competence, low-culture. These individuals can be the hardest to deal with because, on paper, they deliver. In reality, they poison the system. Their presence slowly erodes trust, morale, and collaboration. Left unchecked, they can do more damage than someone […]

“Politics is individual or group behaviour that is informal, typically divisive, and not sanctioned formally.” — Henry Mintzberg When most leaders hear the word politics, they recoil. It feels dirty, manipulative, and something to be avoided at all costs. Yet politics exists in every organization—whether we like it or not. Politics is simply the way […]

Hard isn’t coming. It’s already here—and it’s not going away. AI is rewriting industries. Budgets are shrinking. Quotas are rising. The leaders I coach aren’t asking if pressure will hit—they’re asking how to lead when it does. That’s why I built the Built for Hard™ keynote. Because your team doesn’t need another pep talk. They […]

Leadership isn't hard because you're doing it wrong. It's hard because you're doing it right. Leadership in pressure-filled times isn’t about staying comfortable—it’s about rising with intention. And lately? It feels like pressure is the norm. We lead in the workplace. We lead at home. We try to lead ourselves. And often, we’re doing all […]

A guide to turning burnout into purposeful strain Download the PDF Here The Shift: Why Burnout Happens Random, unstructured stress drains energy because it feels endless and pointless. Purposeful strain—work that is chosen, time‑boxed, and mission‑linked—charges the battery instead of depleting it. The Hard Spectrum Turn Random Stress into Purposeful Strain Mindset Check‑In Aim to […]

You’ve been told you need to choose. Be strong or be kind.Lead with authority or lead with empathy.Fight for what’s yours—or keep the peace. But what if the best leaders—the ones who build trust, create value, and leave a meaningful impact—don’t choose at all? What if they’ve learned to hold both: Grace and Grit? Let’s […]

We overestimate what we can do in a week…And completely ignore the 5,218 weeks that make up a long, healthy life. That’s right. You only get 5,218 weeks if you live to 100.The real question is: What are you doing with them? Why track your life in weeks? Because it gives you something most people […]

A senior sales leader I coach is doing the hard work of leadership—and it’s paying off. He’s rolling out a new compensation structure. He’s launching dashboards to track sales activity. And most importantly, he’s shifting how he holds people accountable. This leader is stepping into what I call tension-holding leadership. He no longer smooths things […]

When I first met Greg, he was running a fast-growing biotech startup that had gained serious traction—but behind the scenes, it was a mess. Greg was brilliant. A visionary. The kind of leader who could dream big, inspire investors, and rally a team behind cutting-edge ideas. But organization? Structure? Focus? Not his strong suit. The […]

Most sales training still smells like 1995.Overcome objections. Push the prospect. Close the deal. It’s all about control, persuasion, and winning at any cost. And sure—it can work.But it doesn’t build long-term trust. It doesn’t create meaningful change. And it definitely doesn’t align with values-driven leadership. If you're committed to values-driven achievement, there’s a better […]

1. Task – What do you want the AI to do? Be clear and direct. Start your prompt with an action verb. Examples: Good prompts lead with clarity: write, build, list, analyze, compare, explain. 2. Context – Who, what, why? Provide background. Describe the people, setting, and purpose. Think: who is this for, and what’s the bigger picture? Examples: […]

Values and principles are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same—and understanding their difference can profoundly impact how individuals and organizations function.

(And yes, that’s a good thing.) Last week, Panther Industries' pallet plant in Davidson, Saskatchewan literally caught fire. Not figuratively. We're talking full-on smoke-billowing, sirens-blaring, sawdust-sparking combustion. Not metaphorically. Literally. Turns out a few employees didn’t like the wind in their face while having a smoke, so they wandered over to the camera-free zone and […]

Most teams only do After Action Reviews (AARs) after something goes well.They celebrate the wins. Unpack what worked. Give each other high-fives. But the real value of an AAR shows up after the disaster.That’s when it matters most. That’s when the growth begins. What is an After Action Review? An AAR is a structured conversation […]

Too many leaders rely on pressure to drive performance—and it works… until it doesn’t.Engagement drops. Burnout spikes. People stop thinking for themselves.What’s missing? A system that motivates without micromanaging. This post is about tools. Practical ones you can actually use to motivate your team—without becoming their therapist, their babysitter, or their bulldozer. Because the best […]

Leadership isn’t always a keynote speech or a quarterly plan. Sometimes it’s a shouting match on your lawn. Sometimes it’s standing still while someone screams in your face—and choosing not to yell back. In our coaching work at Values-Driven Achievement, we talk a lot about the Trust Triangle—a simple yet powerful model for building durable […]

You can be a brilliant leader with all the right credentials… and still demotivate your team. I’ve coached leaders who were sharp, disciplined, and respected—yet their people were disengaged, burned out, or quietly quitting. Why? Because they were leading from imbalance. They leaned too hard on grit—driving results through pressure, guilt, and performance demands. Or […]

Most strategy dies in a slow, suffocating spiral. Not because the ideas were bad—but because execution never stood a chance against the daily whirlwind. I’ve watched this cycle too many times to count. The good news? There’s a way out. It’s called the 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX). And it’s not new. It’s not flashy. […]

Your team’s not lazy.They’re just not motivated—and it might be your fault.I’ve coached brilliant leaders stuck in this trap.They grind harder, push more—and get less in return.Why? Because they’re missing the one thing that turns grit into lasting results. Leadership without balance gets stuck in loops.Either too soft to steer…Or too hard to move. “Feel […]

Hiring a keynote speaker seems easy, right? You check the sizzle reel, look at the name, read the bio—and boom, you’re done. Wrong. Behind every great event is a speaker who didn’t just deliver a talk—they elevated the whole experience. And behind every disappointing keynote? A planner who got sold the show but missed the […]

Leadership is not an optional expense—it is the single most important factor in business success. Yet, many organizations still view leadership development as a “nice-to-have” rather than a core driver of productivity, profitability, and employee engagement. Let’s break it down. Why Should We Invest in Leadership Development? Leadership directly impacts business outcomes, team performance, and […]

The Problem With Traditional Performance Reviews Performance reviews often feel like a grading exercise rather than a growth conversation. Employees leave these meetings feeling judged instead of empowered. Leaders walk away frustrated by gaps in perception and misaligned expectations. The issue? One-directional feedback. Too often, leaders evaluate employees without inviting feedback on their own leadership. […]

Leadership is more than just strategy, execution, and decision-making. Great leadership requires deep self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to clear internal blockages that limit growth. One often-overlooked framework that can help leaders develop these qualities is the ancient wisdom of chakras—energy centers that influence our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Understanding chakras isn’t just […]

Carl Jung once said, “We deem those happy who, from the experience of life, have learned to bear its ills without being overcome by them.” This quote encapsulates the essence of shadow work—the process of uncovering the hidden parts of ourselves that influence our behaviours, values, and decisions. Shadow work is not about eliminating these aspects […]

​In the realm of leadership, certain reactive behaviours—protecting, controlling, and people-pleasing—can undermine your effectiveness and erode trust. These behaviours often operate "below the waterline," driven by unconscious fears and unmet needs. Understanding their origins and manifestations is crucial for personal growth and fostering healthier organizational cultures.​ Karen Horney's Framework: Neurotic Needs and Leadership BehavioUrs Psychoanalyst […]

Imagine two high-powered business partners, each with strong opinions, deep investments, and a shared history of growing a company together. Now, imagine them at a crossroads—one wants to exit, the other wants to stay. Each feels slightly slighted. The negotiations should be about logic, about growing the pie, about maximizing returns for all parties. But […]

Sales can feel overwhelming when you're just starting out—like navigating a maze in the dark, hoping to stumble upon success while dodging rejection. But in reality, sales is simple: connect with people, offer value, and solve a need. Here’s a no-nonsense, three-step process to make sales feel less like a mystery and more like a […]

Meetings are either a powerful tool for alignment and execution or a waste of valuable time. The difference? Cadence and structure. A well-planned meeting cadence ensures that teams stay aligned, focused, and moving toward key objectives—daily, weekly, quarterly, and annually. Here’s how to structure meetings for maximum impact. 1. The Daily Standup: Fast, Focused, and […]

Annual reviews are more than just a performance evaluation—they’re an opportunity to align on goals, reinforce trust, and build a stronger team. When done well, they create clarity, engagement, and motivation. When done poorly, they become a dreaded, ineffective exercise in bureaucracy. To get it right, leaders and managers must approach annual reviews with clear […]

Overview:The One Minute Manager is a concise and practical guide to effective management, emphasizing three key techniques: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands. These principles help managers increase productivity, empower employees, and create a positive work environment. Key Concepts & Lessons 1. One Minute Goals 💡 Why it works: Employees are […]

Meetings get a bad rap. "This could have been an email" has become the battle cry of frustrated professionals everywhere. But what if the problem isn’t the meetings themselves—it's how we run them? Steven G. Rogelberg’s book The Science of Meetings dives into decades of research to explain why most meetings are ineffective and, more […]

Meetings: the necessary evil of every organization. We’ve all been there—long, meandering discussions that lead nowhere, endless debates without decisions, and worst of all, time spent talking about work instead of actually doing the work. According to a study by Harvard Business Review, 71% of senior leaders say meetings are unproductive and inefficient, while 65% […]

Emotions are not just reactions—they are information. They tell us what matters, influence our decisions, and shape our interactions. Yet, many people struggle to articulate their emotions, leading to poor emotional regulation, ineffective communication, and lost leadership impact. Research shows that people who can label their emotions with precision are: This is where the Feelings […]

Recently, a client of mine faced a difficult leadership challenge. In a project management situation, they realized their protective and controlling tendencies were creating emotional distance, reducing their effectiveness as a leader. Here’s what happened: They had assigned a task to a colleague, who then delegated it to a junior manager, who passed it along […]

Incentive structures play a crucial role in driving sales performance. But many businesses struggle with a common issue: How do you keep your sales team motivated throughout the year while aligning their efforts with long-term business goals? For medium-sized construction or manufacturing businesses, a progressive quarterly bonus payout structure—where bonuses are annualized and paid in […]

(A personalized, executive-friendly summary of Andy Grove’s lessons on management and his book High Output Management) Why This Book Matters To quote Bill Campbell, former Apple board member and subject of the Trillion Dollar Coach: “High Output Management is a bible that every entrepreneur and every manager in the country should look at, read, and […]

Most leaders don’t fail because they lack skills or motivation. They fail because they are unknowingly protecting themselves from change. Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey call this the Immunity to Change—a built-in psychological system that blocks us from making the transformations we consciously desire and featured in their book, Immunity to Change. It’s not about […]

What do you do when logic and facts don’t work? A national park ranger and conservation officer was under siege and my coaching client. His job was to enforce new environmental protections that limited hunting, fishing, and land development in a protected area. But the locals—ranchers, retired loggers, and anti-government activists—weren’t interested in climate data, […]

Some speeches change the way you think. Some just help you stay awake after a bad night’s sleep. The best ones? They hit you so hard that you rethink your entire approach to life and leadership. For me, that speech came from Sir Ken Robinson. It was after my Olympic gold medal, after my record-breaking […]

When it comes to values-driven leadership, few figures stand out more prominently than Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski. His approach to leadership, as documented through his work, offers invaluable lessons in aligning personal and organizational values to achieve extraordinary success. MasterClass Insights In his MasterClass on values-driven leadership, Coach K delves into the core principles defining […]

Values shape the decisions we make and the actions we take. But not all values words are created equal. Many lists are riddled with grammatical errors, conceptual missteps, and words that fail to clearly communicate a stable, intrinsic quality of character. At the bottom, I've place a breakdown of the most common pitfalls and how […]

Most business owners assume their company’s value is tied to book value, net present value, or industry multiples. But here’s the truth: Your company is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it. A buyer doesn’t care about what you think it’s worth. They care about the risk, opportunity, and scalability of the […]

Who are the hidden influencers guiding your success, and how can you leverage them? In today's world, it's not just what you know; it's who you know and how you leverage those relationships. Building a solid network is essential for career success, and the "Leadership Champion Framework" provides a playbook for connecting with four types […]

High performance isn’t an accident. It’s a combination of focused effort, strong values, and a relentless commitment to growth. In this interview, I dive deep into the mindset, habits, and leadership strategies that shaped my journey from Olympic gold medalist to executive coach, keynote speaker, and leadership consultant. Whether you’re an athlete, entrepreneur, or corporate […]

REPRINTED FROM UVIC TORCH MAGAZINE When they first met, “Little Adam” was an open-hearted eight-year-old boy hungry for a male role model. His mother, Lorraine Pawlivsky-Love (BFA ’00, MEd ’05), was a UVic Fine Arts student, struggling to raise two small children alone. “Big Adam,” better known as Adam Kreek, was then 22, a UVic geography […]

Leadership isn't easy. Sometimes, you have to make the hard calls, challenge the status quo, or hold people accountable in ways that make them uncomfortable. But there's a fine line between effective leadership and reactive leadership. The question is: are you leading with conscious awareness, or are you slipping into patterns of control, avoidance, or […]

Transactional leadership is a management style focused on structure, performance metrics, and efficiency. Transformational leadership is about inspiration, vision, and empowerment. It moves beyond tasks and metrics to create cultures of innovation and long-term commitment. We need to balance both leadership styles.

The Challenge: A Business in Need of Strategic Focus Leadership is not about reacting to problems—it’s about steering an organization toward long-term success. But even the best teams can get stuck in the day-to-day grind, losing sight of the big picture. At a recent two-day strategic retreat in Victoria, British Columbia, a leadership team from […]

Effective communication is a key skill for successful leadership. Here are five habits you can implement immediately to improve communication with your team. 1. Listen The most important thing to consider when you’re communicating with your team is your ability to listen. Communication is primarily listening and then verifying what you thought you heard. 2. […]

I get tremendous value and enjoyment from reading and listening to inspirational books. I glean insights and ideas from each author and develop new skills to be a better speaker, management consultant, and trainer. Fun fact: Reading is also a great way for us to reduce stress! Below is a list of seven inspirational books that […]

Why is it necessary to develop skills to lead people through change? Shouldn’t people naturally change on their own when they see change is needed? Often, as leaders and managers, we will give advice expecting our colleagues to change. Yet, we can see that the prescriptive method doesn’t work that well. Motivational interviewing is an effective way […]

I’ll admit, I have a love/hate reaction when I consume Oprah’s work. I find her celebrity at times trumps her message and distracts me from engaging with her media conglomerate's content. Her influence, however, has been truly remarkable. She has empowered so many to live better lives. Ultimately I believe in her authenticity and her […]

Why is it so hard to change—even when we know it’s essential? Let’s dive into the Immunity to Change framework with real-world examples and questions that can help leaders—not just perform but thrive sustainably.

When debriefing post success or failure, are you separating your feelings from facts? One of the biggest mistakes we can make while reflecting upon past events is to justify our feelings with emotional reasoning. Just because you feel something, does not make it true. Or, just because something is true, doesn’t mean that your feelings […]

Canadian water polo player, Nathan Kotylak, who was shown in some notorious images from the Vancouver Stanley Cup riot has been banned from the Canadian national team for two years. Kotylak was handed the suspension by Water Polo Canada's discipline panel, which means he will not compete at the 2012 Olympic Games. Adam had argued […]

What is conscious failure, and how can it help you?  The following physical exercise will grow your body, mind and spirit. This rowing machine workout builds your anaerobic capacity, increases your lactic threshold, boosts your oxygen-carrying capacity, boosts mitochondrial density, increases capillary density, allows your muscles to hold more glycogen, burns off excess stress hormones […]

An Olympic-sized metaphor and a Bermuda Triangle incident help to keep safety culture fresh “Safety performance is not a priority. Priorities change. Safety is non-negotiable. It’s a core value. Every day, we need to eat, sleep, get dressed, work hard, get paid, and be safe. We lead safe teams because we care. We build safe […]

Adam was recently interviewed for a book chapter about his perspectives on Leadership, Success, and Wellbeing.  The following is an excerpt from this interview. David: I’d like to start off by asking you about failure. It’s something we all experience, yet often find so difficult to overcome. You faced massive failure at the 2004 Olympic […]

What is Succession Planning? Succession planning is the key to solving one of the most common challenges organizations face: what happens when a key leader leaves? Without a plan, the transition can disrupt momentum, morale, and even your long-term goals. This blog provides practical steps and tools to help you navigate the process with clarity […]

Using the Leadership River as a guide, leaders can better understand their growth trajectory. For instance:

Are you leading individual contributors or managers? Adjust your values to emphasize developing others.

Moving from managing one team to a portfolio of teams? Start appreciating the success of others over personal wins.

When something goes wrong, it’s natural to cast blame on the perceived cause of the misfortune. An individual can cast that blame internally or externally. This is related to a psychological construct known as the locus of control. Locus of control refers to the degree to which an individual feels a sense of agency in […]

Insights from a concentration camp If you haven’t read Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search For Meaning”, you should. Frankl, a trained psychiatrist, writes about the psychology of imprisonment in a Nazi death camp during the second world war. He describes how he found beauty in the most horrid of circumstances. The most memorable part of […]

I’m often asked what I do to stay fit now that I’m no longer training for the Olympics or adventure expeditions. My focus has shifted to growing my business ventures, so that I can serve my growing family. In truth, compared to my athletic career, I ‘workout’ quite minimally. Instead I aim to incorporate physical […]

Two days – and the decisions they contain – have the utmost meaning in a competitive athlete’s life. First is the day you commit and give up everything to pursue your sport. The second day is when you finally end your path of elite athletics. As I reflect upon my sporting career, one lesson stands […]

Please enjoy this well-written safety culture case study by Rodd Wagner Paul O’Neill’s tenure at the helm of Alcoa is now the stuff of legend. Introduced to a group of investors and analysts in October 1987, he didn’t talk about revenue and expenses and debt ratios and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. “I […]

I Seek Failure: Why the Edge of Your Limits Is Where You Need to Be Most people run from failure. I chase it. When I stood on the TEDx Victoria stage in 2013, I shared a message that had shaped my journey as an Olympic athlete, an adventurer, and a leader: If you want to […]

High-powered tech executives and engineers often find themselves caught in the weeds of decision-making. To scale up leadership, we need to delegate decision-making. My client, we'll call him Tom, was the head engineer in a fast-growing tech company and was no exception. He had a talented team of 30 people, but their hesitance to take […]

KreekSpeak Mental Toughness Tip: Are You Letting Go? We’re often told to “let it go”. Bad relationships. Toxic people. Negative feelings. Mistakes. Failure. But how do we actually practise ‘letting go’? I’m no stranger to failure in my personal, athletic and professional life. I even did a TEDx talk on the power of non-attainment (Adam […]

I love being active. When I am away from the desk, the computer, the phone and the conference room, I still dream of adventures into the ocean and up snow-scraped mountains. I exercise regularly because movement keeps me focused, smart and happy. I love the feel of my muscles after a good weight pump, the sublime […]

If your goals aren’t working, maybe it’s not you—it’s your system. SMART goals can transform vague aspirations into actionable outcomes. Let’s dig in. In case you’re rusty, SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Relevant, and Time-bound. At least, this is the variation of the goal-setting acronym we endorse at ViDA. Interestingly, this acronym […]

To make your onboarding process as seamless as possible, we’ve created a customizable template to guide managers in building their six-month plans

As a leader, you must be many things to many different people. The further up the organization you move, the more you will need to refine your ability to balance effectively between different roles. If you do not manage this dance effectively, you will face the common consequences of ineffectiveness, frustration, lagging motivation and even […]

As sports fans, we often celebrate athletes and admire them for their beauty, fame and wealth. But in my experience, I've come to know beauty, fame and wealth as toxic goals. These toxic three don't drive the most successful sports figures. Rather, our heroes' external success is more often the result of deep athlete-coach relationships and a […]

Henry Ford said, “Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” He knew something that took researchers years to formalize—teams don’t perform instantly. Before a team hits its stride, it has to go through the messy middle. First, the team forms. Then, it storms. Clashes happen. Egos flare. People push […]

How Sharks, Pirates and Pareto can help to manage risk in the face of change Your organization is in the midst of change. A merger? Acquisition? Downturn? Disruption? Yet, you are someone who makes it happen. You are not someone who stands idly by to let change roll on top of you. Here is a […]

When preparing for a dismissal, it’s easy to focus on the prep and execution while overlooking one of the most critical aspects—the finishing move. How you conclude the conversation can define the lasting impression you leave, for better or worse. That’s why we’ve designed a simple process to help leaders navigate dismissals effectively and gracefully. […]

Psychological Safety - sīkəˈläjəkəl ˈsāftē Psychological safety is the most studied enabling condition in group dynamics and team learning research.  Psychological safety is a shared feeling of safety, experienced by each team member.  In psychologically safe teams, team members feel accepted and respected. In Project Aristotle, Google found this quality to be of most importance in high-functioning […]

  What can Japanese efficiency teach us about turning vision into action? How do we direct an organization to achieve more worthwhile goals? You can be highly productive at the wrong things, and where will that bring you? Hoshin Kanri is a step by step planning method used to ensure that the different functional areas […]

I'm compiling a list of value words. This list is not complete, not organized and not codified. Each of the value words below has been checked over to ensure they follow the grammatical rules and the general rules of how we like to think about value words at ViDA AcceptanceAbundanceAchievementAccountabilityAccuracyAdaptabilityAgencyAlertnessAltruismAmbitionAmusementAssertivenessAwarenessBalanceBeautyBoldnessBraveryBrillianceCalmCandorCertainty CharityChallengeClarityCleanlinessCollaborationCommitmentCommunityCompassionCompetenceComfortConfidenceConnectionConvictionConsistencyContributionCooperationCourageCourtesyCreativityCuriosityDedicationDependabilityDeterminationDevotionDignityDisciplineDiscoveryEnduranceEnergyEffectivenessEfficiencyEmpathyEnjoymentEnthusiasmEqualityExcellenceExperienceExplorationFairnessFidelityFocusFortitudeFreedomFriendshipFulfillmentFunGenerosity GeniusGoodnessGraceGratitudeGrowthHappinessHarmonyHonestyHonourHopeHumilityImaginationIndependenceInnovationInsightIntelligenceIntegrityIntrospectionIntuitionJoyJusticeKindnessKnowledgeLeadershipLoveLoyaltyPatiencePeacePerseverance ProsperityPurposeResilienceRespectResponsibilitySensitivitySerenityServiceSimplicityStrengthTeamworkTemperanceThoughtfulnessTransparencyTrustTruthUnityValorVisionWisdomWonder

Grounded - ˈgroundid Well balanced and sensible. An electrical circuit that is connected to the earth. How do you visualize the feeling of being grounded? Bob Babinski told me about his airport experiment, and I leaned in to hear more. He’s been practicing a subtle technique that influences the behaviour of strangers. On my flight home, […]

loneliness |ˈloʊnlin1s| A complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation or lack of companionship How do you handle your feelings of loneliness? I was reminded of the power of loneliness when I once picked up a hitchhiker in northern Saskatchewan. After weeks of solo travel, delivering leadership training and coaching in Canada's north, I was […]

I’ve been baffled by the chaos surrounding values words—the grammar fails, the contradictions in literature, and the internet's endless misuse. So, I’ve taken on a mission: to define clear rules that cut through the confusion and unlock the true power of values. When we clarify these words, we don’t just gain clarity—we gain a tool […]

The ViDA Values Framework: A Complete Guide to Defining and Living Your Values At ViDA (Values-Driven Achievement), we define values as states and traits that drive behaviour, decisions, and human interactions. They are not abstract goals but the lived experience of who we are in the present. Values are the compass that guides us toward […]

Stories connect values to lived experiences. They are more than entertainment; they’re the threads that weave cultures together and align collective values. Research validates this power: narratives promoting altruism lead to observable shifts in empathy and prosocial actions. In one study, participants who read kind, caring stories were significantly more likely to help a researcher […]

Amateur ˈ|amətər| A person who engages in a particular activity simply for the love of it, and is not paid for their work. - Professional |prəˈfeSHənl| A person who is competent and skilled in a particular activity, and is paid for their work. Are you a Professional? When the modern Olympic Games were founded in […]

As your friendly neighbourhood Olympic has-been, I'm often asked to share my favourite exercise routines. My first suggestion is always the same: pursue joy in movement, and joy in effort. The more you look for these two sources of joy, the fitter you will become. Plus, you're much more likely to stick with a joyful […]

The real cost of inaction? Millions in lost revenue, turnover, and opportunities. Whether you operate in Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, or San Francisco, a clear strategic plan isn’t an expense—it’s your ultimate business growth tool. Organizations thrive when they adopt one crucial element—a robust and well-executed strategic plan. Suppose you’re a tech hub in San Francisco, […]

Jerred Moon, 28, has a lofty goal: To squat-lift 500 pounds — in his garage. Moon's garage gym was born out of necessity after he got married in 2010. Despite dreams of becoming an officer in the United Stats Air Force after graduating from military college, he found himself out of work for a few months. […]

Weekly sleep average is more important than daily number By Adam Kreek, CBC Sports  Dec 08, 2015 4:27 PM ET One of the keys to overcoming challenges I've faced — rowing across the Atlantic, raising two young children, overcoming an addiction to Dragon's Den — has been some well-planned shut-eye. As an Olympic rower, I knew that quality sleep would help […]

How do you view stress in your life? Is it something that you avoid and fear? Or, do you harness stress’ powerful energy to be the momentum that drives your performance energy? Today, we show you how to manage your stress and turn nervous energy shocks into positive action. Exposure to stress is unavoidable. Yet, […]

You can grow a business that inspires team members to actively drive your vision forward. Howard Schulz, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington are just three examples of people who led their teams to greatness. However, and not surprisingly, creating an ideal environment primed for business growth will not happen by accident. Nor will it happen overnight. […]

The Clustered Science of Non-Attainment Research tells us that people who set goals are happier and more successful. Professors who set goals earn tenure faster, employees who set goals get larger raises, and students who have goals set for them learn up to 250 percent faster than those who do not. When we are achieving […]

On Sunday, April 13th, NBC’s Dateline aired a documentary about my Trans-Atlantic Ocean Expedition—and the harrowing capsize that nearly cost my crew and me our lives. After 73 days at sea, just 10 days short of our destination in Miami, Florida, we faced the ultimate test of resilience in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. […]

How Values Shape Behavior and Decision-Making Across People and Things: A Two-Dimensional Framework Values are at the heart of every organization’s culture and strategy, influencing everything from personal behaviours to tactical decisions. At ViDA, we work with organizations to ensure their values are clearly defined and consistently applied. Well-articulated values impact both people (in how […]

When defining the core values that guide your life, your business, or your team, the words you choose matter. The language we use to express values has a profound impact on how we understand and act upon them. One common mistake is framing values in their present participle or gerund form—those "-ing" words that imply […]

What Are Values? In the ViDA framework, values are defined as enduring states and traits that guide, drive, and motivate our actions and decisions on an ongoing basis. A value can be experienced as part of our character or a description of our way of being. Values indicate what matters most, serving as the foundation […]

Richard Barrett’s values methodology has shaped discussions in personal development and organizational leadership, particularly through its roots in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Vedantic philosophy. While Barrett's work offers significant insights, it falls short in key areas, particularly in its conflation of values, needs, and motivators. This lack of clarity undermines the framework’s utility and […]

When it comes to personal and professional success, the right balance of personality traits can make or break your outcomes. Let's dive into the OCEAN model or Big Five personality traits: Each of us has a unique mix of these traits, and how we use them determines much of our success in life and work. […]

Finding your vision is one of the most transformative things you can do for your life and work. Here’s a practical guide to uncovering your vision.

Habits don’t just happen; they’re constructed. Every habit—good or bad—follows a loop of Cue, Craving Routine, and Reward. Mastering this loop can help you build the habits that create success or dismantle the ones that hold you back. From Olympic training to rowing across the Atlantic, I’ve seen firsthand how habits shape outcomes. Let’s break […]

Men are often expected to be stoic—detached from their emotions. The boardroom isn’t a space for anger, tears, or emotional honesty, yet these emotions don’t disappear. Instead, they linger, becoming unspoken tensions or misdirected actions.

A competition map of your marketplace is an essential tool to understand your competitive landscape and drive strategic decisions. It’s not just a diagram—it’s a way to uncover opportunities, mitigate risks, and ensure your business is positioned for success.

How to Find Your Purpose Purpose is the fuel that powers courage and quiets fears. It’s the force that pushes you to make meaningful decisions and take bold action–to work hard, endure pain and act in the face of uncertainty. Purpose is deeply connected to our contribution to others. A strong set of values is […]

MIssion-Driven Leadership Do you understand the power of mission-type orders? Are you building the trust, clarity, and skills within your team necessary to delegate effectively? If you’re not, you’re leaving success on the table. Mission-type orders challenge YOU—the leader—to go beyond delegating tasks. First, you must master your own role. Then, you must understand your […]

Traditional, intelligence-based goal setting, like SMART goals, fails to account for EQ. When setting important goals and strategic plans, it’s essential that we incorporate both EQ and IQ into any successful achievement method. Thus, CLEAR strategic goal setting. CLEAR stands for Collaborative, Limited, Emotional...

Living our values is not about achieving a final state of perfection—it’s about continually striving to embody those values in everything we do. Each day, we make choices that either bring us closer to living in alignment with our values or pull us further away. This process of aligning our actions with our values is ongoing, and it’s what gives our lives meaning and direction

At ViDA Coaching, we’ve designed a clear, structured process to empower leadership growth, self-awareness, and strategic development. The ViDA Coaching Arrow ensures every coaching session is purposeful, impactful, and tailored to your needs.

A sponsored coaching relationship is a professional development arrangement where an organization invests in coaching for one of its leaders or high-potential employees. In this setup, the organization—often represented by HR managers or senior leaders—initiates and funds the coaching to support the individual's growth and effectiveness.

Why did ViDA pick the Leadership Circle tool?

The LCP isn’t just feedback. It’s one of the most comprehensive tools in leadership development, providing a data-backed roadmap for real improvement. Built on insights from over 200,000 leaders, 3 million evaluations, and 300 million data points, the LCP is the gold standard for leaders who want more than just opinions—they want results.

Fatherhood isn’t just a personal journey; it’s an unparalleled training ground for leadership. As a dad, you’re a mentor, mediator, coach, and role model all rolled into one. You learn to:

Why The Kreek Flywheel Process? This approach, built on the timeless principles of Jim Collins, with the practical application of Adam Kreek ensures that your business doesn’t just achieve greatness—it sustains it. With a focus on practical application and continuous learning, we build a Flywheel that keeps turning, ensuring lasting results.

Here's a simple framework for regaining momentum. It’s not rocket science, but it works every time—60% of the time. LOL.

Let's start by not taking ourselves too seriously and try the method below.

Living your Values State is a powerful concept—but it’s not for everyone. Let’s break down who truly stands to gain from exploring this energetic alignment and who might not find it relevant or practical.

Let’s face it. The goal of every LinkedIn post isn’t just to throw content out into the void and hope something sticks. We want people to engage, and more importantly, to actually read what we’ve written. The tricky part? That dreaded “see more” button. Most readers don’t click it unless we give them a good […]

Leaders who seek feedback and adjust their behaviour accordingly tend to outperform those who don't by a long shot. According to Kouzes and Posner (The Leadership Challenge), leaders who are clear about their strengths and values perform 25% better than those who aren’t. That’s like showing up to a regatta in a high-tech carbon-fiber shell while everyone else still paddles in wooden boats.

The Center for Creative Leadership also found that 360° assessments, when used properly, can significantly boost a leader’s effectiveness and adaptability. That’s because this tool taps into our brain’s neuroplasticity (a fancy term for saying your brain can change). When you get feedback, your brain makes new connections, which helps you ditch bad habits and build stronger leadership muscles.

If you’ve ever wondered, "How do I get people motivated when they just don’t seem to care?" or "How do I inspire my team to step up and take action?"—you’re in the right place. Over the past two decades, I’ve travelled the world as a leadership coach and consultant, sharing insights from my Olympic journey, […]

Imagine having a generative AI tool that filters every internal and external communication through your organization's values. How would that change the way proposals are written, reviewed, and presented? How could it influence the SMART goals that leadership teams set and track throughout the year? When AI is used strategically to link decision-making with execution, it can help refine strategies and align execution, but the key is in how it supports human judgment.

Employee engagement surveys are often viewed as a tool primarily for the HR department. However, their impact extends far beyond HR, offering invaluable insights for management at all levels, especially in sales. By leveraging data from these surveys, managers can create a more engaged, productive, and high-performing team. Here’s why employee engagement surveys are vital for management and how a sales manager can utilize this data effectively.

Creating new things, as Dr. Christensen suggests, is a powerful strategy for driving progress and innovation. By focusing on building the new, we not only facilitate growth but also naturally phase out the old, less effective practices. Anchoring this process in our core values ensures that our innovations are not just new but also meaningful and sustainable. As leaders, it is our responsibility to foster a culture of values-driven innovation that can propel our organizations toward a brighter, more fulfilling future.

Developed by Adam Kreek, CLEAR goals stand for Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, and Refinable and are designed to be flexible and adaptive to changing circumstances.

ARCIx (pronounced arc-ee Ex) stands for Accountability, Responsibility, Consultation, Information, and Exclude (x). It’s a facilitation tool that aligns decision-making roles with the activities necessary for project success. Unlike traditional RACI charts, ARCIx explicitly defines the accountable person who "holds the bag" if a project fails. This clarity helps in assigning roles and ensuring everyone knows their part in the project's success.

Building a culture of accountability takes time and consistent effort. By defining clear expectations, fostering open communication, providing the right tools, and recognizing accountable behaviour, you can create an environment where accountability thrives.

The World Values Survey provides invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of global values. By understanding these trends, we can better navigate the complexities of our interconnected world and lead with empathy and effectiveness.

Understanding our values can be a complex journey. Have you ever considered why certain decisions feel right while others leave you conflicted?

Negotiation is a bit like rowing in the Olympics (if you'll forgive the overused metaphor associated with my online brand). You’ve got to keep your eye on the finish line, adjust your stroke as the conditions change, and sometimes, you just have to row harder when the wind's against you. Two critical concepts in this realm are ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) and BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated/No Agreement).

Understanding the difference between lead and lag metrics can be the difference between smoothly rowing across the finish line or being left behind in the competition.

Three prominent systems that business leaders often turn to are Metronomics, the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), and Scaling Up. Each offers unique benefits and tools tailored to different organizational needs. Here’s a closer look at how these systems compare and contrast.

The Competing Values Framework provides a structured approach to understand better and improve organizational culture. By recognizing and balancing the different values within an organization, leaders can create a more effective, satisfying, and resilient workplace, including the following benefits:

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Thank you for your interest in personal values discovery. To download my values discovery workbook click the file download link below.

Personality indexing cuts through the static, pushing your leadership team to connect better with their employees and generate more productive results. As an executive coaching tool, personality indexing can increase your team’s performance levels and bring meaningful results. For a clearer understanding of personality testing and how it can boost your enterprise’s value, keep reading.

Imagine that you're standing in front of a vast, complicated machine. You don't know how it works, there's no instruction manual, and your life depends on operating it successfully. What do you do?

The Execution Gap is a problem because it represents a disconnect between what an organization knows it should do and what it actually does. This gap can lead to values not being translated into results and achievement falling short of potential. The Execution Gap can be a source of frustration, anxiety and disengagement for both leaders and employees.

When it comes to achieving and sustaining success, having a clear vision and purpose is essential. Vision and purpose are similar in that they both provide direction and motivation, but they differ in meaningful ways.

When we understand values, and know our values, we make better decisions and have better relationships.