Posts written by Ruth Sirman

Critical Decision Making in Uncertain Times

We are living through an unprecedented time in history when a tiny virus has brought the world to a virtual standstill. While this has many implications for us individually and personally, it creates extremely challenging times for anyone who runs a business, as the need to decide our best options for survival when the stakes are high means we have some tough decisions to make! I first realized the severity of the global situation and the impact it was likely to have on my business when, in one 24 hour period, every contract I had underway was either canceled or postponed. Although I have had periods where business was slow, it quickly became apparent that this was far more widespread than anything I had experienced before. Like many others, I found myself reacting to the idea of going weeks or months with little or no income… and feeling that I needed to get this situation under control and fixed – NOW! Continue reading

The Ontario College Faculty Strike – The Impact and Reality for Students!

The college faculty strike in Ontario is now in its 4th week… with no agreement reached yet and mixed messages about what is actually happening at the negotiating table. Years ago I came across an old African Proverb that says “When 2 elephants fight –… Continue reading

When Promotions Become a Source of Conflict!

In most organizations, for those employees who excel at their jobs – (i.e. they are great litigators, great classroom teachers, excellent researchers or practitioners) the standard career progression stream is to move up the hierarchy into management. However the ‘reward’ too frequently sets the star… Continue reading

What Is Your ‘Burning Question’?

A colleague challenged me to think about  “What is your burning question?” Initially my response was – I don’t have one… and then I realized that I do. And I realized that I have sat with this question now for several years… and I have… Continue reading

We Have a New Website!

Check Out the NEW Website! We have completely rebuilt and rewritten the website to provide you with a clearer picture of the work that we do and how we do it. This site is for you – our clients and our potential clients (and people… Continue reading

Never Push A Person To The Point Where They Have Nothing To Lose…

Conflict Resolution Tip #5 – There are times when conflict seems to escalate uncontrollably – creating stress, hurt and even in cases of some conflicts – danger for those involved. And the more things escalate the more those involved can feel justified by the choices… Continue reading

Bullying and The Challenge of Stopping It…

By Ruth Sirman and Julie Lowry There are many old proverbs / truisms / adages that talk about how we should interact with others. We are brought up to ‘treat others the way we want to be treated’, be kind and respectful and not bully… Continue reading

Managing Stress Over the Holidays (video)

I was on an Ottawa Morning show, enjoy 🙂