Stonecircle and the Chiefs

Jennifer David with Chief Keith "Keeter"
Corston from her home, Chapleau
Cree First Nation.

Tis the season to hang out with friends and renew acquaintances. Jennifer David and Kory Goulais had a great time doing just that at the AFN Winter Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa last week.

Kory manned the trade show booth, drumming up business for Stonecircle, while Jennifer met with Chiefs, clients and participated in some of the panel discussion and sessions. "It was invigorating to see so much passion around the table, especially when the Chiefs got up to speak on behalf of their communities," Jennifer said. The issue in Attawapiskat became an emergency discussion but other vital issues such as treaty implementation, relationships with resource companies, education and health were also discussed. All of these impact on the work that Stonecircle is doing.

The ever dapper Kory Goulais and
Ron Ryan

The Assembly culminated in a gala dinner and dance, with Ojibway comedian Ryan McMahon and a 13-year old singer named Aurora Finkle, who was amazingly comfortable on stage, singing songs that were written decades before she was born :o)

Happy Birthday, Galin!

Multilingual, multifaceted, and multinational, our man Galin Kora celebrated his birthday yesterday. Know as the "Third Floor Ghost" for his mysterious ability to materialize within his office unseen by us lowly mortals, Galin in equally at home in Tirana or Arviat - as long as (a) there's at least one vegetarian item on the menu, and (b) he knows his beloved pooch is safe home. Happy birthday, Galin!

There's a New Sheriff in Town...

Newly-elected President Grosset (not exactly as shown)

In a marathon session, Consilium whipped through four corporate meetings yesterday. Apart from celebrating our best year of sales to date (for which many thanks, friends, readers, and clients!) we also elected a new Board of Directors. For the first time in eighteen years, Consilium will be led by a non-founding shareholder: Chris Grosset, a man who commands the respect of peers, partners and clients, who can drive a Bobcat, and whose chicken marbella was the talk of the Consilium Christmas Party.

Joining Chris at the helm will be Ron Ryan (Vice President), Greg Smith (Treasurer) and Patti Black (Secretary).

Kudos and another big thank you very much to outgoing Board members Fred Weihs and Leslie Sutherland.

Learning Online

Today wraps up the second week of online delivery for the Introduction to Northern Government program for Nunavut Arctic College and the Municipal Training Organization. We asked instructor Michelle Turpin to tell us what it's like to work with students right across Nunavut - through the screen of her laptop in Ottawa.

“Remember when you were little,  and you wondered what you'd be when you grew up? Maybe a truck driver, or a carpenter- perhaps a radio announcer, or even a teacher?

I remember a class trip to a radio station, and all the cool technology (this was in the early 1980s,  folks - it seemed cool to my 12-year-old-self at the time!) When I had a chance to go on air, I was so excited I could barely find the words to announce the next song.

Fast forward 25 (or so) years. I'm not in radio but I find myself sitting in front of cool technology, talking to people from all across Nunavut. And it's even better than radio - they're talking back! And laughing, and joking, and learning."

So what makes this course special?

"We've got 19 students, people from every region -eager, interested and smart adults, learning from the comfort of their own workplaces and homes without having to leave their community or take a couple of weeks off work. It's an incredible opportunity for anyone working for Municipal Government, or in other government offices, who wishes they had time to take some courses."


Who's putting it on?

"It's a partnership between Nunavut Arctic College and the Municipal Training Organization. They'll be offering five core courses between December 2011 and March 2012. The classroom version of these courses have been running for about seven years now."

Where do you think this kind of training is going?

"It's the future of training in Nunavut.  I know I'll look back on this in another 25 or so years and say “Wow, I remember where online course delivery in Nunavut all started.” It is a great opportunity to bring people closer together, even when they're separated by thousands of miles. I look forward to continuing to help our students through these five courses in the upcoming months.”

One last question. Was this really an interview?

"Naw. I just wrote it that way because I've always wanted to be in radio."

A Little Christmas Energy to Get You Through Hump Day

Grey, cold, and drizzly day here in Ottawa. We feel like a little Christmas cheer. So here, if you haven't seen it, is the best Christmas Carol to come of out of Winnipeg this year (so far!).

Aarluk Helps Another Dream Come True

Another long-running Aarluk project reached its fruition last week, and several of Iqaluit's residents - especially the four-footed ones - couldn't be happier.

That new blue and white van in town belongs to Dr. Leia Cunningham, Iqaluit’s first born-and-bred veterinarian.  It marks the culmination of life-long dream for Leia. For years she volunteered at local vet clinics hosted in Iqaluit by the Rotary club.  Following an undergraduate degree at Concordia University in Montreal, Leia studied veterinary medicine at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. But her goal has always been to come home and provide much needed care for the community's pets and working animals.

For over a year, Aarluk's Chuck Gilhuly and Geoff Rigby worked closely with Leia to raise money to launch her new service. Support was obtained from the Nunavut Community Economic Development Organization, the Baffin Business Development Corporation, Kakivak Association, and Atuqtuarvik Corporation.

For the time being Dr. Cunningham will deliver service from the NunaVet van, which is fully equipped with kennels, an x-ray unit and an operating table. Within the next two years, she and her husband hope to supplement that service with a full, permanent clinic based in their home.

Full details of the story can be found here.  Aarluk is very proud of our support to the achievement of Leia's dream; she is a shining example of what can be achieved with a vision, hard work, and a love of community.

Getting Results

It's always nice to see the real world results of a consulting assignment.

In Iqaluit,  a week-long healthy living conference planned by Aarluk's Patti Black and Geoff Rigby and facilitated by Victor Tootoo attracted more than 50 participants from Qikiqtaaluk communities.  The conference provided a unique opportunity for people to exchange experiences, successes and learning, and go home with new energy and new ideas.

The Kivalliq/Kitikmeot wellness conference will be held in the new year in Rankin Inlet.

New Date for Aboriginal Virtual Recruitment Fair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aboriginal Human Resource Council has a new date for its first ever Virtual Recruitment Fair! Mark your calendars for January 26 and 27, 2012.

 

Please spread the word about this interesting event. If you are an employer interesting in virtually 'meeting' with prospective Aboriginal employees or you're an Aboriginal student or job seeker interested to see what kind of employers are looking to hire, this could be the event for you. 

 

You can now visit the virtual recruitment fair site at: http://virtualfair.aboriginalhr.ca/ Click the More button to see the employers already registered.

Client-Focused Consulting

The most recent edition of Consult Magazine (published by the Canadian Association of Management Consultants, Fall 2011, p. 25).) featured an article about what clients really want from management consultants. It turns out that many clients feel their consultants are doing a poor job of determining their needs, and then delivering solutions to meet those needs. They don't want consultants to come in to their workplace, take over a whole project, and deliver a pre-set solution.

Rather, they need to 'think outside the box.' Considering this is what our three companies have worked hard to do for the past 25 years, we're happy to see this being recognized.

Here are the three key ways that we do business to differentiate ourselves from others, which echoes the article.

1. Involve the client more closely. Rather than coming in and bringing all the required staff members, consultants should propose to work closely with clients and leverage their expertise as well. At Stonecircle, we try to see if there is a way to include someone from the client organization as an active member of our team. This ensures buy-in to the project and helps build capacity.

2. Work at the Client's Pace. While no one likes to have projects drag out for many months, we have to be flexible enough to rethink our original timelines and provide enough opportunity for clients to review our work and comment appropriately.

3. Charge for Outputs not Inputs. Be very clear what the objectives of the project are, and commit to providing the very best product or service to meet that objective, rather than just charging by the day or hour for certain tasks.

4. Finally, listen to the client and adapt to your client's unique cultural and geographic position; don't offer a cookie cutter approach. As the article points out, don't "propose the same project structure to each and every client....firms that can re-invent themselves have an opportunity for differentiation."

Attawapiskat

As an Aboriginal consulting firm deeply committed to the development and health of First Nation communities across Canada, Stonecircle has followed recent developments in Attawapiskat with concern; we have friends in the community, and have had the opportunity to work with the First Nation on several projects in the past. We have also been dismayed to see so much misinformation and ignorance framing discussion of  the issues.

The challenges and issues facing Attawapiskat are too complex - and in some cases, too emotional - to discuss on this blog. But some very able commenters and leaders have made powerful statements addressing some of the misinformation surrounding recent events. You may want to check them out. It is our hope that all of this attention will finally bring about some long-sought, desperately needed positive changes in the way First Nations manage their affairs and strengthen their communities.

Jennifer David, Stonecircle Manager