Professional problem solver, business developer, coach, cheerleader and optimist.
Founder of The Positivist Group, a band of merry seasoned professionals transforming visionary organizations across Canada. #people #culture #performance
Most organizations do not start thinking about culture because something is broken. They start because they are growing. What once felt intuitive now requires intention. Decisions carry more weight. Roles become more complex. Informal norms no longer scale. In this article, we define what culture actually is, what most organizations misunderstand about it, and how to assess whether your growth is strengthening coherence or quietly eroding it.
Grant funding can accelerate impact, but not every opportunity builds organizational strength. This post explains how to evaluate grant opportunities using a decision-making matrix, helping nonprofits assess alignment, capacity, sustainability, and risk before applying.
Not every good grant is the right grant right now. This post explores when applying for funding can do more harm than good, and why sometimes the most strategic decision is to say no and wait until your organization is ready.
Grant funding can accelerate good work or quietly destabilize an organization. This newsletter breaks down the maturity required before pursuing grants, why readiness matters more than eligibility, and what provincial and federal governments are actually funding.
If you deliver services, you still offer a product. This post explains why thinking of services, programs, and even construction jobs as products helps organizations clarify what they do, protect capacity, and grow with intention.
Project-based grants can fuel growth or quietly distort it. This post explores how funding strategy should inform business strategy, using Positivist Group’s 8 Dimensions to help nonprofits and for-profits pursue grants without losing focus, capacity, or coherence.
Strategy collapses when it ignores context. The same decision can create momentum in one organization and chaos in another. At Positivist Group, we help leaders make decisions that fit real-world constraints, people dynamics, and the complexity of growth.
Culture reflects what organizations teach people through decisions and systems. This post explores culture as the cumulative outcome of intentional or reactive organizational growth.
Do we pursue this funding opportunity, even if it stretches our capacity?
Do we formalize this program, knowing it will change how we operate?
Do we say yes to this partnership, or protect focus and say no?
As organizations grow, structure often lags behind reality. This post explores structure as a key dimension of intentional organizational growth, shaping clarity, accountability, and how work actually gets done.