Here is your Seven-Bullet Monday
1. A quote I am pondering:
"Posture has such a big impact on the way people perceive you." - Mary Helen Bowers
Simple things like standing tall with straight backs, looking people in the eye, and greeting people with a firm handshake can make a difference in how they perceive us. If we want people to respect us, we need to demonstrate self-confidence visually, and good posture is one way to do this.
2. A question I am asking myself:
How do I overcome inertia to get some of my personal projects going?
Breaking the initial inertia is always the most challenging part of getting going on something. Once you are moving, it is a lot easier. So, I will make some external commitments to force myself out of the starting blocks.
3. A book I am reading:
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
Having read nearly exclusively non-fiction over the last 12 months, I decided it was time to get into some fiction, and this classic was a great place to start. It's set in Nazi Germany, where a foster girl, Liesel, scratches out a meagre existence for herself by stealing and reading books. She reads these books to herself, fellow civilians in bomb shelters, and a Jew hiding in their basement. It is a beautiful book and deserves its place as one of the most loved fiction books, with over 16 million copies sold.
4. My favourite podcast this week:
Today Explained: 8 Billion Humans
The world has officially passed the 8 billion human inhabitant mark. This podcast goes into where populations are increasing and declining in the world. It also talks about impacts on nations, including the economic consequences of population and demographic changes. Africa's economic future is bright because it has the highest population growth, something I had not thought about before.
5. Hugh-Tips
Consolidate small investments into larger ones to avoid high fees
If you have changed jobs several times, you probably have several small retirement funds (RRSP, superannuation etc.) sitting with different institutions. Typically, when you finish employment, the financial institution will keep on managing your retirement fund, but with one catch – the management fees will increase. This is because the rates for managing corporate pension schemes are lower than for individuals due to scale. The fee increase might not seem like much, but compounded over a long time, it could reduce the overall return on your pension by more than a third. With some paperwork, you can consolidate your investments in one fund or set up a self-managed fund (in Canada, it's called a LIRA). That should allow you to reduce your management costs and protect your retirement funds from management fee erosion.
6. My highlight of the week
Co-hosting Conuma's Leadership Development Program, with over 120 leaders in attendance
We ran this quarter's LDP over the last two weeks in Chetwynd NEBC, where we covered decision-making. There was a fantastic turnout from our business leaders, who responded well to the training material. While the coaching is valuable, the networking in each session is the most exciting part for me. We are building OneConuma, and it is enriching to see leaders from each of our operations connecting and bonding with leaders from other sites.
7. My ask of you for this week
Please send me your top three Christmas hits of all time – for my Seven-Bullet Monday Christmas playlist
It's three weeks until the big day, and my Christmas playlist needs a refresh. So please reply to this email with your top three Christmas songs of all time. Please and thank you 😊
Have a festive week