ncamps@duo.ca's blog

Being the first one in the studio has a certain privilege. I set my computer bag down near the rocking chair, hang up my jacket and search for the clicker to control the stereo. Brahms today, loud, before the guys come in.

Espresso maker on, I wait for the gurgling and move into my own space, deep blue art-covered walls and a large window facing the city, with a hairline view of the lake. Computer on, I lean back, and consider my top three deliverables for the day:

1. Dash off four letters about new articles for Special Glasses magazine

Here are some works of fiction that have concepts that translate vividly to today.
Reading List:

- Atlas Shrugged by Anne Rand 1957
- Pudd'n'head Wilson by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) 1894
- Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley 1928
- The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri between 1308-1321

Your role as a leader is to plan like an adult and believe like a child.

Have you lost your youthful step, your sense of wonder?
Here is a challenge: Tell a story about your last trip, share observations that enable your family and your associates to see the person who still sees the world with wonder, who revels in fun.

The fire bell rings and we congregate together outside – milling about and looking for familiar faces. We are sharing a common experience. We turn to strangers and speak in a familiar way:  Is it a real fire, I'll bet I could have grabbed my coat and computer. We are one in experience. The rules have temporarily changed and we wait in this social bubble for an all clear sign at which time we will go back to our offices and cubicles and our individual and separate lives.

Your clients know you for who they think you are.

Imagine if you had a life-long relationship with your customers – a relationship founded on truth, shared values, and your unique proposition.

On my desk, flying toward me, is a hand-carved Navion (plane) suspended forever in a banking position... This was loving carved. I use the word lovingly with specific intent, for love was implicit in this model plane’s creation. Let me explain how I came to receive this 12-inch, technically accurate Navion plane which is both a reminder of a dear person, and a celebration of an event.

There is an original white clapboard home along The Kingsway. It has a screened-in sunroom off of one side and a long driveway behind, leading to a sort of garage/shed. I walk by this corner house six days each week as I take my morning walk to the coffee shop and back. I look for it expectedly and imagine the story of the house...It was one of the original farmsteads in what is now a neighborhood of 50-year-old homes that are being torn down and redeveloped into 1.6 million-dollar stone and stucco houses.