Growth and Grind – Family | People, Leadership, Health and Wellness

12Sep 2019 by Matt Edwards No Comments

Tasting Notes for an Orkney Whisky

Distillery: An Orkney Distillery (bottled by Morrison & MacKay) Region: Islands Cask: Hogshead Age: 8 years ABV: 54.8% Nose: Subtle honey or honeysuckle, a floral smoke, notes of caramel. I’ve nosed it for a good while and I also get pepper with a dash of salt. Palate: Out of the bottle and it tastes a bit like smoke-wreathed melted Werthers candy (hat tip to Travis for that note). It wraps my tongue in warmth and has a wonderful weight. With water, the peppery notes jump right up to the front and brings a bit of an edge. Is there a bit of seaside there? Finish: The peppery notes fade, there’s the saltiness, and some lovely earthy notes show up. As the finish continues, the salt and earth develop nicely. Overall:…

12Aug 2019 by Matt Edwards No Comments

The Unconscious Bias Towards Male Names, Pronouns, and Traits in our Conversations

Everyday we create and share stories about customers, team members, and even made-up people in hypothetical situations. We also have a tonne of conversations with the people around us - customers, team mates, friends, family, and so on. Have you ever paused to listen to the names, pronouns, and way you ascribe gender to certain traits in your language (or how others do it)? (more…)

14Jul 2019 by Matt Edwards No Comments

The Growing Wireless Access Divide

‪Canada’s Big 3 (Telus, Rogers, Bell) telecommunications companies (telcos) recently shifted to “unlimited” plans which push consumers to pay higher prices, regardless of their actual needs. From my vantage point, this reduces access to wireless services by creating a more expensive entry point for all consumers (as an aside, I’m curious about the CRTC’s view on this and their perception on the impact to consumers). (more…)

06Jun 2019 by Matt Edwards No Comments

Progress comes through failure

‪Success and progress in society come about through failure and regression. It’s hard and it’s scary. I’ve gotten angry and I’ve had my hope flicker. But then I’m reminded how much good we’re doing in the world because of the people I’m with everyday.‬ Parents, teachers, friends, and colleagues can have more impact in a person’s life than words written on a piece of paper.‬ Community and connection hold great and lasting power. It is how we overcome intolerance, inequity, and injustice.‬ Legislating power by the mean, intolerant people looking to divide us is temporary.‬ ‪Though it doesn’t feel that way when I see the treatment of young workers, the LGBTQ2+ community, the environment, education, and surely more groups who will be impacted‬. But we will overcome. We have a…

29May 2019 by Matt Edwards No Comments

Smart Humility

‪A guy I know at the gym, Mark, shared a great phrase today: “It was foolish pride that caused this, it’s going to take smart humility to fix it.”‬ ‪He was talking about injuries and workouts but I’d wager this applies to all of us at work and in life.

23Apr 2019 by Matt Edwards No Comments

Miltonduff 23 years

Distillery: Miltonduff (bottled by The Old Malt Cask) Cask Type: Refill Barrel Cask Number: HL15138 Region: Speyside Age: 23 years ABV: 50% Nose: Big blast of tropical fruit, honeycomb, underripe bananas. Palate: Notes that make me think of fruit flan that quickly give way to woody notes (especially oak) and spices. Finish: As it finishes, this whisky really turns up the volume on the richer wood notes which then turn bitter and a bit burnt. An oaky spice is what remains as it coats my tongue and fades away. Overall: An exquisitely layered whisky! (more…)

21Apr 2019 by Matt Edwards No Comments

Statement of facts

In the coming Canadian federal election, expect promises to fix “all the problems” but few details that stand up to scrutiny. I believe it’s reasonable to expect parties to demonstrate policy impacts using facts, math, and modelling. (more…)