I'm speaking at CanUX today and you're looking at the first slide which I just added to my presentation. Ironically, it's going to be an "icebreaker" that actually involves ice. I snapped this photo yesterday in the middle of a frozen Lake Louise in beautiful Banff Canada. You see, I'm a terrible ice skater. My ankles buckle, feet get sore quickly and heaven help you if you get in my way because I couldn't stop if my life depended on it. I ended up going ice skating with Julia, a co-worker. Our original plan was to do a little snowboarding and have a business lunch after. I'm a decent snowboarder and was looking forward to it. But Julia convinced me that I needed the true Canadian experience of getting out on a frozen lake with a couple of hockey sticks and a puck. Go figure. ;-)
So when faced with the unexpected prospect of ice skating, I suddenly realized that this is exactly related to the stuff I talk about. You plan for one thing, but it's usually your ability to improvise that determines how the story ends. Mine ended up in the middle of some breathtaking scenery. Sometimes being agile and adaptable means being willing to skate when you really don't want to—and not being afraid to fall on your ass. Once you get to that point—you'll end up just fine.
