On May 18, in Ottawa,  please join me for an entertaining  discussion on the future of work at Ottawa’s new Celebridee (also called the Festival of Ideas), part of the  Canadian Tulip Festival.  The festival is one of the biggest annual tourist attractions in Canada.

WORKPLACE STABILITY IN AN UNSTABLE WORLD will be a 90-minute exploration on the employment challenges facing the Canadian economy between myself, Katherine Giroux-Bougard, (head of the Canadian Federation of Students),  Mel Svendsen (President of Standen’s  Manufacturing  in Calgary) and Buzz Hargrove  (former head of the Canadian Auto Workers).  Mary Lou Finlay,  one of Canada’s most prominent journalists , will  be the moderator.   The event takes place inside the Mirror Tent, a truly amazing example of portable architecture  from Belgium, set up in Major’s Hill Park behind the Chateau Laurier Hotel in downtown Ottawa.  Tickets now available.

The Conference Board, which brings together CEOs from many of the largest corporations in the United States and around the world, has invited me to speak about Lincoln Electric’s focus on long-term success and the competitive advantage of its guaranteed employment policy.

Joining me will be John Stropki, the CEO and Chairman of Lincoln Electric, and the CEOs of several other American corporations.  It’s open to TCB members and others: Details here.

A Job Can’t Be “Good” If It Doesn’t Last Long

“For the vast majority of working Americans, especially in these hard times, a steady job is incredibly important because it determines what kind of future they and their families will enjoy. Good would be nice, no question, but long-lasting is what makes the real difference to most Americans. Lose a “good job” to a layoff and the odds are that you will never again in your working life earn as much as you once did. Yet we consistently downplay the importance of job stability to employees in most discussions of the modern workplace.”

Read more at The Huffington Post

SPARK has just made the Top 50 Online list at Chapters – Indigo, Canada’s largest online book retailer. It’s sitting at #16.

I just finished an in-depth 25-minute interview about SPARK with Michael Enright, my old friend at CBC Radio, on The Sunday Edition.

Check the show’s site later today (Sunday April 11th) to listen or download a pod-cast.

I’m now blogging on HuffingtonPost.com.  Have a look at:

The Good, the Bad and The Opportunity: Workers Need – and Want – a New Deal and

Lost Jobs, Lost Futures – But There Are Alternatives