Directis Consulting

College of Applied Biology

Susan Low — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:12:48 +0000

In April 2012, Susan co-planned and facilitated an action planning session for the College of Applied Biology, a regulatory body overseeing the qualifications and professional credentials of Registered Biology Professionals (RPBios) and related designations. After the session, we received this glowing review from a participant: Thanks for your work Susan. Like I said to you …

Lifelong learning… or how I learned not to waste a moment

Susan Low — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:56:17 +0000

This has been a nice quiet week at Directis – I’ve just wrapped up final reports on a few projects and I’m waiting for a couple of new projects to begin next week. In years past I would have used a week like this to go shopping, stay home and read novels, or surf Facebook. …

ROI and Social Media

Susan Low — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:44:31 +0000

On this fine Saturday afternoon, I am sitting on a bench overlooking an arm of the Fraser River, across from the Olympic Oval in Richmond and just within wifi range of Harbour Air’s terminal. I’m reading a BCBusiness magazine, and there is an article about viral videos. The article brings up the subject of how …

What’s a mandate? Should we have one?

Susan Low — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:30:20 +0000

A few organizations I’ve worked with recently have discussed adding a “mandate” to their strategic plan to describe their purpose with a little more detail than their “mission statement” which they wish to make short and memorable. This points to the problem of SEMANTICS which is haunting strategic planning, and turning into an icky mess …

POSitec Solutions Inc.

Susan Low — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:41:32 +0000

Sue Low has helped us several times to improve our Strategic Direction. She has an unique way of working with my managers to get the very best results from everyone. Our success is in part due to her guidance and direction. I am happy to make this recommendation. Brian Joel, CEO

Victoria Foundation Community Advisor Program

Susan Low — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:29:47 +0000

Susan has led strategic planning and social enterprise consultations for several charitable organizations upon our referral, to positive and enthusiastic reviews. She also co-facilitated two workshops to assess our own Community Advisor pro bono outreach program. She asked piercing questions gently and affirmatively, helping us to focus our objectives towards achievable outcomes that yielded immediate …

Intrepid Theatre Board of Directors

Susan Low — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:28:45 +0000

Susan did two Board retreats with us in 2009 which were very helpful. We really benefited from Susan’s clarity of thought and organizational skills. Ian Case, General Manager

Creatively United for the Planet

Susan Low — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:27:55 +0000

Susan and I spent an enjoyable day together working on a social initiative I’ve been trying to get off the ground known as Creatively United for the Planet. Working through the details with Susan brought clarity to the project that I hadn’t enjoyed up until we met. Susan made it a fun experience and matched …

Do-it-yourself Board Governance design?

Susan Low — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:01:42 +0000

Board governance topics have come up a lot for me lately, and I’ve been reading a veritable flood of books and papers on the subject. Two things have occurred to me: first, board governance authors seem to write in either overly academic language, or they try to dumb things down to the point of patronizing. …

Keeping Score & Measuring Impact: Part 1

Susan Low — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:34:21 +0000

As the old adage goes, “what gets measured gets managed.” This is entirely true for almost every human endeavour we can imagine, and it gives rise to a healthy discussion around what one measures. In business school, my management accounting professor told us a cautionary tale of a city works department that began measuring the amount …