Using empathy to succeed in the nonprofit and business world

Professional and Corporate
Written By Stuart McNish

Guest: Joe Roberts (nonprofit executive director and public speaker)

Can “encourager” be a job? For Joe Roberts, that is how he sees himself in a world full of change and uncertainty. In his Push For Change Foundation, he seeks to better protect kids so they don’t fall through the cracks. And he isn’t just all talk – he draws on his own struggles with being a homelessness youth in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. On top of his foundation, he also does public speaking at conferences, where he uses his empathy to understand how to speak to each audience.

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Using empathy to succeed in the nonprofit and business world
Using empathy to succeed in the nonprofit and business world

Can “encourager” be a job? For Joe Roberts, that is how he sees himself in a world full of change and uncertainty. In his Push For Change Foundation, he seeks to better protect kids so they don’t fall through the cracks. And he isn’t just all talk – he draws on his own struggles with being a homelessness youth in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. On top of his foundation, he also does public speaking at conferences, where he uses his empathy to understand how to speak to each audience.

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Entrepreneurship and politics: it’s about the people
Entrepreneurship and politics: it’s about the people

Being a politician isn’t easy. According to Yuri Fulmer, it means a lot of travelling and talking to people face-to-face. As a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, it is vital for him to get to know the people he seeks to represent – no matter where in BC they live. While this is a tall task for anyone, this was not something Yuri thought he’d do, while growing up in Australia. What started as a 3-week journey in Canada ended up being 34 years – starting with a humble job at A&W, he learned how to lead through franchising a location in New Westminster and developed the entrepreneurship skills that shaped who he is today.

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Helping Canada’s dentists deal with challenges and trends
Helping Canada’s dentists deal with challenges and trends

What is the current and future state of dentistry in Canada? To Bruce Ward, this might be the biggest issue in his industry today. Does the dentistry field have enough dentists? What about assistants? After all, dentists need them to function. Do we have enough qualified workers domestically, or do we need to reach out internationally? As the president of the Canadian Dental Association, Bruce’s job is a mixture of making sure dentists in Canada can deal with industry realities, economics, and even immigration.

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Providing advocacy, assistance, and resources to restaurants
Providing advocacy, assistance, and resources to restaurants

How do you deal with over 15,000 restaurants and their issues? That is Ian Tostenson’s job at the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association. Most of British Columbia’s restaurants are small businesses, which might not have the resources and connections to solve their many issues – Ian and his team help that. As he puts it: “When I hear the industry’s not doing well, I take it personally.”

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Stuart McNish
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Growing a team to win elections and lead a political party