Vancouver, British Columbia
May 15-17, 1996
Carolynne Presser, President
Canadian Association of Research Libraries
Good morning. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of my colleagues and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) to formally give you a Canadian welcome. We all look forward to the sessions today and tomorrow, as well as to some Canadian hospitality this evening.
Our session this morning is called "Thriving Amid Uncertainty." I think we are well-grounded in the nature of change that is occurring in higher education, some of which we heard about this morning. We have a pretty good understanding of how it is, or maybe isn't, being dealt with on our campuses. I hear some of my colleagues on campus comparing it to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but, really, we aren't alone in this.
However, most of us have little direct knowledge of how for-profit organizations are dealing with the social, economic, and technological pressures and changes beyond what we read in the newspapers and the business magazines. While companies and corporations have different kinds of flexibility and constraints--and sometimes we wish we had their flexibility--it's useful to take time to see what we can learn from their experiences, their experiments, and their initiatives.
Sidney Parnes, a creativity researcher, says that, "It's easier to tame a wild idea than breathe life into a dead one." I think our speaker today, Jim Harris, just may pitch us some wild ideas and try to fire us up a bit.
When we started to look for speakers who would also give you a Canadian context for our discussions today, Jim Harris came highly recommended; some of the words that described him were "passionate" and "inspirational." He is co-author of The Financial Post and the national bestseller, The 100 Best Companies to Work For in Canada.
Mr. Harris has worked as a journalist in print, radio, and television. He continues to write for The Globe and Mail and numerous other business and technical publications. He is part of the quiet revolution that is sweeping North American business: principle-centered leadership based on the work of Dr. Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
Mr. Harris is the principal consultant with the Strategic Advantage and Management consulting firm, which works with Canada's best companies, The Financial Post 500 companies, and others aspiring to join their ranks. His presentations focus on key leadership issues affecting all organizations: strategies for survival and success from the hundred best companies; employee empowerment; strategic alliances; the new economy; changing demographics; the rise of the new information technology; and that catch word paradigm--emerging trends and how they affect every organization and every environment.
Please welcome Mr. Jim Harris.