Analysis on risk, pressure, and decision-making across systems.
The CORE Series brings together analyses on risk, pressure, and decision-making across sectors. Each piece focuses on how issues emerge, how signals are missed or misread, and why outcomes are often shaped well before they’re publicly visible.
The goal is simple: surface patterns early, clarify what matters, and create space for better judgment before decisions are forced.
Wrecking your reputation
Seems like kind of a strange thing to do, don’t you think? We agree. But we recognize things can happen that damage an organization’s credibility and how it is perceived. And once the stench of uncertainty in your honesty takes hold, or stakeholders begin to lose trust in your ability to manage a challenge, it’s so hard to come back from that.
When more than 1 million people in Calgary and surrounding communities were left without reliable water supplies and weeks of restrictions, the anger and resentment grew. So read our take on the water main break in Calgary - and how the initial communications fell far short of what the public needed.
6 Centuries of Reckoning
Every time I’ve been honoured to meet with Indigenous people, I come away with a deep appreciation for how they approach life, history and progress. There’s no doubt they view the world differently than how many of us have been taught. They take the time to get to know you – because so much of how they interact with others is based on the ability to trust and know who we are as individuals. They aren’t transactional (unlike how many organizations and individuals approach things) and we can all learn from this.
After a series of Indigenous events and ceremonies I had the honour of sharing some of the learnings. Find out about the cross-cultural connections - and the lessons we can bring into our lives as we learn from Indigenous traditions.
Be Prepared to Act
In our May 7, 2024, edition of CORE Insights, we told you that professional activists will be targeting European airports during the summer. By linking air travel to environmental issues, they want to use these disruptions to both inconvenience people and cause us to re-think the desire to travel.
Open for Impact + A Summer of Rage & Discontent
Activists aren’t improvising — they’re executing a well-honed strategy. With global networks, deep funding, and rapid coordination, they’re outpacing institutions in influence and impact. From targeted campaigns to street-level disruption, their playbook keeps evolving — and organizations need to be ready for what’s next.