Five Good Ideas Podcast

Sarada Peri, founder of Peri Communications and former Senior Speechwriter to President Barack Obama, joined Five Good Ideas to share how to create messages that are sharp, compelling, and persuasive.  

“What are some questions that I can ask myself to get to the one thing, the one thing I want to say?  ‘What is my purpose?’” asked Sarada. “In everything you do, you should start with ‘What is my purpose?’” 

Sarada’s five good ideas:  

1. Say one thing  

2. Know your audience 

3. Speak from their values, not yours 

4. Tell a story 

5. Write and speak like a human  

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Ingrid Palmer the Principal IDEAL Advocate at Realize, joined Five Good Ideas to discuss the benefits of applying IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Leading to belonging) principles in the workplace.

"Belonging is a necessary component of our humanity and no one should be denied that fact," said Ingrid. 

Ingrid's five good ideas:

1. Level up from IDEA to IDEAL. 

2. Expand your understanding of disability to include episodic disability.

3. Be aware of the nuances of intersectional barriers to employment. 

4. Accommodations benefit both the employer and the employee. 

5. There is no end to IDEAL work. 

You can download the session handout, view Ingrid's bio, and read the transcript here. 

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Bob Goulais, founder of Nbissing Consulting Inc., joined Five Good Ideas to discuss some wise practices to be more inclusive of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

“Most of all,” said Bob, “consider integrating Indigenous values and ways of being.”

Bob’s five good ideas:

You can download the session handout, view Bob's bio, and read the transcript here.

Farzana Doctor is an activist, community organizer, social worker, and author. 
In this session, Elizabeth McIsaac talks to Farzana about about how you can practice self-care and community-care around your work. 
You can find Farzana's good ideas, resources, and full bio here. 

Diana Chan McNally is a frontline worker and advocate for homeless people. 

In this session, Elizabeth McIsaac talks to Diana about what she's learned in combining both roles. 

You can find Diana's good ideas, resources, and full bio here. 

Ombudsman Toronto is an independent and internal office that holds the City accountable to its residents. It makes recommendations to the City to improve its service and ensure they're fair. 

In this session, Elizabeth McIsaac talks to Toronto Ombudsman Kwame Addo about how individuals and residents can get the most out of working with his office for positive change. 

You can read the transcript and Kwame's full bio here: Five Good Ideas on working with Ombudsman Toronto for positive change - Maytree

In this session, Sree Nallamothu and Fran Odette joined Elizabeth McIsaac to discuss how to create an accessible workplace.

They explain how to be proactive, to move beyond niceties, the power of language, embracing intersectionality, and putting accessibility in the budget. 

You can find the transcript, and Sree and Fran's full bios here: Five Good Ideas for disrupting ableism in the workplace - Maytree

In this session, Joan Garry, founder of the Nonprofit Leadership Lab, emphasizes the need for proactive and ongoing succession planning, reframing it as part of organizational readiness, and the critical role of the board in driving this process forward. She highlights the risks of inadequate succession planning, such as difficulties in recruiting a competent replacement, staff dissatisfaction, and donor anxiety.

For Joan's full bio, resources, and the session transcript, visit the Five Good Ideas website.

This session provides a guide to participating in nonprofit boards, drawing on the expert knowledge of Rick Powers, a governance and board leadership specialist at Rotman School of Management.

Topics include the importance of understanding fiduciary duty and duty of care, addressing the "information chasm" between board members and management, the significance of financial literacy, CEO succession planning, board memberships and recruiting, and dealing with conflicts of interest.

Rick places emphasis on the necessity for passion about the cause, as well as clarity of role expectations for effective board membership.

For Rick's full bio, resources, and the session transcript, visit the Five Good Ideas website.

Your non-profit organization does good work and has an important story to tell.

Media coverage can be a great way to establish credibility, build cachet, and reach a larger audience.

But journalists are not necessarily short on stories or sources.

So what are the Five Good Ideas for getting a journalist to call you back?

Denise Balkissoon, Ontario bureau chief of The Narwhal, joins Maytree president Elizabeth McIsaac to explain how she identifies stories and sources.

For Denise's ideas, resources, and full bio, visit the Five Good Ideas session page.