Blog
Notes from the stage, the coaching room and the gym.
Short posts on speaking, coaching and CrossFit. Each one tied to the city where it happened.
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Workplace wellbeing guide
Workplace wellbeing works when it changes how work is done, not just what perks are on offer. Here is what the WHO recommends and how a talk fits in.
Executive burnout guide
Burnout at the top rarely looks like a collapse. Here's what the research says it costs, how to tell it from depression, and why rest alone won't fix it.
Vancouver coaching guide
How to choose a coach in Vancouver: what coaching should cover, what it costs here, coach versus consultant versus peer group, in person or online, and how working with Dai runs.
Business coaching guide
Business coaching from an operator who grew Fitness Town from three to eight locations and co-owns CrossFit BC. What owners bring, how it differs from consulting, and who it is not for.
Lasting change guide
Lasting change for busy leaders comes from a small daily minimum, a set time and place, weekly reflection and the right environment. Here is the research, and the plan.
Wellness keynote guide
A planner's guide to booking a wellness keynote in Canada: current bureau fee ranges, the topics worth booking in 2027, and how to brief the speaker so the session changes something.
Executive health guide
Five numbers predict how long an executive over 40 keeps performing. Here is the research behind each one, a simple test you can run this week, and the small daily habit that moves it.
Coaching · November 1, 2026
The midlife reset: what actually changes for men and women after 45, and what to do about it
After 45, muscle loss starts to show, recovery changes and, for women, menopause arrives. Here is what the research shows, the Canadian guidelines, and a practical reset.
Coaching · October 26, 2026
What 1,378 weekly check-ins taught me about why people stall
Eight years of client reflection forms, analysed in aggregate. Time was the most-named obstacle, but it did not decide who trained. Tracking and week five did.
Coaching · October 26, 2026
Why high achievers struggle to change habits (and the reset that works)
High achievers set personal goals like projects, underestimate the time, then quit at the first miss. Here is the research on why, and a minimum-based reset protocol.
Coaching · October 26, 2026
How much does an executive coach cost in Vancouver?
Vancouver executive coaches who publish their rates mostly charge $125 to $350 CAD an hour. Here is how hourly, retainer and package pricing work, what drives the price, and what I charge.
Coaching · October 26, 2026
Where a 60-Hour Week Actually Goes: A Founder Time Audit
Most founders cannot say where their hours really go. A one-week time audit with eight categories and a table template, plus what the research says about long hours and constant interruptions.
Coaching · October 26, 2026
Business coach, consultant or peer group? How Vancouver owners choose
A consultant solves a defined problem for you, a coach works on how you lead and decide, and a CEO peer group gives you a room of owners who've been there. Here's how to choose, with what Vistage, EO and YPO publish about format, eligibility and cost.
Coaching · October 26, 2026
The weekly reflection questions I've used with clients since 2017
Ten weekly reflection questions from the forms my coaching clients filled in from 2017 to 2025, why each one matters, and a "working on the biz" version for business owners.
Coaching · October 26, 2026
When Growth Outruns Your Managers: Grow a Leader Before the Next Location
The hardest lesson from growing Fitness Town from three to eight locations: growth outran manager readiness. What the research says about promoting your best performer, and a leader-readiness checklist.
Speaking · October 11, 2026
Men's Mental Health in the Workplace: A Guide for HR Leaders
Men make up nearly three in four suicide deaths in Canada and use mental health care less. Here is what the data says, what actually works in a male-heavy workplace, and how to brief a speaker on this topic with care.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
The 2% Solution Explained: 30 Minutes a Day, Backed by Evidence
The 2% Solution is 30 minutes a day, about 2% of 24 hours: 15 minutes moving, 5 minutes still, 10 minutes reading. Here is what the research supports, where it stops, and how to start this week.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
Entrepreneur Mental Health in Canada: What the Numbers Say
One in three Canadian small business owners went to a professional for a mental health concern last year. Here is what the Canadian surveys show, with their caveats, and what to do about it.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
How Much Strength Training Per Week? The Minimum Dose Over 40
The best evidence links 30 to 60 minutes of strength work a week with the lowest risk of early death. Three 15-minute sessions get you there. Here is the programme, the tests and the 12-week plan.
Speaking · October 11, 2026
Fatigue Management Safety Talk: What Crews and Managers Need
Fatigue is an impairment hazard with a measurable injury cost. Here is what the research shows, what a fatigue talk should cover for crews and for managers, and how to make it stick with policy.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
Grip Strength Test for Men Over 40: Norms, Risk, 12-Week Plan
In studies of more than 640,000 adults, every 5 kg of lost grip came with roughly 16 to 20% higher risk of death. Here is how to test yours, what the Canadian norms say for ages 40 to 79, and a 12-week plan to move the number.
Speaking · October 11, 2026
Virtual vs In-Person Keynote: Cost, Attention and When to Choose
When a virtual keynote is the right call, when it is not, what it really saves you, and how to design a session a remote audience will actually stay for.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
Is 6 Hours of Sleep Enough? The Six-Hour Trap for Executives
Six hours a night feels fine. In the lab, two weeks of it impaired thinking about as much as up to two nights without sleep, and people did not notice. Here is the evidence, the business cost and a seven-night audit.
Speaking · October 11, 2026
Workplace Mental Health Statistics Canada: The HR Business Case
The workplace mental health statistics for Canada that hold up in a budget meeting, with source and year, plus what works, what does not and a one-page proposal template.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
Long Working Hours and Productivity: The 50-Hour Wall for CEOs
Past roughly 50 hours a week, extra hours buy very little extra output and the health risk climbs. Here is the evidence, its limits, and a 50-hour budget a founder can actually run.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
After Your Executive Health Assessment: A 90-Day Action Plan
An executive health assessment gives you a sharp snapshot and then hands the hard part back to you. Here is a 90-day plan to turn the report into changed numbers.
Coaching · October 11, 2026
Fitness vs Smoking Mortality: What the 122,007-Person Study Shows
A Cleveland Clinic study of 122,007 adults found low fitness carried a death risk on par with smoking or diabetes. Here is what that really means, and how to raise your number in 12 weeks.
Coaching · October 5, 2026
Digital overload: why always on is not a leadership strategy
A practical digital reset for leaders whose attention, sleep and decision-making are being crowded out by an always-on workday.
Coaching · October 2, 2026
Executive health coaching in Vancouver: how it works
How executive health coaching with Dai works in Vancouver: in person or online, who it suits and what the first conversation looks like.
Coaching · October 2, 2026
Resilience for leaders: build capacity before the hard quarter
Resilience is not something leaders find in a crisis. It is built in the weeks before. Here is where to start.
Speaking · October 2, 2026
Resilience speaker in Vancouver: what a good resilience keynote covers
What to expect from a resilience keynote, how to tell a useful one from a motivational one, and how to book one in Vancouver.
Coaching · October 2, 2026
Executive health coaching or executive coaching? The difference
Executive coaching works on the role. Executive health coaching works on the person carrying it. Here is how to choose.
Speaking · October 2, 2026
What a keynote speaker costs in Vancouver
A straight answer on keynote speaker fees in Vancouver: what drives the price, what local booking saves you, and what Dai charges.
Speaking · October 2, 2026
Booking a burnout keynote speaker in Vancouver
Why Vancouver companies are booking burnout and resilience keynotes, what a good one covers, and what to expect from Dai's version.
Speaking · October 2, 2026
A keynote for your Vancouver leadership offsite
How to use a keynote inside a leadership offsite so the idea survives the drive home, with practical notes for Vancouver planners.
Coaching · September 26, 2026
Co-owning CrossFit BC: lessons in culture, partnership and retention
Dai and his wife Christie co-own one of Vancouver's longest-running CrossFit gyms. These are the lessons that survived contact with reality.
Speaking · September 26, 2026
Vancouver team offsite ideas that change behaviour, not just the mood
Planning a leadership offsite in Vancouver or Whistler? How to build a day people remember for the right reasons.
Speaking · September 26, 2026
Hiring a keynote speaker in Vancouver: a planner's guide
What Vancouver event planners should know before booking a keynote: timing, venues, local advantages and the questions that matter.
Speaking · September 26, 2026
Choosing a sales kickoff speaker in Vancouver
Sales kickoffs need energy that lasts past February. What Vancouver sales leaders should look for in a keynote.
Speaking · September 26, 2026
How to choose a keynote speaker who actually changes the room
A plain guide for event planners: what a keynote is for, what to ask before you book, and how to tell a motivational speaker from one who changes behaviour.
Speaking · September 25, 2026
Keynote, workshop or emcee: which does your event actually need?
Three formats, three different jobs. How to pick the right one for your conference or offsite.
Speaking · September 24, 2026
What to put in a speaker brief (so the talk fits your room)
The one-page brief that turns a generic talk into one your audience thinks was written for them.
Speaking · September 23, 2026
Why corporate teams book a resilience speaker, and what they should expect
Resilience is not toughness. It is the small daily habits that keep people steady when work gets heavy.
Coaching · September 22, 2026
Executive health coaching: what it is and who it is for
Executive coaching usually ignores the body running the business. Executive health coaching starts there.
Coaching · September 20, 2026
In-person or online executive coaching: which works better?
Both work. The right one depends on how you are wired and where you are.
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