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Canadian beekeepers must wrap their hives in some insulating material to help the insects stay warm when the temperature drops to twenty below zero Fahrenheit. The honeybees will cluster together on top of the honey they have stored in combs inside their inch thick wooden boxes. My family uses black garage bags to give them another layer. We wrap the hives in thick plastic bags making sure there is an air hole on top for ventilation - dampness is a killer. The spring is also a period of ritual drugging and routine maintenance before venturing south to pollinate fruit tree crops in Picton, south or Pickering, in Brighton and Niagara Falls.
I wrote a comprehensive account of how and why beekeepers apply antibiotics to honeybees and our family uses Oxysol 62.5 in measured doses, preserved in an airtight food containers to reduce oxidation that might otherwise diminish the strength of the mixture.
This is a business decision. The management could decide to sell 'organic honey' and risk the loss to disease but through business management consulting and by looking at problems from a different perspective, alongside other beekeepers, and after applying a good dose of common sense, it behooves the modern apiarist to conclude his best chance for success lies in embracing science and using man-made remedies to strengthen his honeybees and improve their odds for survival over winter.
In days past there was a great hierarchy in the office--the boss delegated work to the managers, who
delegated to the employees--but in today's economic climate it has become important for chief executive officers such as myself to share intimate and hard-earned knowledge with every trusted staff member. While there is no standard definition for leadership, there is a noticeable difference between a good leader and a great one. Good leaders motivate their staff to get the job done on time; great leaders inspire their staff to unimaginable heights through their own passion. Still, as accomplished or passionate as you are, there is always room for improvement, and opportunity to further your leadership skills through programs in corporate team building Toronto. Whether you work on-site with your team, or on your individual skills as a leader, the benefits of mentoring, peer coaching and networking will boost your business productivity and company morale to unparalleled success.
Mentoring
Mentoring is beneficial for a variety of reasons. Firstly, mentoring enables you to communicate your business vision directly to people who are willing to listen and to learn. Secondly, sharing your expertise with your staff or with other professionals in your field will teach you to share your message more effectively--mentoring can improve your communication and leadership skills. Just as teachers learn from their students, professional mentors receive invaluable lessons from the people they coach. A big mistake a lot of people in leadership positions make is hoarding the knowledge they have gleaned all to themselves; sharing knowledge freely with staff opens an enriching channel of communication and inspires creativity in what was before a strictly professional relationship.
Peer Coaching
Most corporate team building programs include a significant amount of peer coaching and evaluation. Some business leaders will not like this idea as they are so accustomed to calling all the shots. Peer coaching, however, is a great opportunity to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others, and to re-evaluate your own progress as manager or leader of your organization. While it may be difficult to hear suggestions or criticism from others at first, when approached with an open mind this process can be career-changing. Furthermore, receiving feedback will make you more sensitive the next time it is necessary for you to dish it out.
Networking
The importance of engaging in discussions with like-minded professionals cannot be overstated. Everyone approaches leadership and management differently, and networking gives you a great chance to listen to how someone else may approach leadership. Whether your business is firmly established or a start-up, the trio of corporate team building (mentoring, peer coaching and networking) will imbue you with new leadership skills, which you are then free to pass on to your staff.
Mary Bratko is WeddingGirl.ca in Toronto and famous for influencing event planners and fashion designers.
The attractive young Mary Bratko is very busy Toronto wedding planner and full time event blogger. She was recently profiled on Canada Blog Friends. Her skill as a blogger is manifest in her expanding readership, and in my opinion it continues to grow because she has a knack for spotting trends and writing search engine friendly posts stuffed full of hard-to-find and interesting information.
Mary Bratko was a recently appointed Lenzr Judge and as such she will probably be appearing in the January Lenzr video. Her mission was revealed on Ancestry Guru along with links to her blog about three different Aveda hair school contests. The serial photography website has been obsessed with hair fashion lately and so Mary is great choice to help decide the winners in these categories. She know how to shoot models, brides and grooms with expensive haircuts and show their hair in action and styled to match their clothes and accessories or put into a particular fashion in adherence with rituals and trends we don't understand. The prize is cosmetics from AVEDA
Can you pick the next hair style trend?
On December 27th 2011 it was announced that Justin Bieber and Emma Watson had the most influential haircuts of the year. Hair Styling Trends for 2012 photo contest on Lenzr asks photographers to predict the future. Who will have the hottest haircuts next year? Submit your original photography showing what you believe will be the hottest hair fashion trends of 2012. Sponsored by Aveda Institute’s Winnipeg hair school the PRIZE is a healthy gift basket (sent in the mail) of Aveda hair products worth $499 and including: Damage Remedy Restructuring Shampoo ($32), Damage Remedy Restructuring Conditioner ($32), Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair ($29), Damage Remedy Restructuring Treatment ($35), Rosemary Mint Shampoo ($14), Rosemary Mint Conditioner ($14), Shampure Shampoo 1 litre size ($42), Shampure Conditioner 1 litre size ($42), Control Force Firm Hairspray x2 ($68), Phomollient Styling Foam ($18), Confixor Liquid Gel ($25), Pure Abundance Hair Potion ($30), Brilliant Damage Control ($24), Control Paste Finishing Paste ($31), Brilliant Spray on Shine ($35) and a Wooden Paddle Brush ($28). All of this is included in the prize pack!
Its a fact that the weather is awful on the west coast. Thunderstorms and rain showers dominate the weather forecast in Vancouver, and so the Lenzr photo contest Bad Weather Hair is a cruel gesture. The challenge asks folks if they like how their hair looks in the rain? Its true that some people, especially folks with short hair, can look great in the pouring rain. Indeed the match was inspired by Lady Gaga’s June 2011 performance in NYC rain shower. The generous reward outlined above is enough to compel all participants to try and make the best of bad weather hair. Sponsored by a Vancouver hair school the match offers the same extensive list of goodies as detailed above - approximately $500 worth of AVEDA Pure Plant and Flower Essence Lifestyle products that are mailed right to your home address.
Mary Bratko detailed the AVEDA hair school scholarship video contest on her Wedding Girl blog . She asked her readers, Are you born to Style? as she described all the intricate details of the adjudication process in this difficult but highly rewarding challenge. Aveda Institute Canada is giving away five hairstyling scholarships! The winning candidates will receive the grand prize of full tuition at one of their top hair schools in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria.
Be sure and check out the Aveda Institute scholarship video contest. Enter before March 31st 2011 and one could be one of five applicants to win free tuition at an Aveda Institute across Canada, in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria.
The last day to submit is March 31st, 2012. The videos will be graded on their artistic merit and sincere creativity. Points will also be attributed to the candidates that demonstrate that they understands the Aveda mission and those who work to create a positive overall impression.
On Nov 15th, it was announced that Lenzr Corp software had been selected to power the Official 2011 Toronto Christmas Market Photo Contest taking place at the historic Distillery District at 55 Mill St in the portlands of this great city. The whole 18 acre area has been preserved alongside a great collection of historic artifacts that relate the life story of Canada's largest whisky distillery, Gooderham and Worts 1842 - 1921. These people made 'the goodstuff' that was sought out in the late 1800s. 
The month of December 2011 is very exciting. Its great to take pictures as you walk to work in the morning, The imagery present in this scenic repository of cobbled streets and 1800s architecture can take your breathaway. Photography here is simple and spectacular. I'm always shocked and surprised at how pretty things are when the light is just perfect. Reed Switch Maker Sponsors Electronic Engineering Photo Contest on Lenzr
The Electronic Engineering photo contest is already gathering images of gizmos and gadgets - collectible circuits and computer cards crusted with components. The sponsor has made it apparent that they want to see the technology that's ticking under the trunk of your oldest and most obsolete home appliances. Lenzr members with the right amount of skill, promotion and subtle storytelling can WIN an Apple iPad 2 courtesy of a reed switch designer and distributor that makes the underwear behind so many of the magnetic marvels inside your home or office. Toronto Mortgage Broker
Its always interesting to me to see the preparations and incredible amounts of hard work that's involved in creating a live event of this size in this place. The Christmas market is the biggest annual undertaking in here by far the largest endeavour possible... i mean its a wow.. the whole place is licensed for booze and that pretty rare in Canada. The Toronto Christmas Market is a massive spectacle that will attract two hundred and fifty thousand visitors in sixteen days the month of December 2 -18. The 2011 Toronto Christmas Market exists in the shadow of the 44 story condominium building, The Gooderham that's being erected in the background. an emergence , an investment phenomenon according to one Toronto mortgage broker that follows the trends around developments on culturally significant properties that enhance and work to preserve a cultural dynamic to make them seem unique in what is becoming a very crowded condominium marketplace.
Nora Camps is a business storyteller that I have been fortunate enough to come to know. Our very first meeting was Wytchwood Mews here in Toronto and I wish I'd taken her picture that day but I had just met her and it seemed a little forward. If I had her image i would put it in here to show you all. Here is a shot of here that I didnt take but I really like it.
This image is borrowed from her profile Nora Camps on Canada Blog Friends
Nora is using a Lenzr photo contest called Canadian Harvest to tell a story on her own website. Its a brilliant use of the Lenzr feed that shows a true form of interactive business storytelling and her genius shines in the portfolio section where you can glimpse her premium clients.
Here's a science and technology photography opportunity.
Websites need original pictures and they are now coming to lenzr photo contest website hoping to obtain never before seen shots of things that you just cant find on stock photography websites. They need to tell stories too and they need pictures for those tales.
Earlier this summer a very respectable intenational factory software maker ran a contest on Lenzr and licensed images of machines making things on the factory floor - a picture of a plasma torch won the match. This month Warehouse Stockpiles hopes to procure images for two more pages on their website. Members are asked to submit shots of forklifts moving boxes in a warehouse or sorting boxes or bolts or bananas etc doesnt have to start with 'b'.
PRIZE the license is $250 for 3 yrs and they will also make three separate offers of $75 ea for three other images of their choosing.
The first target that the software company has selected is their inventory management for which they're seeking pictures (600x400 small) to make a scroller and so hope for shots of raw materials awaiting processing or finished goods awaiting transport in racks in a large warehouse. The production planning page is the second web destination and there's more information about Warehouse Stockpiles on Lenzr blog.
The challenge ends Nov 25th and the winner(s) are announced Dec 1st. Must be 13 yrs old, match is open to residents of Quebec.
