VIDEO: Never split the difference when negotiating

VIDEO: Never split the difference when negotiating

Depth of Field with Kelly Sidoryk

Undoubtedly, when navigating through succession/transition planning or simply working in a family business, there will be times when we need to have tough conversations. What could be more difficult than the conversations had by a top-level FBI hostage negotiator? Chris Voss is such a person and spent over 20 years in that capacity. Now with […] Read more

VIDEO: Failing well on the farm

VIDEO: Failing well on the farm

Depth of Field with Kelly Sidoryk

Is there such a thing as failing well? Dr. Amy Edmondson of the Harvard Business School thinks so and explores the subject in her latest book, The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well. Consider times in the past when you have experienced failure. Were some of them done poorly and some done […] Read more



When confronted with large and difficult decisions, one author suggests giving them some space, letting the ideas percolate and then coming back to them for better solutions.

Conscious and subconscious brain: It’s all in our heads, or is it?

Depth of Field with Kelly Sidoryk

Simon Sinek, author and inspirational speaker, has some very interesting ideas on our brain and how it works. He relates our conscious brain to being in the range of two feet. We can access all the information that is in that two-foot area to make quick decisions. This is also the logical, thinking, rational part […] Read more


Graphic: Supplied

VIDEO: Positive psychology

Depth of File with Kelly Sidoryk

The other day when trying to determine price insurance coverage for grass yearlings, we received a text from our buyer: “This is not for the faint of heart.” This caused me to reflect on non-ag businesses who, from my perspective, do not seem to have to deal with so many variables beyond their control. However, […] Read more



halo effect

Understanding our own paradigms

Depth of Field with Kelly Sidoryk

Many have heard me reference paradigms, either during presentations or in this column. Paradigms are the beliefs, values, assumptions and ways in which we view the world. Trying to challenge our own assumptions and thinking is one way to expand our personal growth. One of my beliefs is as human beings, we are meant to […] Read more

VIDEO: David Irvine on clarity, character and connection

VIDEO: David Irvine on clarity, character and connection

Depth of Field with Kelly Sidoryk

While preparing for a recent holistic management conference which featured David Irvine as the keynote speaker, I came across a video that we had done at an earlier conference. Much earlier — 1990, in fact.  Irvine is referred to as the leadership navigator. He has worked extensively with organizations, teams and families as a speaker […] Read more


To achieve an effective outcome, it’s important to have a strong sense and understanding of self before having strong positive interactions with others, suggests one author.

VIDEO: It’s all about the people

Depth of Field with Kelly Sidoryk

In the last few weeks, I have had the pleasure of touring around all three of our westernmost provinces for grazing plan workshops, holistic management courses and sessions related to the On-Farm Climate Action Fund. It still strikes me that we really are in the best industry in the best country and it is all […] Read more

“When there is a genuine vision (as opposed to the all-too-familiar ‘vision statement’), people excel and learn, not because they are told to but, because they want to.”

VIDEO: Systems learning

Depth of Field with Kelly Sidoryk

In the early ’90s, leadership expert Peter Senge wrote a book called the The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. At the time, the ideas were a helpful guide to navigating the pace of change we were encountering. Now, over 30 years later, I think it is still relevant as it […] Read more