I am very fortunate to be living in Montreal, Quebec, the most diverse (and sometimes very divisive) region within Canada.

There has always been tension between the French and English populace in our province of Quebec. For those of you who may be interested, a very powerful book by Hugh MacLennan, `Two Solitudes`was published in 1945 and although fiction, fairly represents the conflict between the two cultures at that time and can serve as background as to how the situation has evolved and why we are, where we are today.

I enjoy living in this very unique society, where, it is common place, to hear both languages in the same sentence or start in French by an Anglophone then shift to English by a Francophone. We affectionately refer to that as Franglais. Half French (fran) and half English (glais). For the most part, we respect each others background, culture and language and we grow together.

This duality of culture has played an integral part in how I think and address problems both in my working and personal life.

As a consultant in the area of Risk Management, my background both socially and from an academic perspective has helped me to bring consensus to many of the problems I have encountered.

Every business has it's own unique culture which trickles down from the executive offices and is implemented and nurtured by middle management. Sometimes the disconnect prevails but more often than not, it is camouflaged in ambiguity and interpretation.

My personality type is glass half full, and strongly feel that if both parties are willing and have an open mind, we can work something out to everyone's benefit!