The Globe and Mail - 25.11.2019

Whencuriosityanddriveduelavisionfor

abetterworld,theUniversityofBritish

Columbiaopensdoorstoopportunity.

The Associate Director

Clinical Services

Provides leadership in Counseling Ser-

vices with an emphasis on strategic

oversightofthedesignandimplementa-

tionofallaspectsofclinicalservices.As

amemberoftheclinicalstaffofCoun-

seling Services, the Associate Director

providesacomprehensiverangeofcoun-

sellingservicesforUBCstudents.

PleasevisittheUBCCareerssite

https://www.hr.ubc.ca/

careers-postings/staff.php

toapplyandenterjobopening

ID 35243byDecember 5, 2019.

B10 CAREERS OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | MONDAY,NOVEMBER25,2019

C

reativity and innovation in

the workplace are getting

lots of attention these days,

and rightly so given the pressures

to be competitive in all aspects of

product design, service delivery

and customer engagement. And

every generation I know wants to

contribute in some manner to the

way their workplace develops its

ideas, even if they aren’t in an in-

herently creative role.

Unfortunately, many compa-

nies don’t invest specific time and

effort in developing the founda-

tional skills for innovation and

creativity that are needed to fuel

these processes. Although cre-

ative industries might bring to-

gether populations of people who

have trained in these methods,

the skills involved are ones that

are equally vital for traditional

bricks-and-mortar businesses,

big and small alike.

As a leader, I know from per-

sonal experience that leading the

creative and innovation process

can be daunting, starting with the

self-imposed view that the leader

should have some good ideas of

his or her own. Hopefully they do,

but they’re not likely to be the

best ideas, or at least not all the

time.

Instead, the leader in the cre-

ative and innovation cycle is as

much a cheerleader and process

coach as they are a potential star

player. Being able to cultivate an

environment where anyone, re-

gardless of position or responsib-

ility, can generate ideas is one that

is hard for some leaders to

achieve, but it’s critical to do so if

you want a level playing field and

the free flow of ideas.

Equally important is for people

at all levels of the organization to

not assume that their leaders are

infallible, or to hold them to an

unreasonable standard of bril-

liance. Having credibility is im-

portant to be an effective leader,

but developing a culture of open-

ly sharing ideas rests on the trust

that others have with one anoth-

er.

MAKEITSAFETOPLAY

WITHIDEAS

The term “psychological safety” is

not yet a common one in many

organizations, but it is a massively

important part of allowing em-

ployees to engage their intellect

fully, trusting that mistakes they

make while thinking outside the

box will not be unfairly punished.

And, when people are making

themselves vulnerable by think-

ing deeply and trying to generate

creative ideas, this includes their

not being ridiculed by having

their ideas called out as “hare-

brained” by superiors, peers or

subordinates alike.

OLDIDEASMAYBENEWAGAIN

How often have we offered an

idea, only to be told by someone

that, “We tried that a few years

ago, and it didn’t work”Ì The real-

ity is that ideas may need a partic-

ular context to be successful.

What didn’t work a few years ago

could well be the right solution

now, so everyone in the process

needs to be careful about judging

ideas too quickly based on past

experience. This equally applies

to comments based on experi-

ence with other companies.

Again, what didn’t work at one

company for any number of inter-

nal reasons may be a game-chang-

ing approach for another.

CASTAWIDENET

At the early stages of innovating

creatively, thinking outside the

box may generate seemingly out-

landish ideas. That’s actually the

fun part and should be embraced

as a way to open up new lines of

thinking. Some may well prove to

be such, but it’s important not to

constrain the flow of ideas early

on by insisting that everything be

completely serious, practical, log-

ical or within the bounds of cur-

rent thinking. Challenging long-

held assumptions is a key part of

being creative and innovative, but

it’s not something we’ve learned

to do after years of being taught

that there is a “right answer” to

most things.

EXPLOREMORETHANONEOPTION

One of the challenges that comes

with the creative innovation

process is that you can generate

what seems like an endless list of

options, many of which seem

good. While you can’t pursue

them all equally and need to filter

things down to a practical num-

ber, don’t assume that only one

Àor two or threeÁ are all that you

need. Instead, the next part of the

task is to investigate the various

options more rigorously, while

not closing out any of the front

runners just yet. Check online and

you’ll see any number of ap-

proaches that can help you to crit-

ically analyze options on an

equally factual basis.

Lest the visual image of fuss-

ball-playing creative types loung-

ing on bean-bag chairs in the in-

novation lab be holding you back,

realize that this stuff is hard work

• but it can be immensely reward-
  ing when you make a break-
  through that transforms your or-
  ganization.

Companiessaytheyfostercreativity,butfollowingthroughiswhat’simportant

EILEEN
DOOLEY

OPINION

Principal and executive coach
in the leadership practice of Odgers
Berndtson, global executive search
and leadership advisory firm

Thequestion

I joined my company as a director at its founding about a dec-

ade ago when we had only a handful of employees. Early on,

the owners initiated an employee stock option plan and I was

awarded 10,000 share options at five cents a share. A number

of years later, the company underwent a management buyout.

The new owners have informed the holders of the stock op-

tions Àme and several othersÁ that the stock option plan has

been terminated and we can no longer vest the shares. I esti-

mate that the value of the shares would be quite substantial

for me if the stocks still existed. What are my options to recov-

er anything at this pointÌ If I attempt to sue, I believe it may

jeopardize my employment.

Thefirstanswer

Pamela Connolly

Lawyer, WPLG, Vernon, B.C.

Employers may award stock options to employees as an in-

centive and to increase employee engagement through hav-

ing an ownership stake in the company. Typically, stock op-

tions vest periodically and employees may choose to “exer-

cise” the vested shares by purchasing them at the set À“strike”Á

price, which may be less than their current value. It sounds

like you did not exercise your vested options, although it is

unclear if all awarded options have vested.

Start by reviewing the stock option plan, which should in-

clude terms regarding vesting and exercising your options, as

well as terminating the plan. Often, when plans are being ter-

minated, the plan requires that employees receive notice that

initiates a final period to exercise options. In addition, some-

times plans will include a condition that unvested options

automatically vest when there are significant changes to the

company, such as a merger or acquisition.

In your case, if the timelines for exercising the options have

expired, you likely have little recourse. However, if you were

not given proper notice, or the plan is silent about termina-

tion, you could take the position that the options do not ex-

pire upon termination of the plan or the plan was not proper-

ly terminated. Pointing out these issues to your employer and

asking for an opportunity to purchase the shares could help

to resolve the situation. Ultimately, though, litigation may be

the only option. I recommend speaking to a lawyer about the

strength of your legal position and also to a financial adviser

to determine if purchasing these shares is a sound invest-

ment.

Thesecondanswer

Samantha Lamb

Partner, Jewitt McLuckie & Associates, Ottawa

The answer depends on what is written in your employment

contract and stock option plan. Many contractsàplans now ex-

plicitly provide employers with the ability to cancel the shares

at any time before they vest, leaving you out of luck. If the doc-

uments are vague or non-existent, you may have grounds to

sue, and the next question is whether to sue your former em-

ployer, who offered the shares, or the new employer who has

cancelled them. This depends in part on what happened at the

management buyout and whether you signed a new contract

or agreement.

Depending on the terms of the buyout, you might be able to

sue your former employer since they were the ones who gave

you the shares, and they might owe you for the value of the

shares at the time they sold the company and severed their

employment relationship with you. If the buyout happened

around two years ago, be aware that you may have to act

quickly because there is a two-year time limit on bringinga

lawsuit.

Suing your current employer might be the right option if

they took over all existing employment contracts and the

share plan, but doing so might jeopardize your employment.

Your employer’s reaction to being sued could be to terminate

you immediately without cause. Since everything turns on the

wording of any employment contracts and the stock option

plan, the first step is to have a lawyer review those documents.

Special to TheGlobe and Mail

Have a question for our experts? Send an email

to [email protected].

Iwasawardedcompany

shareoptions,butamtold

Icannolongerbuythem.

Whataremyrights?

ANDREAYU

NINETOFIVE

T

ayler Book, 27, is a co-own-
er of Beechwood Dough-
nuts, Niagara Region’s only
100-per-cent vegan doughnut
shop. In downtown St. Catharin-
es, Ont., its maximum output is
4,000 doughnuts a day.

First,abigthankyoufrometymol-
ogistsforusing“doughnuts”
insteadoftheAmericanized“do-
nuts.”

For sure€ It flows better. Beech-
wood is the same length so we
keep it symmetrical.

Whydoughnuts?

I met my partner Shane ]Belan-
ger^, a baker with commercial
experience, when I was in third-
year university. Imagine your 20-
year-old kid saying, “I’m going to
open a bakery” ]especially since^
I was a terrible baker. You know
those cookies with egg, sugar,
peanut butterÌ Being a hungry
vegan at 11 p.m., what replaces
eggsÌ The internet said “oil.”
When my mom came in the
kitchen, her laugh was a shriek-
ing scream. Now I know peanut
butter is oil. My brother posted a
photo of that blob I had made.
We opened within the year.

Whenyouwereyoung,didyou
haveideasofwhatworkyou
mightpursue?

No idea. I started working young

• Can-View Drive-In, McDonalds,
  a restaurant. I learned about ev-
  erything, including HR, paper-
  work, working with staff and
  customers. I was born in St. Ca-
  tharines. By high school, I
  thought I’d be a lawyer so I went

to Brock ]University^ for politi-

cal science. The first month I ab-

solutely hated it. In first year,

there’s not much flexibility what

you take, but it is an introduc-

tion. I had to take a social sci-

ences course, which I enjoyed, so

I ended up in sociology. When

Shane said he wanted to open

his own place it clicked. I’d be an

entrepreneur.

Bestadvicethen?

Nobody wanted us to open. We’d

be done in three months, we’re

too young – that was the tone the

entire time. Although we did re-

search, people brushed us off. I

talked to contractors, all older

men, but was never taken seri-

ously. Talking to students now

who want to open businesses, I

ask what jobs they’ve had. None.

I don’t care if it’s fast food – I tell

them to get experience€ Experi-

ence outside a classroom enrich-

es what you learn and you get

paid to figure out what to do.

Whatwasyourplan?

I’d do the front end and Shane

would do the recipes and any-

thing in the back with his sister

]Leah^, who is also a baker. The

display case held 120 doughnuts.

If we sold that each day, ]Shane

would have been completely fine

with that^. We opened to a non-

stop line, selling out within the

hour. We locked the door and

asked ourselves, “I guess we

make moreÌ” Four hours later, we

opened, posted on social media

and sold out in another hour. It

was absolutely absurd.

I said, “This can’t happen for-

ever,” working from 3 in the

morning to be open two hours. It

was absolutely absurd. Shane

and Leah’s roommates ]joined

us^, most are still with us.

“A chain store sells 450 a day,” I

said. “One day, I think we can

make more.” Everyone said it was

never going to happen. Within

days, we sold that each day. What

we expected to do in five years

took a month.

Besidesdelightedcustomers,your

staffalsoseemhappy.Tellme

aboutyourlivingwagespolicy.

We have 25 staff and haven’t lost

one since we started paying

above minimum wage years ago.

Also, Shane and I are here all the

time working, not owners who go

to Hawaii for a month. We didn’t

get into business to be moguls,

which blows people’s minds. I

did it to be my own boss and have

control over my life, not have my

business control me. I have no

desire to get less sleep than I do. I

do love to inspire others to open

businesses and to help them real-

ize that jobs considered unskilled

are skilled in different ways.

Whataresomeofthecomplexities

withyourjob?

People underestimate how com-

plex it is. People come at closing,

upset we’re sold out. “Can’t you

make moreÌ” No, that takes four

hours. Or they ask, “This is all you

haveÌ” There are 20 flavours, but

the two they want aren’t there.

They don’t understand that they

want the convenience of ]thaw-

and-sell^ frozen doughnuts but

don’t want the quality of a frozen

doughnut. Food went downhill

when people wanted conve-

nience, sacrificing quality, want-

ing what they want when they

want. Staff start at 5 a.m., and by 7

a.m. I have to decide how many

doughnuts to make. For example,

today it’s 1,700.

Howdoyoureininwork?

I set boundaries and turn off no-

tifications on devices. Any mess-

ages, I see when I want. If some-

body wants a response in two

minutes, they should’ve thought

of that before – don’t get mad at

me. It’s a lack of respect. It’s like

what university professors often

say: “If you ask a question the

night before your assignment’s

due – when you’ve had it two

months – I’m not responding.”

And if Shane talks flavours, I say

I’m off the clock.

Special to TheGlobe and Mail

This interview has been edited and

condensed.

AARON LYNETT/THEGLOBEANDMAIL

TaylerBook: ‘Wedidn’tget

intobusinesstobemoguls’

BeechwoodDoughnuts

co-ownerdiscussesthe

experienceofopening

andrunningher

100%veganeatery

CYNTHIAMARTIN

THELADDER