Harold Simons
Partner, NimblShift · Creator of Built to MatterWorks with founders and leadership teams on strategy: the choices that make a business different, and the operating model that keeps it that way.
A leadership conversation series · Downtown Calgary
The honest version of how distinctive businesses get built.
One leader who built a great business and a great culture to go with it. One authentic conversation. A room of Calgary leaders who run things. No pitch, no slides, no highlight reel.
NEXT EVENINGTuesday, November 24
WHERECavernUs, 137 8th Ave SW
IN THE GUEST CHAIRKent Rathwell, PlunkEV
SEATSForty seats, held for business owners and executive leaders.
The question for our first evening
What actually makes a business different?
Every leader says their business is different. Few built the results and a healthy culture at the same time, without burning through their people to get there. Our guest did, and will tell you their story.
Most leadership events hand you the highlight reel.
On the stage
Polished panels, tidy slide decks and a pitch waiting at the end. Everyone sounds like they had a plan all along.
In your head
You are the one making the hard calls, and the success stories you hear sound nothing like a day in your life.
What is actually true
The leaders worth learning from will tell you what went wrong. They are rarely asked, and almost never in a room this size.
Your hosts
We built the room we kept looking for.
Between the three of us, we have spent decades inside businesses: in banking and lending, in workplace psychology, and in strategy for owners and executives in growth mode. Dr. Laura and Karas, both podcast hosts, take turns leading the conversation with our guest, and Karas leads it on November 24. The opening idea rotates between the three of us.
Dr. Laura
CEO, Birchwood Leadership & Culture Consulting · Host, Where Work Meets Life™ podcastDr. Laura Hambley Lovett is an organizational psychologist, keynote speaker, author and host of the Where Work Meets Life™ podcast, and a leading voice on workplace psychology and culture. As founder of Birchwood Leadership & Culture Consulting and Canada Career Counselling, she empowers people and organizations to thrive.
Karas Wright
CEO, Wright Step · Organizational Coach · Host, The Karas Wright Show podcastWorks at the intersection of leadership, culture and execution. Twenty-five years in Canadian banking taught her what is really going on inside a business before anyone says it out loud.
The guest chair
Who we invite to sit in it.
Someone the room knows, but has never heard speak unguarded.
- Built, scaled or turned around a business that is genuinely different.
- Can name the hard choices that made it so.
- Built a culture where people are treated as people, and did not burn them out to get the results.
- Willing to talk about what went wrong, and what it cost.
- Has nothing to sell you.
How it works
One evening. One conversation.
1
Reserve your seat
Every seat is held by invitation.
2
Spend one honest evening
Appetizers and a drink, a live conversation, your questions, and a room worth staying late for.
3
Take one idea back
Leave with a story you can use, and a few people you will want to call.
The evening
- 4:30 pmDoors open. Appetizers and a drink on arrival.
- 5:00 pmKaras Wright or Dr. Laura in conversation with our guest, followed by questions from the room.
- 6:15 pmTime to connect, with optional private tours of CavernUs' underground labyrinth, before we close at 7:00.
Who it is for
For the people responsible for how a business runs, and how it feels to work there.
The pilot series
Three evenings. Three leaders.
NOVEMBER 24 · SEATS OPEN
What actually makes a business different?
Kent Rathwell, Founder and CEO, PlunkEV
CavernUs, Calgary
Conversation sponsor
FEBRUARY 2027
The leadership and culture you built with intention
Guest announced soon
MAY 2027
When the business has to run without you
Guest announced soon
Stay in the loop
Hear about future evenings.
Be first to know when seats open for February and May, or ask about supporting the series.
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Forty seats. One honest conversation.
Your $75 seat includes appetizers and one drink. When the room is full, it is full.
Reserve your seatFAQ
Questions, answered.
- Is this a networking event?
- It is a conversation first. The connections tend to follow, because everyone in the room just heard the same honest story.
- Will anyone try to sell me something?
- No. Our guest has nothing to sell, and neither do we.
- What does my ticket include?
- Your seat for the evening, appetizers and one drink.
- Can I bring a colleague?
- Yes, as long as they register their own seat. Every name in the room counts.
- Will there be photos and video?
- Yes. A photographer will be in the room capturing photos and short video clips. Our guest approves every clip and quote before anything is shared, which is exactly why they can speak freely. If you would rather not appear in photos, just let us know at the door.