Wow! Is that a bird...a plane...oh its Time! Flying at
supersonic speed!
It feels just like
yesterday when we were a small, yet passionate bunch who were head-hunted from established organizations to join forces with the founders to be a part of the 'Haute Culture' brand...
Some of us took a calculated gamble in leaving the comforts of a structured environment for the chaos and excitement of a start-up...and now that more than five years have elapsed...oh boy, did it pay off!
I have the privilege on behalf of the stakeholders to start our blog-'Right from the heart'...
Some of us took a calculated gamble in leaving the comforts of a structured environment for the chaos and excitement of a start-up...and now that more than five years have elapsed...oh boy, did it pay off!
I have the privilege on behalf of the stakeholders to start our blog-'Right from the heart'...
(incidentally for those who still want to know the correct
pronunciation- its 'oht' culture ...and not hote or hut culture...:-) )
The name literally
stands for 'Highest Benchmark of Culture' and thats what our aim has
been...to ensure that we partner with our clients to transform their
corporate culture into a 'benchmark' platform which includes, integrates,
engages and benefits from diverse talents.
We deeply
felt (with due respect to Canada's multiculturalism!) that
Diversity is a given in Canada and has been flogged to death as a buzz-word.
Instead it is much more important to understand how to use ‘Cultural
Intelligence’ to foster a Culture of Innovation and Inclusion in order to
manage and benefit from culturally diverse talents successfully.
That germinated
the idea for this unique consulting and training solution and we started
off as the first firm in Canada offering a unique bouquet of services under one
roof, resolving stress-points within the domain of 'Culture and Diversity' for any size /kind of organization in a cost effective manner and over last few years based on inherent demand from our clientele, have expanded to almost
all areas of Human Capital Consulting, Change Management and Leadership
Development.
Since we believed we were
the Specialists- having cutting edge expertise , our hopes were
high that the concept will be an overnight success. Oh, glory be to wishful
thinking :-)
It took time. We
were helped by and met a lot of wonderful people on the Journey so
far...all of them added value in terms of their insight and experience...one
stands out and has been an anchor in terms of guidance. Thank you,
Bill from our heart! We were also shunned by few who
initially felt that we were 'ahead of our time' and Cultural Intelligence
appeared to them a low priority- like a dispensable 'Avatar' project!
All in all, the
facts speak for themselves....84% of Canadians and 68% of Asians agree
that with global baselines changing over last few years, its vital to have a degree of 'intercultural
competence' to gain and sustain employment or to be successful at
business...!
Canadian
Demograhics are changing and how so- Visible Minority is the new Cool!
We have had the fortune to work with a diverse array of clients over last 5 years, right from our hometurf of Toronto to all over Canada and internationally too across USA, Mideast and India!
We have gained not
only financial success, but also academic and media recognition besides having been commended and awarded at an Industry Canada forum by Canadian
Federal Minister of Finance and Provincial Minister of Industry & Commerce !
It has been an
enriching journey in all aspects and we hope to grow from strength to strength,
learning and evolving and all the time striving to be passionate in what we are
trying to cultivate here- No, its not poppy seeds- Its Cultural Intelligence and Human Capital!
P.S.: Those who
are reading this blog for the first time may want to chk out what we are
about @
Cheers!
