What others say about John

Articles and Interviews about John

Conference Feedback

Globe and Mail Article (Toronto, 6 April 2006) - "They still stand in the Arctic, where Inuit law forbids their destruction. Made of several stones balanced on each other, they serve as silent guides in uncharted terrain. Most of us call them inukshuk (even though the plural form is inuksuit) -- some are designed to show directions, others to warn of impending dangers or to mark a place of respect. They've been adopted as the brand image of Vancouver's 2010 Olympic Games. For Dr. John Girard, they have become a totem of a different kind: A way of showing how to practice "knowledge management," or sharing and retaining the ideas that make a business successful." Read more

The Industrial Librarian (Toronto, 10 April 2006) - "Girard's presentation was filled with many useful stories and anecdotes. One in particular that stood out with me is with Hewlett Packard. At one time HP's scanning division wanted to create a scanner that printed while their printing division wanted to crate printer that scanned. Neither division knew that the other division was working on the same thing." See Entire Article

Middle East Business Resource (Dubai, September 18, 2005) - "Dr. John Girard, Associate Professor of Business Administration and Business Information at Minot State University, USA, spoke about developing a course toward a knowledge environment: Using knowledge management to enhance decision making. His paper introduced a new model of knowledge management enablers, which was designed to help Canadian Government leaders conquer the knowledge challenges of today – to help them make better decisions in the complicated environment in which they operate." See Entire Article and See Article

bravo Defence! (Ottawa, Summer 2005) - "Looking at how organizations use knowledge sharing and organizational learning for effectiveness, it is clear that this is far from being a passing fad. Sceptics are encouraged to read the article Defence KM: A Passing Fad? by the previous Director of Knowledge Management, Lieutenant-Colonel (retired) John Girard, in the Canadian Military Journal, Summer 2004 edition." See Entire Article.

KM Australia (Melbourne, July 2008)

“Excellent, engaging. Can’t wait to use some bits in the workplace.” - Department of Education & Early Childhood Development

“Inspirational speaker” - The University of Melbourne

“Very good demos” – Medibank Private

“Brilliant – talked very positively and practically. Extremely engaging.” – National Australia Bank

“The presentation and content were excellent – the best part of the whole event.” – Department of Justice

Information Highways 2006 (Toronto, April 2006)

"Dr. Girard's presentation was excellent. Even though it was right after lunch, it kept me awake. He was really enthusiastic and up beat about the whole presentation. Kept it interesting." - Anonymous Participant

Ark Managing Knowledge & Information Exploitation in Defence (London, November 2005)

"I was very pleased with your presentation. Especially your focus on practical examples (I probably never will forget the Inukshuk!), communication efforts and the benefits through story telling was quite impressive." - Christian Häuselmann, Department of Defence, Switzerland

Anonymous comments included (6.5/7.0):

- Very lively and relevant
- Brilliant! The perfect blend of theory and practice delivered with enthusiasm and energy.
- Great speaker
- Excellent, wholly relevant and interesting.
- Excellent. Good to finish the conference on a high.
- The best presentation of the conference!

North Dakota Telephone Association (Minot, November, 2005)

"Your presentation on 'Simple Ideas that work in a Complex Environment' was the talk of our convention! What a wonderful presentation! We had many favorable comments on the content and 'message' of the presentation. Many people commented on the excellent graphic slides that you used to portray your message as well as the energy and enthusiasm you possess as a speaker. We received so many comments that we should have you speak again at a future conference." - Patricia Gisinger Manager

APQC 10th Annual Knowledge Management Conference (St. Louis, May 2005) Anonymous comments included (6.6/7.0):

- Dynamic, broad range of information presented. Very eloquent and in an understandable, hands on way. Great storyteller.
- Great ideas, well presented. Thoughtful. Really enjoyed the use of video.
- Presentation was good enough to be a keynote speaker. Invite him back.

Financial Management Institute of Canada (Ottawa, November 2004)

"It was my great pleasure to hear you speak and present your KM material yesterday, at the FMI Conference in Ottawa. You packed an amazing amount of information into a very short time frame and I am surprised at how much material I retained due to your excellent choice and placement of stories and examples to make your point." - Helen Truskoski, Canadian Revenue Agency