The Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL, “sky” in French) strengthens organizations and small communities by assisting them:

• Innovatively ASSESS themselves using the power of perceptions,
• FOCUS a team or community on priorities and,
• Harness energy to move to ACTION.

We have done this by building custom programs, innovative tools and fun, engaging workshops delivered across Canada, the U.S, New Zealand and Australia.

Contact Executive Director Mike Stolte to find out how CIEL can energize your organization or community.

Highlights

• CIEL’s Communities Matrix, a free one page tool for assessing stages of community readiness, is now used in more than 15 countries across the globe and was recently translated into Russian and Ukrainian. In 2012, it was named one of the top two tools internationally for assessing community capacity and readiness by the Community Development Society International.
• Our work has been featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canadian Living Magazine, the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business Magazine and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
• CIEL’s Executive Director, Mike Stolte, has been a keynote speaker at more than a dozen international events and presenting on community vitality, the economics of happiness, creating an entrepreneurial culture, the deadly sins of tourism, and tapping into the hidden energy of your people.
• CIEL has assisted more than 70 communities to action using tools that build economic strength, tourism capacity, boost entrepreneurial thinking and community vitality. We have also trained and accredited qualified trainers in using our tools in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Victoria (Australia).
• The Government of Canada contracted CIEL to research, develop, build and run its collaborative Leading Communities leadership program for rural communities in Canada.

What Others Are Saying About CIEL

“Mike Stolte is the most fascinating economist ever!”
– Shelagh Rogers – CBC Radio Host

“Mike and his tools and processes are wonderful to work with. He knows communities. The depth of CIEL’s tools bring credibility, rigour and confidence to the process.”
– Antoinette Danaher, Uncommon Solutions PL, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

“CIEL’s insight into what makes communities tick and their ability to translate those insights into real world tools, strategies and actions are worth a look.”
– Michael Buda, Senior Policy Analyst, Federation of Canadian Municipalities

“Working with CIEL was one of the best most rewarding processes I’ve ever been involved in professionally.”
– Grant Myers – Provincial Development Officer, CEDEC

“The tools provide important benchmarks and are measurable – something communities need. Besides that, the processes are fun, easy to understand and engaging.”
– Mike Dalmau, High Country Management Enterprises

“The CIEL Team is the most innovative organization in the region. And we’ve got lots of dynamic, innovative organizations in this region.”
– Kelvin Saldern –  Executive Director, Kootenay Association of Science & Technology