{"id":4749,"date":"2017-01-23T12:52:05","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T17:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=4749"},"modified":"2025-09-30T10:11:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:11:14","slug":"arlene-dickinson-soar","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/arlene-dickinson-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice From Arlene Dickinson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Advice From Arlene Dickinson\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Arlene Dickinson, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who appeared for years on CBC\u2019s Dragons’ Den<\/em><\/a>, knows what it\u2019s like to take risks and speak her mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She wants young Canadians to do both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arlene Dickinson, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who appeared for years on CBC\u2019s Dragon\u2019s Den.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dickinson opened the third annual SOAR Student Leadership Conference<\/a> to a full house at Carleton University on Saturday, Jan. 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her keynote speech in the Kailash Mital Theatre preceded the conference\u2019s 26 workshops to develop student potential by teaching them skills to become more effective leaders and trailblazers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CEO asked the 450 students: \u201cWhat does a leader do when everybody says you\u2019re crazy to be doing what you\u2019re doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Arlene Dickinson: Being a leader comes with obligation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Being a leader comes with an obligation, she said. \u201cTo stand up as a leader is the most important thing you can do. Be unafraid to share your opinion, to feel good about the values you have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louise Hayes, president of the Carleton Alumni Association, presented Dickinson with a video from the 2012 season of Dragon\u2019s Den<\/em>. In one episode, four of the five dragons passed on a deal to fund a new chocolate candy called OMG\u2019s, but Arlene decided to trust in the founders despite their lack of sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dickinson’s keynote speech in Carleton University’s Kailash Mital Theatre
preceded the SOAR Student Leadership Conference’s 26 workshops.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OMG\u2019s went on to succeed as one of the better returns on investment from the hit TV show.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThe world didn\u2019t end because I said what I believe was right,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The SOAR Student Leadership Conference is an annual one-day event for student leaders at Carleton that provides informative and interactive workshops and presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before investing in companies on the Den<\/em> and co-hosting another CBC show The Big Decision<\/em>, Dickinson became CEO of Venture Communications in 1998 after 10 years working there. She began investing at 31, after raising a family right out of high school, and is also a philanthropist, a national spokesperson for the Breakfast Club of Canada and a best-selling author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout a career of risks and rewards, she was offered unique opportunities. Eight years ago, she joined hockey players and musicians on a trip to Afghanistan. There, she watched Army Commander Gen. Walter Natynczyk rally his troops as she accompanied him to the frontlines.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Unique opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe gave the same speech five times,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cHe said: \u2018Some of you might be going home in the next few days or few weeks, which means it\u2019s highly likely that your mind is on home . . .  but I need you focused, I need you here, I need you now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Dickinson also saw him work alongside his soldiers, explaining that he may be their leader but it didn\u2019t mean he knew everything. Soldiers under the intense pressure of an active war zone heard from their general that what they were doing mattered, and that he would be in the trenches with him. They were reassured that Canadians valued them, their work was important and they had been selected for this job because they were special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t that what everyone wants to hear?\u201d Arlene Dickinson asked the student delegates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next generation of Canadian leaders, she said, has an obligation to stand up and say what they believe is right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have a voice that matters,\u201d she said. \u201cBe unafraid to be vocal and to share your values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"cu75-footer-plate-700w\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Arlene Dickinson, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who appeared for years on CBC\u2019s Dragons’ Den, knows what it\u2019s like to take risks and speak her mind. She wants young Canadians to do both. Dickinson opened the third annual SOAR Student Leadership Conference to a full house at Carleton University on Saturday, Jan. 21. Her keynote […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28,25],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-4749","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships","cu_story_type-student-experience"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/4749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/4749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97915,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/4749\/revisions\/97915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=4749"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=4749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}