Our Purpose
We support and empower entrepreneurs and builders as they strive to realize their full potential.
A Catalyst is Just the Beginning
Six Catalysts was born from a simple yet transformative idea: the best organizations don’t just evolve… they’re catalyzed into something more than their original structure. Often, the catalyst for change is an externality which is imposed upon the organization—as in 1998, when the “megacity” of Toronto was formed through the forced amalgamation of six smaller municipalities by the provincial government. Nearly three quarters of the residents living in those areas opposed amalgamation at the time. Today, Toronto is a thriving metropolis of nearly three million people with globally-recognized institutions in education, STEM, the arts, civics, and research. A catalyzing change doesn’t have to be reactive—the conditions for a transformative catalyst to emerge can be planned and proactively nurtured.
I’ve seen firsthand how organizations can improve resilience and achieve impressive, sustainable growth when equipped with the right tools, clear objectives, and a shared purpose. Through a career of working with diverse teams and organizations, I’ve distilled six powerful principles—Catalysts—that drive meaningful change, and improvement that you can both observe and feel. These Catalysts form the foundation for everything we do, and inform the guiding principles for our work.
Six Catalysts?
Six. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sometimes not even these catalysts at all. But commonly, these are the sparks for positive change which are most within our control as leaders—especially when we remember that leadership and job title or seniority don’t have to be inextricably locked together. Leadership, and positive change, can come from anywhere and anyone at any time. Let’s be open to it.
The Six Catalysts
01 Alignment + Understanding
Progress accelerates when everyone rows the dragon boat in the same direction. We help organizations align objectives, create shared purpose, and leverage data to generate actionable insights. Clarity in goals and understanding the “why” behind decisions serve as a powerful catalyst for innovation and impact.
02 Communication + Trust
The best ideas thrive in a culture of transparency and trust. Whether improving internal collaboration or strengthening customer relationships, clear and authentic communication cuts through the noise, amplifying signals that matter. Open channels build trust, and trust builds success.
03 Cross-Functional Exploration
In a fast-moving world, understanding contexts beyond your job description unlocks extraordinary potential. We encourage teams to cultivate adjacent skills and knowledge, breaking silos and enabling more effective collaboration. When people understand each other’s roles and goals, barriers to success tend to melt away.
04 Operational Excellence
Great systems and great people build great organizations. By focusing on productivity growth, systems thinking, and strengthening operations, we help businesses charge forward with momentum. Operational excellence is the foundation upon which scalable success is built.
05 Culture of Continuous Improvement
When blame is removed from the playing field, ideas flow more freely. We foster a no-blame mindset where teams focus on learning from mistakes rather than hiding them. “It’s not my fault, but it is my problem” becomes a rallying cry for relentless, purposeful improvement.
06 Customer-Centric Action
True innovation comes from listening to your customers. By embedding their needs and preferences into every functional area of the business, organizations accelerate their ability to solve problems, create solutions, and stand out in highly-competitive markets—global, local, and everywhere in between.
Paul Austin-Menear, Founder
Meet Paul, a professional who’s been connecting dots and juggling hats long before obsequious multitasking became an identified disorder. With formal education in both history and business administration, he’s as comfortable locking intellectual horns over Sun Tzu as he is decoding balance sheets. His entrepreneurial streak started early, dabbling in business ventures and side hustles while his classmates were still figuring out where the cafeteria was.
In the early days of his career, Paul honed his creative chops in the world of marketing and advertising agencies, crafting campaigns that would make Don Draper sit up straight. In 2015, he traded his relatively quiet Canadian life in Ottawa for Toronto and joined Nanoleaf as an early employee—a company that redefined smart lighting, globally. Over nearly a decade, he held senior leadership roles in marketing, supply chain, operations, and product development. You might say that he was an integral part of… keeping the lights on.
Now living in Toronto with his lovely wife and their collection of decorative cushions (which certainly serve a purpose… maybe), he brings a wealth of experience and a dash of lighthearted empathy to the Six Catalysts practice. He’s on a mission to help businesses transform challenges into opportunities and turn good ideas into forward momentum—all with a smile and the kind of infectious optimism that makes a mountain feel like a step-stool.
In Good Company
Places where I’ve shared good stories, strategies, and stage time.
