Talk to any manager in companies these days and you will hear things like: Leaders know that success in today’s business environment depends on adaptability, responsiveness, and the ability to learn faster than the competition. And that, in turn, requires people 'to think' - not just follow instructions, and
Read MoreBusinesses survive and thrive for all sorts of reasons. Many of which are outside of our control. But many of them aren’t. There are strikingly few barriers to starting a business and consequently all sorts of dumb ideas, poorly executed, are attempted. As a result, only 10% of startups actually get into the
Read MoreWhen I run Lean or Continuous Improvement sessions, I often explain that around 70% of our daily activity doesn’t add any real value to what we’re trying to achieve. That figure rarely surprises anyone. In fact, when I ask people to guess, they often land somewhere around that number
Read MoreFor those who celebrate it – Happy Canada Day! Even if you are not fortunate enough to be a Canadian citizen, do feel free to celebrate the very fact of Canada. In many ways the world could use a bit more Canada just now. Here in Canada, we have muddled along quite well for the last 157 years managing to avoid too much controversy and minding...
Read MoreMany years ago, I was employee #14 at Bell Mobility in Canada, serving as Vice President responsible for securing dominant market share in Quebec and Eastern Ontario. At the time, we sold cellular subscriptions through phone retailers, whose sales reps could earn up to $1,000 per phone. While our competitors doubled down on this retail gold...
Read MoreAlmost every headline these days refers to tariffs and the chaos and reciprocity swirling around the world. In the midst of all this, we need to remember that the new tariffs ping-ponging back and forth are on ‘Goods’ – physical, manufactured stuff. If you are in the services business, the impact is indirect – i.e. your foreign clients may be...
Read MoreAll of our clients are privately owned businesses. They have the privilege to do business with whom they choose. This email is for them. Trump’s trade war has started and many are wondering what to do next. We can help - which we’ll explain in a minute. We are in the consulting business because we love what we do and we are on a mission to...
Read MoreIf your inbox is anything like ours, you will already be experiencing the annual deluge of trend predictions and forecasts for 2025 - all very interesting, but it can feel a bit like reading your horoscope. Sure, things are always changing — the economy shifts, technology evolves, new buzzwords emerge — but you can’t grow a business based on...
Read MoreThe simple reality is that 99% of the attendees are not, and never will be, buyers – no matter how hard you try. Desperately trying to lure them in with free pens, gimmicks videos, magic shows and so on is simply a waste of time, money and energy. The harder you try the less likely it is that anyone will
Read MoreBut here’s the thing. There’s something about seeing a city from the open cockpit of an ancient biplane that gives you a completely different perspective; seeing how extensive the urban forest is, noting the two dog-legs in the Ottawa River (I knew it curved – but dog-legs?) and seeing a number of suspicious large structures... These are only...
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