Creating a culture of innovation

This morning I took part in a ceremony launching Peel Region’s new RIC Centre (Research, Innovation and Commercialization) in Mississauga. Mayor Hazel McCallion was there, along with the local MP, the chair of Peel Region, and the head of the Board of Trade.

The organizers showed their innovative-ness by inviting four local business people to help open the centre – all named Rick. There was Rick Drennan of the Mississauga Business Times, Richard Fine of RMF Manufacturing & Design, and Rick Holden of Best Buy (Witty) Insurance – and me.

I support resources such as the RIC Centre, which aims to connect inventors to resources, mentors and expertise. As I said in my brief remarks:

"In my experience, when innovation fails, it fails for one of four reasons:
* the inventor fell in love with his product;
* the business was undercapitalized;
* the marketing plan was ineffective, insufficient or non-existent;
* or the innovators failed to realize how long commercialization takes, and how many changes even the best products have to go through before they succeed.

The same problems recur, over and over again. And all of them can be solved by places such as the RIC Centre.”

But I also went off-script to respond to a few remarks made by previous speakers. For instance, Peel regional Chair Emil Kolb, who operates a family farm near Bolton, Ont., noted that the original farmers who pioneered Mississauga probably couldn't have imagined what goes on at a place like the RIC Centre.

I took issue with that, pointing out that the farmers I know are tremendous innovators and inventors. They are always tinkering with crops and seeds and fertilizers to find the best combinations. And they're constantly collaborating with other farmers to identify best practices. I believe that’s exactly the culture we're trying to recreate today!

A couple of speakers also criticized the shortage of venture capital in Canada. I pointed out that Canadian entrepreneurs have to take some of the blame for that. If we had all been better at commercialization, Canada’s venture capitalists would have made a lot more money over the past decade, and there would be a whole lot more capital to throw around today. Incubators such as the RIC Centre can help overcome these problems – but until they do, Canadian VCs can hardly be blamed for not throwing good money after bad.

I may never get invited back.

June 11 update: Click here for the writeup from the Mississauga News, which also published the photo below.
Joining Mayor Hazel McCallion are, from left, VP of Research at the University of Toronto Mississauga Ulli Krull, Financial Post journalist and speaker Richard Spence, Mississauga Business Times Editor Rick Drennan, MPP Mississauga-Streetsville Bob Delaney, Rick Holden of Best Buy (Witty) Insurance, Rick Fine of RMF Design, Peel Region Chairman Emil Kolb and Mississauga Board of Trade Chair Jake Dheer.

More on the PROFIT 100

If you want more information on PROFIT Magazine's new list of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies (see previous post), here are the most likely links.

Click here for the "overview" story that explains what the PROFIT 100 is and what it means.

Click here for the PROFIT 100 rankings.

Here are the listings on a handy downloadable Excel spreadsheet.

Here's the profile of the No. 1 company. I was pleased to be asked to write it.

Here's Cam Cornell's story on P100 best management practices. Lots of great ideas you can borrow.

And here is the Next 100 - Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies, #101-200.

The magazine includes some enlightening interviews with past PROFIT 100 entrepreneurs, in celebration of the PROFIT 100's 20th anniversary. I'll let you know when they post that. (Or you can buy it on the newsstand in handy paper form.)

The issue also includes editor Ian Portsmouth's editorial grumbling about the year that PROFIT ranked 300 companies. So it wasn't one of my better ideas...

But it was 2000. That's the sort of thing people did back then.

Who are Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies?

My column in today’s National Post takes a look at the PROFIT 100, the list of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies that was just published by PROFIT Magazine.

(First, thanks to my Post editors, for letting me analyze another publisher’s project. Too often these days, the media giants cover mainly their own media partners [e.g., Globe and CTV, Canwest and Global TV], and ignore the worthwhile stuff in competing media.)

The PROFIT 100 tells us a lot about today’s economy: where the opportunities are, and why entrepreneurship is a much more dynamic force than your parents ever taught you it would be. The 100 companies on the PROFIT 100 enjoyed average five-year revenue growth of 1,800%. Only a handful of these companies existed 20 years ago, but now they account for $7.9 billion in export revenues.

A full 42% provide business services; just 19 are in manufacturing. There are 12 software developers, and lots of companies providing other high-tech products and services, including Research in Motion, which placed on the list for a record-tying eighth time.

But the No. 1 company is a daycare supplier: Kids & Company, of Markham, Ont., which had five-year growth of 12,639%.

Proof that opportunity is everywhere.

You can read my Post column here.

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Part 88

Here’s the newest entry in our ongoing series of motivational quotes, personally selected to get your week off to an entrepreneurial start.

Today, a bugle call for entrepreneurs everywhere:

“He who does something at the head of one regiment will eclipse him who does nothing at the head of a hundred.”

Abraham Lincoln
1809-1865

(Little-known fact: Lincoln was an unsuccessful storekeeper in New Salem, Ill., before he became America's greatest president. You see, being an entrepreneur is tougher than most people think.)

Apropos of our previous post, about dealing with No’s, Lincoln lost more elections than he won. Even as he awaited the result of his first race for a seat in the Illinois legislature in 1832, Lincoln wrote: "If the good people in their wisdom shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too familiar with disappointment to be much chagrined." Persistence paid off when he won his first election two years later. At the age of 25.

About those No's

I wanted to share one other insight from Rory Sheehan, a trainer and sales coach who spoke at last week’s Innovation Forum presented by Enterprise Toronto. (Also see previous post.)

Sheehan had some good advice on dealing with prospects who say “No.”

“A lot of people are going to say ‘No’ to you,” says Sheehan. “Usually, it’s just a knee-jerk reaction; they're saying ‘No’ out of force of habit.”

Never take the “no’s” personally. "It’s not about you or your product,” says Sheehan. These auto-responders don't understand your proposition, and haven't given it much (if any) thought.

It’s just like when you go into a store and a clerk asks if they can help you. You probably say “No, thank you, just looking,” even if you're intending to buy something. It’s a conditioned reflex.

You can't let the “No’s” discourage you, says Sheehan, who reminded his audience of aspiring innovators that when Ross Perot was founding EDS, he endured 87 No’s before he got his first Yes.

It’s all about persistence - and confidence, Sheehan says. No matter how great you think you are (or your product is), “you have to be prepared to get a whole bunch of No’s before you get a Yes.”

Business Blunders, Management Mistakes

I’m pleased to announce a new blog in the family.

You may already know that in addition to Canadian Entrepreneur, I also write a blog called Selling to Small Business (recently redesigned for your enjoyment).

This week I am launching a third blog, New Management Welcome. As forecast in a post on Canadian Entrepreneur three months ago, New Management Welcome is a light-hearted look at typical business blunders and bad decisions – any one of which could prompt the exclamation, “New Management Welcome.”

The inspiration for the title came from an actual restaurant sign I spotted in March. It just seemed the right title for a blog that looks at what happens when management drops the ball.

Among the early posts you’ll find on the new blog are an airline website that misses the mark, the waitress that got laid off after shaving her head for charity, and actual video of an employee going berserk.

You’ll want to bookmark the site and return often. There’ll be a new business lesson in every post.

Click here for a warm Welcome.

Three questions to ask your prospects

I just came back from attending a few morning sessions at Enterprise Toronto’s “Innovation Forum.” I was impressed with speaker Rory Sheehan, a Toronto-based trainer and sales consultant.

His job was simple: teach a bunch of innovators and innovators to think like salespeople. Simple, like swimming up Niagara Falls.

The first thing, says Sheehan, is to forget selling “benefits.” People don't care about benefits, he says: they just want to know whether your product or service will solve their problem.

(I’m not sure I accept this blanket statement, but I certainly agree that you can't start selling benefits until you understand your prospect’s key concerns. Saying that your dual-voltage appliance will work in North America and Europe is pointless if the client has no intention of going to Europe.)

Whether you are selling high-tech solutions or women’s shoes, Sheehan offers this valuable formula: “Ask every prospect three things.”

1. What is most important to you about … (your product or service, or, better still, whatever problem your product is trying to solve)?

2. What part of that answer is most important to you? (Shifting your understanding to a deeper level.)

3. If you get that (whatever it is you say you want), what is it going to do for you? (This relates to prospects’ motivations, and may help them sell themselves on your solution.)

Shannon offers a bonus question – another useful, open-ended question that can help you probe the customer’s problem or objectives: “Have you ever experienced ….?”

If you’re selling shoes, for instance, you might ask if the customer has ever experienced a real high-end luxury brand, or has ever had a problem with too-high heels. Either way, you will learn more about your customer and get more clues on how to solve their problem.

Obama's Leadership Moment

Barack Obama has just secured the Democratic nomination. A victory of style over substance, to my way of thinking, but we'll see how he does now in the main event - vs the Republicans.

In his speech tonight on St. Paul, Minn., he did an outstanding job positioning himself as a leader by praising his former rivals. You can learn a lot about leadership and graciousness from his remarks:

"At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better..."

"Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight..."

"You can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory... Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honour to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton."

Good leaders also know how to manage criticism and transform it into strengths. Here's how Obama redefined success:

"There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation."

See what he did there?

I was disappointed, though, in Obama's take on the economy. As the candidate for "change," he should be in the forefront of supporting the new economy and promoting innovation. Instead he gives us standard NDP rhetoric: "Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it."

That may play on Main Street, but it's not the message America needs to hear. It's innovation and productivity that creates wealth, not "workers" (sorry, Karl Marx). Until North Americans truly understand that clock-punching "workers" are now just a globally outsourceable commodity, value creation will continue to shift overseas.

Obama did give a shout-out to "improving our schools, and renewing our commitment to science and innovation." Let's hope he builds on that over the next five months.

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 87

The latest entry in our ongoing series of motivational quotes, personally selected to get your week off to an inspired start.

This week: an ode to perseverance from Calgary's prairie prophet.

“If your luck isn't what it should be, write a “P” in front of it and try again.”

Robert (Bob) Edwards, editor of the Calgary Eye-Opener
Jan. 13, 1912

Your Next Big Export Opportunity?

Three years ago I worked on a feature for PROFIT Magazine about opportunities for Canadian exporters in Nigeria. Some people snickered.

Chronically broke, tragically and corruptly misgoverned, Nigeria has been the poster boy for failed African regimes. In fact, with its difficulties enforcing the law and its subsequent reputation as ground zero for spam Internet scams – not to mention its inability to secure its own oil refineries from terrorists – Nigeria had become a laughing stock.

A sad fate for an English-speaking country of 140 million people brimming with natural resources. In 2004, per capita GDP was just $430, compared to $444 in 1977.

But all that may be changing. An article from INSEAD, the France-based international business school, sees reassuring signs at last of a turnaround in Nigeria.

* The crackdown on corruption has led to the seizure of $5 billion in assets for the state.

* With the election in 2007 of president Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria has now held three elections in a row without a coup d’état – which some observers consider a signal to invest.

* Government fiscal reforms have broken the link between oil prices and government spending. Between 2003 and 2006, foreign reserves increased fivefold to about $38 billion. (They're now around $$60 billion.) The government is nearly debt-free. (Take that, George Bush!)

* Since 2003, Nigeria’s GDP growth has averaged about 7% a year.

* Despite record-high oil prices, non-oil revenue is playing a bigger role. Agriculture contributes 42% of Nigeria's GDP.

There are still challenges, to be sure, including inadequate power supplies, roads and public transportation, and issues around the enforcement of contracts and a national ID system. But with improved governance and rising revenues, these issues can now be addressed.

Oil infrastructure, roads, transit, agriculture, power, the beginnings of a stable banking system. Opportunities for Canadian exporters, engineers and service providers?

What do you think?

Read the complete story here.

Related story: Can Western business afford to ignore Africa any longer?

Great Marketing Resources

Get more sales!
Here are a few useful marketing resources and tipsheets that have wended my way this week:

How to create a winning domain: Toronto copywriter Simon Smith advises how to name your website, promote your brand, and win traffic through search engines. A good primer or a useful refresher.

Tagline Tips: MarketingProfs opine on how to create a unique and bold tagline for your business. They say your tagline should:
* Represent the spirit of your brand.
* Apply specifically to you, and not to anyone else.
* Involve risk: an unexpected rhyme, word choice or attitude.
* and Speak to your target audience, and aim to prompt an action.
Click here for more.

36 Blogs on Brand Experience: Fun reading from Sean Moffit’s BuzzCanuck blog. Because success starts with your customer’s experience.

I didn't make it to the Mesh Conference last week on Social Media Marketing. It’s the always interesting coming together of social mediopaths trying to guide us through the brave new world of blogs, podcasts, web video and online brand-building. For a look back at the future of marketing, check out co-organizer Mathew Ingram’s blogpost here. It sums up where you can find summaries, videos, liveblogs and even Twitter Posts of this year’s Mesh presentations.

In the digital future, everything lives forever.

Another right bites the dust

Good story today in The Globe & Mail on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's possible plans to ban motorists from talking on cellphones - and playing with other electronic equipment, such as Blackberries and GPS units.

Interesting stats in the story:

Quebec's coroner's office has blamed cellphones for 24 fatal car crashes in the province between 2000 and 2006. In the United States, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that driver distraction contributes to about one-quarter of all collisions.

In the past I have written in defence of cell phone drivers. I consider the cell phone the single most important tool in creating the entrepreneurial revolution of the1980s. The magical ability to be in two places at once - keeping tabs on the office while driving to sales calls - suddenly doubled (or tripled) the productivity and capability of individual entrepreneurs, leveraging their time and enabling them to compete more evenly with much bigger organizations.

When New York became the first U.S. state to ban drivers from using handheld cellphones in 2001, I thought it was a huge mistake. As other states (New Jersey, Washington), cities (Chicago) and provinces (Newfoundland, Quebec, Nova Scotia) followed suit, I shook my head and figured, "Oh well - this just gives entre-preneurs in Ontario a competitive edge."

I still don't like shackling entrepreneurs in this way. But like many other people, I no longer oppose this legislation. I've seen too many lazy, stupid drivers wandering out of their lanes or braking suddenly while they try to dial their phones. And whenever I pass cars on the highway that are weaving or driving erratically, the drivers are almost always chatting on the phone.

And yes, my own experience tells me that my concentration diminishes when I talk on the phone while driving. Unlike many people, I avoid complex conversations on the cell, since I know I can't concentrate on both tasks at the same time.

Just last week a car beside me was all over the road, slowing down and speeding up randomly. I looked over as I passed and saw the driver, head down and looking to her right, seeking a document while she clutched a cellphone - along with the wheel - in her other hand.

Big Brother, take away another freedom. We seem unable to use our rights responsibly.

Click here to read today's Globe article, or the 197 accompanying comments.

And feel free to comment here on the topic as well. Can you drive responsibly while holding the phone? Do you think the government should legislate away this right? Will it (or does it) affect your business?

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 86

The latest entry in our ongoing series of motivational quotes, personally selected to get your week off to an inspired start. This week: recruiting lessons from one of Canada’s greatest entrepreneurial heroes.

“We don't motivate people. We hire and train motivated people.”
Isadore Sharp, founder and CEO of Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.

When Sharp opened his first luxury resort hotel in Hawaii, he wasn't satisfied with hiring staff from the local labour pool. So he sent recruiters into the sugar cane fields to find motivated workers who really wanted to upgrade their lifestyle and learn new skills.

Four Season’s insistence on quality service has helped it transform from one Toronto hotel in 1960 to 76 hotels in 32 countries, with more than 30 new properties now under development. Issy Sharp has headed the company for nearly 50 years.

Communicating with Dragons - or anybody else

Across Canada, dozens of excited entrepreneurs are nervously preparing the pitches they will deliver to the Dragons when CBC’s Dragons' Den show starts taping next week.

One of them called me this week about helping prepare her pitch. So we talked. And I was pleased to see that a six-step formula I use for helping entrepreneurs market their business works just as well in pitching to fire-breathing multi-millionaires.

That formula: Know your objectives; Understand your audience; Identify your message; Communicate it as concisely and effectively as you can (painting word pictures where possible); Find creative, memorable ways to communicate; and Encourage audience feedback.

Here’s what we did:

1. I asked the entrepreneur to identify her objectives. Did she really want to win Dragon capital, was she out for the publicity, or did she want to win the “people’s choice” award of $75,000 cash?

2. Once we settled that, we determined how to reach our goal. We decided we needed to present the most credible pitch we could. We didn't want to shock, surprise, or impress anyone with our arrogance. In the context of Dragons’ Den, that meant three things: positioning the business as a legitimate growth opportunity; presenting the entrepreneur as a credible, capable business decision-maker; and explaining why the Dragons’ participation would make a big difference.

We even ended up changing the amount of money the entrepreneur would ask for, to ensure it matched our strategic goal.

3. We then wrote up a one-page pitch that met those three criteria. That meant discarding a lot of details about the business and “future plans” that would be nice to mention, but aren't essential when you only have a minute or two to pitch. Knowing that the Dragons may interrupt and start throwing questions at you after 15 seconds helps concentrate the mind wonderfully.

4. Once we knew what we wanted to say, we focused on how to say it memorably. That meant using specific, visual imagery and examples – and the occasional saucy quip - that will resonate in people’s minds and help this entrepreneur make a direct connection with the Dragons. We also worked on concise, focused descriptions of what the business does – a new set of verbal branding tools – to help her make a more professional impact.

5. Then we took that a step further by developing a creative framework for the presentation: an introductory “hook” that would create immediate reactions and invoke favorable impressions. To communicate with impact, you have to stand out from the crowd.

6. There’s one thing you can count on in the Dragons’ Den: feedback. We thought carefully about what the Dragons might say and the questions they might ask, and we incorporated many of the answers back into the presentation (to discourage interruptions until she’s finished her pitch). We also took a little content out of the presentation and held it back for the Q&A session, so the entrepreneur would have some creative, credible responses ready to go.

Will it work? I think so. Thinking strategically about your messaging always pays off. If a message is worth communicating, take the time to focus it, and then deliver it in a memorable way.

But we’ll all know for sure when the Dragons return to TV in October.

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 85

Here's the latest installment in our ongoing series of motivational quotes, personally selected to get your week off to an inspired start.

This week: an invitation for you to change the world. From a rock star.

"The world is more malleable than you think. And it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape."

Bono

(Paul David Hewson, born 10 May 1960: activist, occasional entrepreneur, and main vocalist of the Irish rock band U2.)

Indiana Jones and the Entrepreneurial Poll Results

If you're excited about the imminent return of Indiana Jones, or even if you're not, please answer the question on my Summer Movie Poll on the right side of the page (about halfway down). I have a theory about the entrepreneurial mind and the movies, and I'm eager to see what you think.

(No, I'm not going to tell you my theory now. I don't want to bias the results.)

The Summer Movie Poll will be up until late June.

In the meantime, here are the results of our April-May poll: "Would you encourage your child to pursue entrepreneurship?"

29% of respondents said "Are you crazy? I want my kid to have a real job and a good future."

46% of people said, "Of course. Future jobs will be scarce or temporary anyway."

14% said "Doesn't matter to me. It's their life."

And 3% said, "No kids yet." Then they probably went off on a Greek cruise.

Another Great Moment in Marketing

Eclectic Montreal blogger Stephen David Wark posted recently about an eBay purchase that went wrong. To help sort things out, he e-mailed PayPal about the situation.

They weren't much help, since he had missed the 45-day deadline for taking action. (He had spent much of that time trying to deal with the seller.)

Even so, he was slightly shocked to receive the following e-mail from a PayPal rep:

“Thank you for contacting us. I am sorry to hear about (briefly repeat member’s situation).”

As Wark notes, "It’s good to know that Paypal is supposed to pretend to care, but they’re just too lazy."

What is leadership?

I've had some positive feedback on my rant on leadership in the Financial Post this week.

I call it a rant because I was tired of meeting entrepreneurs (and other business leaders) who just don't get what true leadership is all about. Just being "in charge" doesn't make you a leader, any more than wearing a geeky green gown makes you a doctor.

"Real" leadership requires vision, a plan, empathy and collaboration. It requires a little more effort on your part than giving orders and awaiting results.

Or as I said in Monday's article:

"Leadership is the art of aligning people behind a goal. It's the ability to persuade people to share objectives, and help them find joy and pride in accomplishing things together;
- It is not about accomplishing things yourself. It's about communicating: creating hope and empowering others to act."

For the full story, click here.
(I apologize that the Post's method of uploading stories to the Web eliminates some of the bullet points and paragraph breaks. I will bring it to their attention.)

Last Call in Calgary, and Founders' Error

Contrary to last week's post, there is one more audition for Dragons' Den. Aspiring Alberta entrepreneurs will be pleased to know the CBC TV show is returning to Calgary on May 16 for one more day of pitching.

If you want to face the Dragons, head to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce's historic headquarters at 100 6th Avenue SW (4th Floor), from 11 AM to 4 PM. (Seems that the CBC producers' trip to Calgary last month coincided with the Great April Blizzard, so they're back to give you one more chance.
For more info on registering or auditioning online, click here.

Last Saturday (May 10) I played "deputy dragon" again at the Toronto auditions. It was a high-energy day with lots of great pitches. If I don't find time to blog about it in full, here's one thought: more entrepreneurs need to be more aware of where they add value.

One question I asked the pitchers quite often on Saturday was: "Why are you the right person to make this business succeed?" Or, "Why should the Dragons want to work with you?"

Ironically, the only person to answer this well was a former civil servant now promoting medical tourism. He was was able to concisely describe his background, his vision, and how both help create significant competitive advantages.

Most of the pitchers who answered this question committed the classic "Founders' Error": they assumed that starting the business gives them some innate edge in running it successfully. Many people answered my question by saying they have the "vision." They are hard workers; they have the desire.

Of course, all of these are definite assets, good things to have on your team. But none of them are as important as industry knowledge, management experience, a track record of achievement and execution, or experience working successfully with investors. This is what Dragons and angels and other venture investors are looking for. Your love for your idea is a minor plus, but it is not a competitive advantage. In some cases, if you're the type of person who falls in love with your own ideas, it can even be a disadvantage.

Step back from your business. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Understand where you are adding the most value. Make sure you know how to explain what your unique abilities are. And let us know how you are addressing your weak points.

Entrepreneurial passion is not enough. If you can objectively assess your tangible contributions to the business, the more chance you have of a) landing outside investment, and b) succeeding in your marketplace.

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 84

Here's the latest installment in our series of motivational quotes, personally selected to get your week off to an inspired start.

This week: Ode to a universe ruled by chance, not design. And happy surprises.

"We need more tinkering: Uninhibited, aggressive, proud tinkering. We need to make our own luck. We can be scared and worried about the future, or we can look at it as a collection of happy surprises that lie outside the path of our imagination. "

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, applied statistician and derivatives trader-turned-philosopher/essayist; author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.

A former managing director and worldwide head of financial option arbitrage at CIBC-Wood Gundy, Taleb is described by Wikipedia as "a polymath scholar of randomness and knowledge... As a pioneer of complex financial derivatives, he had as a day job a lengthy senior trading and financial mathematics career in New York City, before he started a second career as a scholar in the epistemology of chance events."

Taleb is the morning keynote speaker tomorrow (May 13) at the Ontario Centres of Excellence conference, Discovery 08.

I certainly agree with Taleb's point that the randomness of success needs to be better understood. As he wrote on Forbes.com last year:

"Things, it turns out, are all too often discovered by accident--but we don't see that when we look at history in our rear-view mirrors. The technologies that run the world today (like the Internet, the computer and the laser) are not used in the way intended by those who invented them. Even academics are starting to realize that a considerable component of medical discovery comes from the fringes, where people find what they are not exactly looking for."

Losing Focus – Anyone can do it!

What’s going on, Starbucks?

Ted Matthews and his team of “brand coaches” at Toronto-based Instinct Brand Equity are accusing the international coffee chain of losing sight of its true self in its quest for growth. Of course, it’s the same problem that besets many companies that lose sight of basic values and operations as they grow.

“You’ve really been screwing up,” they tell Starbucks this week in their newsletter, Instinct. “Your stock price has halved in 52 weeks. You’re closing stores — terribly humbling for a company that has 16,000 units and wants 40,000 to cover the planet."

The grounds for Instinct’s complaint? “Bad service, poor product and dirty stores: these are the issues ruining your experience, your profitability, your Brand.

“You have too many staff with inadequate training, and substandard hires who lack a positive attitude.”

They also take aim at coffee temperatures (“the same drink can be lukewarm on one visit and tongue-burning the next”) and stale sandwiches.

The Brand Coaches conclude that Starbuck’s emphasis on growth has shifted its focus “from a consistent, high-quality coffee experience to a massive construction project.”

Their advice: “Focus on pleasing your customers — not the stock market.”

I reprint these comments in detail because I love to see companies called out publicly for non-performance – especially when it’s by people who truly love those businesses, and just want them to rediscover what made them great.

The question for you is: why would your best clients say about your standards, your attention to detail, your brand? Are you still putting the emphasis on customers, or are you being distracted by selfish concerns of your own?

What would a Brand Coach say about you?

(For more info on Instinct, see www.instinctbrandequity.com
To read their newsletter, click here.)

Last Call!

Want to be on Dragons’ Den? Your last two chances are coming up. There will be in-person auditions Saturday, May 10 in Halifax and Toronto.

Venues: Centre for Entrepreneurship Education & Development, Halifax
- or the CBC Broadcast Centre in downtown Toronto.

(Warning: If you come out to the Toronto audition, you may get me as your Deputy Dragon. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Or just drop by and say Hi!)

For more information on the in-person auditions, or on the web auditions which continue till May 31, go here.

“The dirty secret is that most businesses hate the Internet”

My column in today’s Financial Post is a must-read. Not because of any brilliance on my part, but because of the rant – er, crusade, by a fomer CBC comedian turned web guru.

Paul Chato is one of The Frantics (second from right), a young, edgy comedy troupe about 25 years ago. (Now they're back, but they're not so young. But then, who is?) His company, Electramedia, sells an easy-to-use website platform to companies such as Mercedes-Benz. But he also sells web services to small business, and it’s driving him crazy.

“The dirty secret is that most small businesses hate the Internet and don't know what to do with it,” he says. “The only reason they have a site is because their competition has one. They have no idea how to make it work because it requires money and attention.”

He also says (and this didn't make it into the column), that business people hate the Web because it involves two commodities that they don't understand: technology and content. He claims 60% of businesses in Canada do not have websites, and “the ones who do have terrible sites.”

And it’s all because “Canadian companies view websites as an expense rather than an investment.”

Chaot says that a successful small business website isn't just about “your stupid product,” but about what the company stands for. He sees websites as the absolute centrepiece of marketing and brand management. Your site should reflect who you are and what you value – not just what you do.

His handy formula: “Show. Do. Tell.”

I've told you enough. You can read the rest of the story here.

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 83

Here's the latest installment in our series of motivational quotes, personally selected to get your week off to an inspired start.

"How well we communicate is determined not by how well we say things, but by how well we are understood."

Andy Grove, CEO, Intel Corporation

Inundated with Innovators

Sadly, work kept me from attending this week's Canadian Innovation Exchange. It brought together venture capitalists and other interested service providers with 20 hot companies looking for financing or other support. Like a high-class Dragons' Den, but with more class and (mostly) less sarcasm.

The "Canadian Innovation Leader’ Award went to Toronto-based startup Octopz Inc.(http://www.octopz.com/), which develops advanced online collaboration technologies for creative professionals.

No, I don't know what that means either. It's from the press release. When I went to their website, they didn't do a good job of explaining it either. (How ironic. I guess they do a better job presenting live than on the Web.) But I did learn this:

"Octopz allows you to work collaboratively on an unprecedented range of document types that includes static content (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and images such as jpgs) and rich digital media, such as videos, audio, animations, Flash files, and 360º panoramas.
"Octopz has easy-to-use templates for managing and building advanced media content, making it simple for users to create their own custom content."

In the release, Octopz CEO Ron McKenzie says this: “We are thrilled to win this award, which ideally positions us for the next phase of growth.”
It also says: "MacKenzie swayed attending delegates with an impressive and polished presentation that described the platform’s ability to accelerate decision making and speed-to-market for companies in the advertising, design and media sectors."

Pictured is the company mascot. His name is Inky.

The runner-up was Montreal-based Akoha Inc. (http://www.akoha.org/), with a presentation for a massive multi-player reality game that just recently received $1.9 million in angel funding.

The 20 companies in the CIX showcase were shortlisted from over 100 applicants by a committee of leading investors. The award winner was determined by a vote among attending delegates conducted through text messaging.

Now that's innovative!

CIX will returning next year as an annual event.
For more information on CIX and the CIX Award winners, go to http://www.canadianinnovationexchange.com/.Video content from CIX is available on blip.tv. Go to http://www.blip.tv/ and search CIX or visit the showpage at http://cix.blip.tv/#872746.

Magna, Manga and the Rising Sun

Speaking of exporting… (see previous post), the Globe’s Marcus Gee has an eye-opening article today on Japan. Basically, he’s reminding Canadian business people that in their rush to make their fortune in China, they shouldn't ignore the opportunities in the land of the rising sun.

Marcus dug up these facts you may not have known:

* Japan is still the world's second biggest economy, bigger than China and India combined.
* Greater Tokyo alone has a larger gross domestic product than China.
* Canadian high-tech exports to Japan are growing 15% a year. More than 60 Canadian high-tech companies are now based in Japan - surpassing the number of companies in more traditional export sectors such as agriculture and resources.
* Between 1994 and 2006, the share of Japanese imports from Canada in non-resource areas - aerospace, pharmaceuticals, machinery, consumer goods – has risen to 9.5% of total trade from 4.5%.
* “Magna and other Canadian car parts companies are active in Japan, as are more than 20 Canadian software companies, some of them exploiting the thriving animation business around Japanese comic forms such as anime and manga.”

Gee says all kinds of opportunities beckon to Canadian entrepreneurs: in financial services (Manulife Financial is a winner there), medical services, elder care, and pharmaceuticals. And also in high-end fashion, outdoor wear and cosmetics, biotech and nanotech, aerospace, and environmental industries.

Rightly, he admits there are still many barriers to doing business in Japan. “Its efforts at reforming and deregulating the economy to make it more flexible and more open to foreign interests have been halting at best. Since the departure of reforming prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, they seem to have run out of steam altogether.”

Still, he concludes, as industrialized democracies, "Canada and Japan have lots in common - more, you could argue, than Canada and China. They should start showing it.”

Until it slips behind the dreaded pay wall, you can read Marcus’s column here.

Going Global - Together

It’s a big day here at Canadian Entrepreneur. We’re launching the first in a three-episode series of podcasts from UPS Canada on business growth and exporting.

To quote the official release:

"Reaching out a helping hand to Canada’s small business market, UPS Canada today announced the launch of a new advice-oriented podcast series called Logistically Speaking. Hosted by Canadian small business expert, journalist and blogger Rick Spence, the podcasts will be available for download through iTunes and other podcast directories, as well as on UPS.com.

“We’re always on the lookout for new ways to reach Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), providing them with advice to help them stay competitive in today’s global marketplace,” said Greg Kane, vice-president of communications for UPS Canada. “With limited time and resources on their hands, we felt a podcast would be an ideal way to reach out to busy entrepreneurs and offer downloadable tips and tools for improving their businesses.”

UPS deserves a lot of credit on this project. This is not a “sell”-- it’s an attempt to provide information that real people need. The focus is on information, and there’s good information here if you give it a listen.

Of course, if enough people listen to the podcast, we'll do more of them.

And it’s on iTunes. Next maybe I’ll be hanging out with Bono at the Grammies.

In this month's episode, I’m interviewing Justine Hendricks, Regional Vice-President of Small Business Sales, Export Development Canada, on the topic: Why Go Global? Lots of great info and inspiration from a woman who knows her stuff.

You can hear or download the 'cast here. It’ll take you 10 minutes to listen.
Let me know what you think.

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 82

Here's the latest instalment in our series of motivational quotes, personally selected to get your week off to an inspired start.

This week: management advice from a Candian icon who never really managed much, but seems to have developed good instincts.

As a leader, "You've got to cultivate the ability of your colleagues... It's very important to have strong people around you."

Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada
quoted in today's National Post

Canwest journalist Peter O'neil interviewed Campbell in her Paris flat, which she shares with husband Hershey Felder. Now "a consultant and roving public speaker," she calls current PM Stephen Harper a control freak and urges him to lighten up if he ever wants to win a majority.

While she believes the Harper government has been "quite competent," she worries about Harper's "controlling" tendencies. "Maybe he doesn't trust the ability of his ministers, but I think it's very important to have strong people around you."

That's good advice for any leader. If you want your organization to have a future, empower the people around you.

Campbell also suggests that Harper make better use of another key leadership tool: communication. She says his party is stuck at 40% in the polls because Canadians are nervous about the potential impact of the many social conservatives in his caucus.

"Maybe what he needs to do is be a little bit franker about what he would do if he got a majority government."

Absolutely. Secrets create uncertainty and suspicion. Shared visions create trust and credibility.

Are You ETDBW?

How easy are you to do business with?

In this day of unfettered and increasing competition, your ability to distinguish yourself through being “easy to do business with” could become a strategic differentiator. But first, you have to be genuinely customer-focused: you have to put the customer's needs ahead of your own.

That's harder to do than it sounds. Every organization has rules and policies for its own health that interfere with its ability to satisfy customers quickly and efficiently. Think of companies that rush to market with buggy software, hoping to make up for it with updates later; products with warranties that aren't what they seem, with the truth buried in the print; retail stores with spotty inventory records and untrained staff who can't tell you the difference between Product A and Product B; and companies that make you regret ever doing business with them at all when you try to make a return or exchange.

My column in this month’s PROFIT magazine looks at ways to make your business “easier to do business with.” To remind you that bad service is still all around us, the article also recounts the ludicrous story of a company that put one barrier after another in front of me when I went to it for help.

How do you lead your business on the path to being Easy to do Business With?

* Look internally first. Find out where your own people are “roadblocked,” where your own rules prevent them from helping customers.

* Analyze your business from the client's point of view. Survey your customers, track their complaints or ask your front-line people what’s preventing their prospects from buying more. They'll have lots to tell you.

* Empower your employees to take the customer’s side. Seattle-based department-store chain Nordstrom reduced its employees handbook to one rule: “Use your good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.”

Read the full story here.

"My name is Rick and I'll be your interrogator today"

Here's the link to today's Financial Post column recounting my experiences at the Dragons' Den auditions.

In this article I give the CBC TV show credit for raising "investor awareness" among Canadian entrepreneurs:"

"Dragons' Den is doing a great job educating Canadian innovators about the cruel realities of markets. This was my second stint as a deputy dragon. I was delighted to see pitches were much stronger than last year. The essential message of capitalism is getting through: To win investors' support, you must know your market and offer a return that more than compensates the risk. Pitchers are talking more about the size of the opportunity, market growth and
return on investment."

Of course, nobody's perfect. I found 5 common errors that should be taken into account by anyone pitching business ideas and opportunities:

* Not clearly stating what you want.
* Putting too much faith in the idea.
* Failing to differentiate your product.
* Not selling yourself.
* Taking too long.

Read the article here.

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 81

Here's your motivational quote of the week, personally guaranteed to give your week an inspired start.

This week: a quote from "name-withheld." I just thought it did a great job summarizing the entrepreneurial condition.

Last week I was chatting with an entrepreneur who was glorying in his discovery of the value of financial statements. It turns out they're not a chore at all -- they're fabulous tools for planning, managing and reviewing your business! This was a revelation to my contact, who had been shunning budgets and P&Ls until his accountant finally sat him down and set him straight.

Why didn't he get on this sooner? Here's his quote:

"I’m one of those people that if I don’t understand how to do it, I just avoid it till it hurts."

I think he's speaking for thousands of Canadian entrepreneurs when he explains what held him back. And it shows just how important it is to educate your audience if you want them to get the most out of your products and services.

Memo to the accounting industry: there's a huge opportunity for you to help small business owners strengthen their businesses by entering the information economy - simply by helping them set up get the right forms and reports for their business.

Mandie Crawford, president of Roaring Women, was saying the other day on our Internet radio show that she encountered many entrepreneurs on her recent coaching tour who are totally clueless when it comes to bookkeeping and accounting. Some said they haven't even filled out a tax return in years.

Maybe we need an Accounting Amnesty Day: come out of the woods, talk to a professional, get your books back in order, get your business back on track. Stop hiding. End the pain. Because eventually it will really hurt.

Never Ask for an Audit

It’s spring, so entrepreneurs’ minds are naturally filled with thoughts of – taxes.

Visa Canada’s small business site has a slew of articles targeted at Canadian entrepreneurs, but none is more timely than “Beat the Taxman,” by Roger Pierce of BizLaunch.ca.

He reminds us that financing your taxes isn't just a chore in small business: it’s also a revenue opportunity. “Having business income gives you more options for tax reductions than a T4 slip... (But) without proper knowledge, tax reduction can quickly become tax evasion.”

Here are Roger’s top timely tax tips:

Organize. “Speak to your accountant. Learn how they want to receive your information, which reports are useful and how you should organize your back-up material.”
Know your Deductions. “You can deduct all reasonable expenses that you incur for the sole purpose of earning business income…. and keep the evidence for six years.”
Use tax splitting as a way of reducing tax liability
Employ your family
Draw a salary package that minimizes your tax liability.
Talk to your accountant about such “pleasant tax surprises” as :

* Using a provision for bad debts as a means of deferring the payment of tax.
* Certain household expenses are deductible if you work from home.
* If you operate as a sole proprietor, you can apply losses against other income.

And in the category of “Don't Even Think About It,” Roger reminds you not to cheat by trying to deduct:
* Personal and domestic expenses not eligible for the "business-use-of-home" deduction
* Investments purchased for personal use
* Fines for illegal acts, including traffic violations, and professional fees paid to defend these fines in court
As Roger warns, “Attempt to include the wrong deductions and you may be asking for an audit.”

Click here to read the article at Visa.ca
Click here for more on Bizlaunch’s services for entrepreneurs

What drives the world’s richest man?

Nick Kuzyk, an MBA student at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, was one of a handful of Western students who traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to meet with the world’s savviest investor – Warren Buffett – on March 31. I just now discovered Nick’s short blog, which chronicles his preparation for the trip, and the meeting itself.

Kuzyk was impressed with Buffett’s plain-spoken modesty and honesty. In his post about the visit, he says he didn't really learn anything specific from the man – even though Kuzyk cannily arranged the seating so he would be right across the table from Buffett throughout lunch. (Buffett had a double-sized root beer float for dessert, and yes, he picked up the tab.)

But as Kuzyk struggled to find the meaning in the meeting, he came up with one beautiful image: “The overall moral that he taught us was that all the riches in the world are nothing if you can't stroll the streets of your hometown as did you when you were a kid.”

A little later, Kuzyk discovered a few more "takeaways" in a post he called “Key Learnings from the Oracle.” Here are five of the lessons he learned from meeting Warren Buffett.

* Brilliance is the ability to funnel a massive amount of information into a simple yes/no decision

* Being an inherent optimist is a key trait to success

* Start playing Bridge

* Happiness is tap dancing to work every day

* Success begets success. And it starts from the inside and flows out

For more of Kuzyk’s Lessons, click here.
To read his post, My time with Warren Buffett, click here.

How many hats do you wear?

Dan Bannister of OneWord Photography in Calgary takes great pictures and writes a pretty good blog, too.

In a recent post entitled “A Million Hats,” he wrote about the many different hats that a professional photographer must wear in order to be successful. Like most craftspeople who get into a job because they like doing the work (think artists, writers, composers, coaches, athletes, inventors, etc.), he finds himself spending surprisingly little time doing what he loves – and most of his time doing business “stuff”.

As he writes, “there is so much more to being a professional photographer that taking good pictures almost comes in near the bottom of the list of what it takes to run a successful photography business.”

Here are Dan's 9 hats:

* Web Designer
* Computer Tech (“Anyone trying to make money at photography today has to be pretty tech-savvy. As a result, the number of “Dummies” books I have is actually causing the shelves to sag.”)
* Accountant (“If you can’t keep track of what’s coming in and going out, the cold hard truth is, you’re not gonna make it.”)
* Salesperson (“The communications and marketing people at most typical corporate accounts don’t get the whole “artist” thing and they expect you to able to communicate and interact with them as a business person.")
* Marketing Guru (“You need to be good at this and you need to be consistent.”)
* Lawyer (“Sadly, you’re eventually going to run into the need for some legal advice… You’d be well served to at least know where the law library is in your town and know how to look up the fundamentals of whatever issue you’re dealing with.”)
* Secretary
* Travel Agent (“You gotta be able to get there and back on your own, feed and shelter yourself while on assignment, and do it all at a reasonable cost.”)

Oh yeah, says Dan. “You have to able to take decent pictures, too.”

Check out Dan’s blogpost here. (And browse his pics while you're there.)

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 80

Here is this week's motivational quote, personally selected to get you off to an inspired start.

This week: one of my favorite quotes from PROFIT Magazine's PROFIT 100 research in the 1990s.

"There are three kinds of service you can give to people. Less than they expected, which we call 'Yuck'; what they expected, which we call 'Blah'; and more than they expected, which is 'Wow'. We only deliver Wow."

Igor Korenzvit (IKOR Integrated Facilities Inc., office furniture dealer, Toronto)

What does Mr. Korenzvit mean by "wow" service? Here's what he told us:
" If somebody asks me to call them tomorrow, I call them today. If they want a price on a chair, I'll get them the price, and then tell them there are two other chairs that are just as good but cost less. If we're supposed to install 100 work stations in a week, we'll do it in four days. And then, we'll ask what else we can do, like moving their old furniture into the basement. You'd be surprised how many dealers wouldn't think of that."

How could your firm deliver "Wow Service"?

Recession Watch, part V

On the recession front, I just read an interesting report in a recent issue of Fortune magazine.

“Affordable luxury” brands such as Tiffany & Co. and Coach are suffering in the current U.S. economic slowdown. As the middle class trims its sails, upscale retailers are abandoning the mid-priced luxury market. In tight times, the middle is no place to be.

Examples: Coach recently announced it would shift 40 of its nearly 300 stores into a more exclusive format offering higher-end bags (no more $300 handbags for luxe-class wannabes) and personal concierge service.

Taking the opposite tack, Tiffany is opening a new California store that will forgo the Audrey Hepburn diamonds and focus on inexpensive jewelry, such as $200-and-under silver baubles.

Clearly, these marketers are betting that the high end and the low end will both do better than the muddy middle through the current economic slowdown.

What is your business doing to adjust to today’s emerging consumer realities?

How to Pitch a Dragon

Just a reminder that I’m scheduled to help out at the Dragons’ Den Toronto auditions tomorrow at the CBC Broadcast Centre downtown on Front Street.

The goal is to find entrepreneurs whose products, services or business ideas are worth putting in front of the real dragons on national TV when the show returns next fall. That means that both you and your ideas must be credible. (Unless you want to be one of those “comic relief” pitchers that the producers stick in occasionally for laughs!)

This is (mostly) serious business. You must be able to answer the questions that any investor would ask, anytime you pitch a business idea. And you have two minutes to do it.

Here are the 10 most important questions you're likely to be asked – on Dragons’ Den, or wherever you make a business pitch like this.

1. What is your product/service/idea? (Be able to answer this question in about 10 seconds).
2. Who/what is the market for this product?
3. How big is this market?
4. What makes this product different from its competitors?
5. What is proprietary about your idea? (i.e., what prevents someone from copying your idea?)
6. What research have you done to make sure this product will succeed?
7. How much outside capital does your business idea require? How much of your business are you prepared to offer in return for that money?
8. What will the money be used for?
9. How big can this business be?
10. Why are you there right person to make this work?

When I auditioned pitchers last year, I discovered that almost nobody could answer more than three of these questions. Note that this doesn't give you an excuse to cut corners - but it should give you some idea of the opportunity you have to stand out from the crowd!

Essential Advice: When pitching a project like this, prepare. Practice, practice, practice. Don't look or sound like you;re making this pitch for the first time.

And bring a high level of energy and passion to your presentation. If you can't get excited about this opportunity, why would anyone else?

To audition for Dragons' Den, or for a schedule of audition dates, click here.

A Cure for Inertia

I wrote a while ago about the dreaded disease known as entrepreneurial inertia. Well, here’s a cure.

Synnex Canada CEO Jim Estill, who blogs on time manstery and his peripatetic life at Time Leadership, wrote a recent post on “11 tricks for Self Discipline.” In it he reveals 11 ways he cajoles, bribes, tricks, tempts and compels himself to Get Stuff Done.

I won't spoil things by revealing all 11. But here are five.

1 - To add to the motivation, tie in an added reward. Take something you want and "reward yourself" if you do the task you want to discipline yourself to do.

2 - Same thing, but punish if you do not do it. Often punishment is more of an incentive than reward.

4 - Create an environment that supports what you want to do. If you always work in a specific place, you become acclimatized to it so it is easier.

10 - Work with a buddy. Often just having someone to hold us accountable makes us work harder.

11 - Track it. Ideally track it positively. Rather than lose weight, weigh X. What gets measured gets worked on. I write my workouts in a book.

Read Jim’s full post here.

Let someone else do it!

More and more I realize that the secret to running a successful business is delegating.

You already have too much to do. To succeed, business owners must: leverage their time and their strengths; empower and engage their employees by assigning challenging tasks that encourage initiative and creativity; and restrict their time on projects to simply adding that extra drop of value that only they can provide.

Otherwise, they will never develop their employees properly, create the mutual trust they need, or build a business that will ever reach its full potential.

How do you start delegating? MarketingProfs.com’s small business newsletter today has an article called, “Be a Super Delegator.” In it Jane Schulte, author of Work Smart, Not Hard!, offers six pointers for successful delegation:

* Start small, then increase delegation as skills develop.
* Define clear goals, deadlines and criteria for success.
* Provide all the needed resources and information.
* Give your subordinate full authority over the project.
* Offer guidance and advice without interfering.
* Focus on results, not the process.

If the project is successful, says Shulte, credit the person who got it done. If there was a problem, shield the subordinate from blame. "Learn from the experience so you can delegate more effectively, provide more training or delegate the next project to a different person," she says.

You can read the full article here.

Entrepreneurs' confidence sinks in U.S.

A Bloomberg story in today’s National Post reports that small business confidence has sunk to a 28-year low. Business owners say they're scaling back their hiring and spending plans.

The National Federation of Independent Business's "Optimism Index" declined last month from 92.9 in February to 89.6, the lowest reading since the second quarter of 1980.

"These are recession readings," says NFIB chief economist William Dunkelberg. "The sharp decline in job creation plans does not augur well for economic growth in the near term."

The share of owners expecting to create jobs over the next three months dropped 8 percentage points to 3%, the lowest reading since March 2003. Those expecting to spend more on new equipment and construction over the next six months fell 1 percentage point, to 25%.

You can read more depressing statistics here.

Continuing the recession theme, my column in yesterday’s Post dealt with marketing in tough times – a topic which now looks even more apt. While the business slowdown will be less pronounced in Canada than in the U.S., all marketers should be reviewing their budgets and revising their plans given the gloomy outlook in the U.S. (which is not only our nearest neighbour but by far our most important trading partner).

What should marketers do? Focus on direct marketing for faster payback. And tweak your approaches (and measure the results) so you know which initiatives, offers and pitches work best.
Here's the link to "Market wisely in tough times."

Best-Ever Entrepreneurship Quotes, Week 79

Here is your Monday motivational quote, personally selected to get your week off to an inspired start.

Today, a Canadian business guru on how leaders create an "innovation culture" in their companies:

"They’ve managed to instill a culture that has everyone thinking about what can be done – they are forward-oriented. It’s a culture in which people are thinking less about the problems that have occurred and more about the cool strategies that could be pursued. They don't run change-management workshops: they have strategic session on “growing the business.” It’s not an easy task, but innovative organizations have managed to get their people away from “right now” to “our next step.”

Jim Carroll, Mississauga, Ont. innovation expert and futurist, in his 2007 book, Ready, Set, Done.
http://www.jimcarroll.com/

Dragon Alert!

Canadian entrepreneurs, start your engines! Dragons’ Den is back, and on the road again.

Producers for the third season of CBC-TV’s Dragons’ Den are fanning out across the country this month and next to audition contestants for the show. Potential "pitchers" must have a promising business idea and be able to handle rejection and ridicule (not from the CBC staff, most likely, but from the Dragons themselves).

Here’s the newly released audition schedule:
Prince George, BC - April 7th at Prince George Civic Centre
Kingston, ON - April 8th at St. Lawrence College
Regina, SK - April 9th at Paul J. Hill School of Business, University of Regina
Saskatoon, SK - April 10th at Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan
Winnipeg, MB - April 12th at CBC Winnipeg
Toronto, ON - April 12th at CBC Toronto
Kitchener, ON - April 12th at The Accelerator Centre
London, ON - April 16th at Richard Ivey School of Business
Kelowna, BC - April 16th at Rotary Centre
Calgary, AB - April 18th &19th at Fairmont Palliser
Vancouver, BC - April 18th location TBD
Ottawa, ON - April 19th location TBD
Edmonton, AB - April 21st at CBC Edmonton
Victoria, BC - April 21st at Royal Roads University
Thunder Bay, ON - April 28th at Valhalla Inn
Sault Ste. Marie, ON - April 30th at Water Tower Inn
Montreal, QC - May 2nd location TBD
Moncton, NB - May 5th location TBD
St. John's, NL - May 5th at CBC St. John's
Cornerbrook, NL - May 8th location TBD
Charlottetown, PEI - May 8th at CBC Charlottetown
Halifax, NS - May 10th at Centre for Entrepreneurship Education & Development

I'm disappointed to see Summerside PEI has been dropped from the schedule this year, but hey, they've added the Soo! (See multiple Soo posts over the past week.)

I'll be helping out again at the Toronto audition on April 12. So if someone says, "Hi, my name's Rick and I'll be your interrogator this afternoon," you'll know it's me.

For audition details, click here
This year you can also "pitch" online. Click here for details.

For Sean Wise's instructional video on pro pitching, click here.
And click this way for my 2007 PROFIT column on my "Two Days in the Den."

Selling with your blog

A Canadian writer of electronic books wrote me the other day. He’s been writing a weekly blog to promote his wares, but it’s not doing much for him, and he wondered if I had any ideas.
Me? Ideas?
Here’s a slightly edited version of my reply. Many of the suggestions I made apply to just about any business, so I’m hoping it sparks a few ideas for you, too.

Hi, Bob (not his real name). I don't know much about the business of selling e-books, so I can only offer a few general observations.

1. I don't see a lot of links to your books in your blog. Surely when you mention one of your titles, you should link directly to the page where one can buy it. It's easy to do in most blogging platforms.

2. You seem to promote your books in every blogpost. I would suggest you tone it down. Why not write more about writing in general, or Shakespeare, or other books you like? Make sure people know you are interested in the conversation, not just in selling. That may also free you up to write more straightforward promotional posts - but not all the time!

3. Blogs work best when you engage your audience to contribute, too. Why not ask your readers to share their favorite books, poetry or places? Why not hold some sort of contest, and the winner gets to be a character in your next novel?

3a. To increase traffic, participate in (and link to) other related blogs. Leave comments on other blogs with links back to yours. And encourage the authors of other blogs to visit your site in return.

4. More, shorter posts are always better than longer and fewer.

5. Why not look into supplying RSS feeds? That way your fans can be alerted whenever you write a new posting.

6. Come up with a purpose for your blog. Why should people come to read your stuff? What's in it for them? Think of your readers as customers you have to please. Once you've established what their payoff is, maybe you'll attract more of them.

7. Your style is thoughtful and warm, but why not mix it up a bit? Be funny, or outrageous. Imagine one of your heroes coming into Starbuck's: how would they behave, how long before the police are called? Or attack a hack genre writer for releasing a trashy book without substance or value. Or offer to lead a crusade to teach our children to read more. These may be silly examples, but they represent new ways you could engage with your audience and extend your relationship.

8. SELL! Think of five reasons why people should buy your books: A) they only cost the price of a latte. B) you can buy them for others as gifts, or to cheer up a sick friend... I'm sure you can think of lots more.

9. Why not launch a group e-mail exchange with other writers and share marketing and promotion ideas? Look for ways to do joint promotions. Maybe you could gang up on the publisher and get them to offer half-price books on special holidays.

10. Raise a fuss with Sony and Amazon and Best Buy and anyone else who is standing in the way of creating an e-book culture in Canada. Anything you can do to attract attention is good.

Sorry, no brilliant thoughts. Just lots of hard (but inexpensive) slogging.

"There is no need for small dreams"

This week's Financial Post column was on economic development. The specific subject was the evolution of Sault Ste. Marie from industrial powerhouse to entrepreneurial centre (currently a work in progress).

(Writing Tip: How do you get people to read a column about economic development in the Soo? Work the Nazis into it!)

But the main theme of the story was much bigger: the need for all of Canada's commodity resource-based towns and cities to adapt to the Internet Age. A few years ago, any bright kid wanting a future outside the mill had to leave town: my thesis is that with the rise of e-mail, e-commerce and online collaboration, bright, ambitious people can live and work almost anywhere.

But they - and more importantly, the teachers, business leaders and economic development officials responsible for the future of these towns and cities - have to understand the information economy and the promise it holds for enterprising people in formerly remote resource towns. And they have to know there'll be lots of competition, from all over the world.

It's not just a new type of job, it's a whole new attitude. And the future of Canada (and many other places) depends on this attitude/awareness shift. So you can expect me to write about this more from time to time.

Click here to read my Post column.

"Thanks to the Internet, there will still be small towns. But there is no need for small dreams."

Online Resource Directory

Marcus P. Zillman, a U.S. expert on online business resources, has just compiled a new list of nearly 200 online sites for entrepreneurs. They range from Canadian Entrepreneur (you knew that was coming, right?) to Bplans.com, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Business Owners' Idea Cafe, information for food entrepreneurs from PennState, Onvia.com (a former Canadian portal company now helping U.S. entrepreneurs win state contracts) and the Women's Business Center.

Check it out for the resources you need to build and grow your business. Click here.

Handy Pocket-Sized Startup Guide

If you're interested in startups, or you know someone who is, run out and pick up a copy of today's Financial Post Business Magazine (April 2008 issue). It has an insert containing the entire 12-part startup series I wrote earlier this year for the Post, "12 Weeks to Startup."

Thrill once again to headlines like "Know your market by testing, talking," and "Dreaded paperwork comes before fun." Learn the three pitfalls of most business plans, and the three pillars of successful marketing plans. Find out what to do on Opening Day, and what to start doing the day after that.

To read the original "12 Weeks" series online (and in expanded form), click here. Special Bonus: You can also watch my "12 Weeks" videocasts at the same site.