I often mention Kit Grant in my blog. I receive his monthly “Keeping in Touch” email and he has a knack for hitting issues “bang on” … he is a no-nonsense, “tell it as it is” kind of person and once again his email touches a nerve.

“Every person is a self-made person but only the successful ones admit it.” … Anonymous.

Well, good old Anonymous was right on when he/she said this. I discovered many years ago the biggest roadblock to my success was always me. I have stopped blaming parents, where I was born, the school I went to, the teachers I had, all past bosses and co-workers, vendors and customers … my results are a direct consequence of the choices I have made and the actions I took.

I have even stopped regretting goofy choices I made which seemed pretty good at the time. I basically coasted through university taking easy stuff I liked rather than stretching myself a bit because, for me, the fun times there were the highlight. Could I have done something else?

Probably, but then I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now and wouldn’t be working with all my great Inner Circle members (that’d be you!).

Stop focusing on what could have been and concentrate on what could still be and you’ll probably be a lot happier. Success is how YOU define it so make it happen for you now.

My own experiences mirror Kit’s. I left school at 16, went in the navy and goofed around for a number of years enjoying life but never taking it very seriously. It wasn’t until much later in life that I began to get serious and apply myself … and it has always been me that held the key. I am where I am today because of choices I made and an attitude I applied. I am also the person I am today because of all of those life experiences, good and bad. So like Kit, I have no regrets and I still have plans to achieve a lot before I am done!

What are you going to do with the rest of your life? It begins now!

“Wikinomics” by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams.

Yesterday I blogged a little about web tools and sites that might be of interest to readers. Wikinomics is a book that explores how companies today can tap into the collective wisdom of large numbers of people through the power of the internet.

Wikipedia is probably the best known wiki, and it is an online dictionary that is created collaboratively by a large number of people. Part of its power is that as language changes, so too can the explanations in the dictionary. A wiki is one tool that allows many people to share ideas and concepts towards a common goal.

Wikinomics explains all the forces at play that make this phenomena timely, and talks about the collaboration tools, “weapons of mass collaboration”, that are available.

The book explores the ways in which collaboration can be harnessed to help companies grow and prosper. Some obvious recent examples of collaborative efforts that have led to corporate success include MySpace, Flickr and Second Life. YouTube might be the ultimate example having recently been bought by Google for $1.65 Billion. It too was developed through a collaborative user community over the course of about 2 years.

Obviously the book is designed to promote this concept and takes pains to explain why traditional companies will be replaced by sharing and peer production. My life experiences would suggest that somewhere in the middle lies the answer … the internet has supposed to be the death knell to many industries, but has become an alternate source of solutions rather than a replacement.

All in all, this is a must read book if you want to keep abreast of forces that have the ability to be disruptive to industries. It should also give some pause for thought to those strategic thinkers who are looking for ways to differentiate. I also think that Tapscott is always worth a read because he has focused on the IT industry and our ability to affect the world.

Anybody reading this blog is likely a fairly sophisticated user of the internet and I would consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about the possibilities of the internet. Having said that there are always new and interesting ideas/sites/opportunities in this online world … and I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.

1. Google alerts. Google has a host of different capabilities beyond its basic search capability. One that I use is called Google Alerts and it will automatically find new web content that is pertinent to you. For example if you create an “alert” based on your company name then Google will tell you whenever the company is mentioned online. Obviously there are many many uses for this capability.

2. Tiny URL. This is one of a few sites that will take those long url names you want to send to a friend or client and make them much more manageable.

3. CEOExpress. One of many sites that can be used as a personal portal, giving access to a ton of web tools in one easy to use format. This is not a free site, but I like it so much that I have been paying for it for a few years now.

4. Songs to Wear Pants To. You want a personalised song, in any genre, to celebrate an occasion? This is the site … whether it is for a wedding, a birthday or a company event this site will deliver a customised song to fit the occasion.

Just a few of the sites and tools around the internet that you might find useful. Apologies to those of you who knew all this already … and if you have ideas I would be interested to hear them.

Blinders are used in horse racing to keep a horse focused and avoid it from getting distracted.

Generally I would suggest that focus is a good thing, but having blinders on in the workplace is not necessarily a good thing.

I have to admit that when I was younger I would often be in a position where I thought I was doing a good job, I would do “what I was told’, but I would not apply my own thinking to a situation. It took a long time (I guess I’m a slow learner) for me to understand that my success was entirely within my own control … and had everything to do with taking charge of my own destiny.

A friend of mine has a theory that people are either “doers” or “thinkers” … that I find to be a good way to illustrate this concept.

A “doer” being someone who takes their instruction and executes on what they are told to do. A “thinker” being someone who applies their own intellect to the job.

There is a place in the workforce for both types of resource, however the “thinker” is the person who will rise up and become an important asset, the “doer” will always have a job, but will never light the world on fire.

Jack Welch in his book Winning would probably suggest that 70% of your staff would be the “doers” that you need to keep a company running. The “thinkers” have the opportunity to be that top 20% who drive the organization and are key to its success. A “thinker” with a great attitude will quickly rise to the top because, in my experience, that is a rare combination … but really there is no reason why more people cannot reach this status.

Here are some very basic thoughts on this subject:

1. Do not EVER just do what you are told without truly understanding why you are doing what you are doing.
2. Avoid the state of mind where you are on “automatic pilot”! ALWAYS be engaged!
3. Ask questions!
4. If you have ideas or suggestions speak up … a good manager will recognise that you are trying to bring value.
5. The more you understand the “big picture” the more value you will be able to bring to a given situation.
6. You will better understand the big picture by talking to management, asking questions and truly wanting to “learn”.
7. The “doer” is an important part of any company … if you have ambitions to be a leader you need to add “brainpower” to the equation and become a “thinker”!

What are you? Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I come to management with solutions or with problems?
2. Do I try to understand the big picture?
3. Do I really try to think about the implications of my actions … or do I just do what I am told?
4. Is my goal to grow and learn … or just get through the day?

Are you someone who is earning a pay cheque … or someone who is going to make things happen?

Each month Eagle’s Regional Vice Presidents put together this cross Canada look at the IT job market … here it is hot off the press!

The hottest IT markets in Western Canada continue to be the two Alberta cities. Driven by the strength of the Oil & Gas industry, we have witnessed many consecutive months of strong activity. Keeping supply from significantly lagging demand, labour has been mobile – coming from the surrounding provinces and, in many instances, relocating from Central and Eastern Canada. The media has helped by playing-up the opportunity in the West, meaning that many IT professionals from across Canada have caught the “buzz” and are open to the opportunity to make a move. We are noticing, however, that the supply of IT resources in provinces such as Manitoba and British Columbia are showing signs of tightening. Challenges that have plagued Alberta for some time such as dealing with multiple offers; difficulty in convincing contract resources to extend; and organizations losing top candidates because they were not able to “close” quickly enough are being reported right across the West. These symptoms of a short labour supply may suggest that the truly “mobile” portion of the IT workforce is beginning to run low.

With all of this in mind, many companies in Edmonton and Calgary have spent a lot of time in January and February completing their IT planning for the year. There has been strong demand for Architects, BAs and other skill sets that coincide with the planning process. The market has been busy and it is about to get much busier as this planning is put into action. With increasing demand and indicators suggesting that the supply of mobile IT professionals are dwindling, it is likely that there will be increased pressure on hourly rates. Companies are beginning to brace for this as many are implementing cost management solutions and strategies. Many are holding firm to their rate tables as even moderate upward rate pressures may put their projects at risk. The most successful companies will be the ones who complete their resource planning early and proactively manage their requirements. This will allow them to move quickly and decisively through the contract or full-time hiring process.

Hot skills across the West are as follows: Winnipeg – functional IT Professionals have been in high demand such as PMs and BAs; Edmonton – a wide range of requirements… PMs, BAs, SAP, Oracle, C#, BI, Cognos, J2EE; Calgary – SAP, Microsoft (Application and Infrastructure), Livelink, SharePoint, BI, PMs, BAs, Document Management, “upstream” everything; Vancouver – BAs, .NET Developers (newer requirement for Vancouver), Powerbuilder, SAP, Java; Permanent Placement – Java, SAP, PMs and Project Leads.

Though economic indicators continue to show lower than average growth compared to the rest of the country, it was a very busy month in the GTA on the contract-side, in fact February proved to be the busiest month we’ve seen for contract resources in 6 months. Hopefully a preview to what is waiting for contractors into the Spring and Summer! There was, on the other hand, a slight hiring slowdown for full time positions; however, there are already very strong indicators that March will prove to be a much better month.

Many industries saw a renewal of activity over the month of February. A number of organizations within the financial sector have started new development projects and are looking for resources to fill these positions. RFP activity remains strong though overall government activity has been slow, largely due to the upcoming fiscal year end. There is, however, an anticipated demand for technology professionals with a background in Healthcare into April and the new government fiscal year.

There has been a noticeable decrease in available candidates with longer term contracts and higher dollar per diems attracting contractors and keeping them out of the marketplace.

Hot skills in demand in the GTA on the contract side continue to include: SAP (all modules), as well as Java Developers. In-demand skills on the full-time hiring side continue to include Quality Assurance resources, as well as, Java/J2EE skills, Security Consultants, and technology professionals who have an actuarial background.

In Eastern Canada, as winter was getting what we hope are its parting shots in for the ’07 season, the phrase “out like a lion” was muttered often in both Ottawa and Montréal as residents recalled the “balmy” days of December and January. The IT labour market continues, however, to defy observers with none of the common clichés able to easily describe the current dynamics, weather related or not. While Eastern Canada is not feeling the acute pinch and pain Western Canada is enduring in terms of the labour pool and skill shortage, the media visibility of the issue continues to increase. The talent crunch is now a full blown and heavily analyzed story in the main stream media and yet many employers continue to have the same lengthy and largely reactive hiring processes that see them lose out on many long open, key positions. The Federal government is working harder now to streamline their hiring process through a revised procurement process and savvy private industry employers have recognized the need for more efficient hiring but there are still many others who remain mired in a type of status quo with key positions unfilled.

The expected March Madness as the federal government year end nears was not as active as in years past, likely due to increased awareness around proper procurement and the changes coming, all-in-all a good thing for vendors, the Feds and the taxpayer. Speaking of the taxpayer, over the past month Revenue Canada experienced a “glitch” that saw its 75+ databases essentially unable to transfer information to each other and therefore shut down temporarily one of the earliest and most heavily adopted government -on-line initiatives, that is the ability for citizens to e-file their tax returns as millions do every year. The good news is that Revenue Canada has confirmed it was not a hacker or virus and that highly sensitive data was not compromised. This occurred while there has been a very significant increase in demand for Security and Threat and Risk Assessment resources right across the Federal Government. We have also seen a notable increase in anticipated demand in Eastern Canada for Project Managers in both the Federal Government and private industry, most notably at the senior level. Organizations are truly challenged with the imminent loss of the knowledge capital that these resources hold, a
s they leave and retire in greater numbers.

Other hot skills in the region include SQL Developers, SAP Security and Portal Specialists, as well as, JAVA/J2EE Programmers and Tech Support.

Well … this cat is heading away for a week’s vacation and I am not planning to do any blogging during that time.

Heading on vacation raises the issue that all managers, (and business owners), have when they are going to be away. How will my people react? There are various reactions that are possible. Will they self-regulate and be as productive as usual? Will they take the opportunity to “goof off” and relax a bit because the boss isn’t around? Will they take the opportunity to demonstrate that they can be very productive, without the boss around?

My experience in all my years in business is that people typically take advantage of the situation to slack off a bit.

Obviously it would be fantastic if they were to just grab the opportunity and demonstrate their ability to be productive even when no-one is watching. The benefit that they get is a higher level of trust, and the likelihood that management will give even more autonomy, but that is rare.

It will be interesting to see how productive the company has been when we get back … but for now I’m looking forward to sun, sand and relaxation! See you in a week!

Yesterday I talked a little about some of the expectations of an entrepreneur in terms of commitment. Another subject that is often discussed among business owners is an “exit strategy” … a plan for realising the equity, or some of the equity in a business. Many business owners live and breathe their business 24/7 for many years in the belief that they are building equity that will see them through their retirement comfortably and provide a nice nest-egg for their family.

The reality is that is often as far as the thinking goes … the effort mentally and physically of running a company becomes all-consuming and so many personal issues get neglected. One of them being financial planning!

A good friend of mine … who “exited” his business a couple of years ago sent this to me. I thought that anyone who might ever be interested in owning their own business (if I didn’t frighten them off yesterday) might be interested. The moral of the story being that financial planning is ALWAYS important, but the more assets you have the more the taxman will take if you don’t structure things appropriately.

This is from Jim …

A quick story I’ll share.

I was recently approached by a CEO who owns a very successful cabinet making company looking for advice regarding the possible sale of his business. He has worked tirelessly for 30 years building his company from nothing to over $20 million is sales, a large manufacturing plant and 75+ employees. He’s overcome tremendous personal and business obstacles including a fire that destroyed his entire operation several years ago. He is married with 4 children and has done everything possible to balance his work a family commitments. It’s a truly inspirational story.

After listening to his story and talking with him about potentially being acquired he asked me how much tax I thought he might pay if he sold his business. I asked him if had done any planning to minimize his tax impact in the event of a sale or for that matter even for the ongoing distributions that he issues out of the company. I was amazed to find out that he done nothing of the sort. I’m no tax expert but, based on his situation, he would be faced with paying over $5 million dollars in taxes if he sold his company. I suggested a number of things that he should consider as the CEO and shareholder of his company:

1) Investigate the use of a Family Trust to own shares in your business
2) Look at the option of your spouse owning shares
3) “Creditor-proof” the assets (especially the cash) in your company. This is easily done with the use of a holding company(ies)
4) Ensure that you are optimizing the use or planned use of “one time capital gains exemptions”
5) Meet with a tax expert to review other options that are available to minimize taxes for succession and/or a liquidity event.

This is not the first time that I’ve seen this type of situation. There are tons of articles written about it, professional services offered for it and the tax man standing by just waiting to collect. The reality in most cases is that CEO’s are so involved in building and operating their companies that issues such as tax planning take a back seat to other priorities. Only when a succession, retirement or liquidity event takes place does the importance of it become evident.

A couple of times lately I have been in conversations with people who either wanted to know about my experiences starting a company, or were considering starting a company and were trying to understand what that meant.

To start a business the commitment needed is significant. If you are not independently wealthy then you are going to have to get financing of some type. The only way to convince people that you are a worthy risk is if you are willing to demonstrate complete faith in the entity yourself.

For Janis and I that meant re-mortgaging our home and borrowing against our RSPs. At that point failure was not an option for us, which does provide a measure of comfort to investors. In addition we had to sign personal guarantees with the bank such that if the company defaulted in any way we were personally liable. So much for the safety of an incorporated entity!

When I tell this to potential business entrepreneurs I get a variety of reactions, but generally people are very “put off” the idea of accepting this much risk. For us the worst case meant restarting over, and we are comfortable enough in our skills that we could get good jobs, so we would just need to buy a house again, and cars and save for holdays and … !

So … having been established for 10 years or more people assume all is now rosy. We have a nice lifestyle, nice cars, nice home and enjoy the benefits of owning a successful company.

A few years back the Ontario government introduced a change to the application of Retail Sales tax that was not “noticed” by our industry for a couple of years. By the time it became an issue we had a potential liability of many millions of dollars. Lobbying by the industry associations managed to bring common sense to bear … and we dodged that bullet.

Life as a business owner is always interesting. Legislative change can come at any moment, the bottom could drop out of the market or a couple of key clients could move their business. Disruptive technologies could have a huge impact or any number of things could wipe out a company. Complacency is never an issue!

So … being a business owner brings a true sense of accomplishment, to create employment for hundreds of people and build something that has value and a strong culture is rewarding. However you do need a thick skin, an ability to sleep under very tough conditions and a belief that you can succeed whatever!

Still want to go for it?

I checked out the latest “Kit Grant” newsletter and his topic is very similar to mine from yesterday. His banking experience was one of those “forgettable experiences” but it appears his bank actually does know a thing or two about customer service. The following is from Kit’s newsletter … visit his website to subscribe!

“It’s not what happens to you that is as important as what you do about it.” W. Mitchell. Stuff happens! Right? How you respond is really what matters, whether what happens is good or bad.

No one guaranteed things would always work out for the best, but we always have the choice to make the best of those things. When something goes wrong, we can choose to blame someone else or circumstances beyond our control, we can take personal responsibility and then implement corrective actions, or we can sit and moan about how bad things are and whine about “Why does this always happen to me?”

In my last newsletter, I outlined a problem situation with my bank and it seems I am not alone. More of you responded to that piece than ever before, many of you outlining similar or worse experiences. As indicated, I took action PLUS I published it in this newsletter, an option many of you do not have. Well, it seems people actually read this newsletter. I had a call from a senior officer with the bank and we had a great 40 minute telephone conversation. He did not try to hide mistakes that had been made nor make any excuses. He took responsibility and we’re going to be talking more in the future. Notice that he nor anyone else had their legal department threaten me should I continue to talk about my bad experience. Making the choice to take the “high ground” was a breath of fresh air in these days of lower standard service delivery. I even had another employee from the same bank but from a different unrelated department in another part of the country write me a note apologizing for the experience and offering assistance in “getting it right” for me with their bank in the future. WOW! … someone who cares enough and likes his job and employer enough to write that note is the kind of employee all of us should be lucky enough to have!!

So how do you handle customer concerns? Remember, when someone has a legitimate complaint, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It provides you with a great opportunity to get better.

By the way, when something good happens (like the phone call to me from the senior manager or the note from the concerned employee), celebrate it and make it known. Too often we concentrate only on what’s wrong and just gloss over what’s right. Make today the day you find someone on your staff doing something good and recognize it. Many people go to work every day and would never be spoken to at all unless they did something wrong! I’d rather reinforce what’s right.