Some time ago I wrote a blog entry about the consequences associated with some decisions. That entry was written just after the World Cup where Zidane chose to head butt Mazerati, and the consequences of that decision.

I also wrote a blog entry about decision making and how it relates to my job as a CEO.

Recently we have seen the world’s economy suffer and part of the blame is being assigned to the sub-debt crisis. The banks and financial institutions have been blamed for the “creative” deals that saw many people take on more debt than they could handle. It has been interesting here in the UK talking to people who have seen the exact same scenario here, and the impact is beginning to affect people in the UK.

The affect has been that millions of people in the US and presumably the UK made a decision to take on a mortgage that was greater than the value of their home. Obviously they had poor advice from the financial institutions, but they have to accept responsibility for their own decisions. What a cost … lost homes, bankruptcy, the erosion of savings and the associated human misery.

So … what can we learn from this.

1. We are all responsible for our own destiny.
2. It is important to follow a good decision making process.
3. Do not make your decisions based upon advice from “interested” parties.
4. Do your homework.
5. Do not be afraid to make a decision if you have done the right homework!

The US authorities have been pretty quick at chasing down the errant bankers and I hope they pay the price. That would be the consequence of their decision to take advantage of vulnerable people!

It is good to reflect every now and then about the things in your life that are important. The reality is that all aspects of your life are important and in order to enjoy a full and rewarding life you should work at all of it.

It is important to look after your health, to try and do the things that make you feel better and hopefully last longer!

It is important to have a job that gives you what you need. For some people that might be just a pay cheque and an environment that is tolerable, for others it needs to be challenging work and for others it could be all about the coworkers.

It is important to have a good home life. That could mean lots of family or not, it could mean lots of friends or not, it could mean pets and hobbies, it could mean peace and tranquility or speed and danger. Again we are all different but we need to work at developing the kind of home life that works for us.

Personally I like to bring a passion to my life, to really find the things that “turn my crank” and to put all of my energy into them. When I am immersed in my passions then I really feel alive and I feel like I am making the most of my time.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I am a passionate believer in our industry and the value that we bring. I am passionate about Eagle and our vision is not some piece of paper stuck on a wall … we live it. I want this company to be the first choice for clients, IT professionals and employees.

I get passionate about charities, supporting the needy and giving back to a society that gives us so much.

My work and other commitments mean that I don’t have a ton of hobbies but I do love to get out on my motorbike. Whether it is cruising to Montreal on a Friday night with Janis or cranking that throttle on a quiet, open highway alone it is an exhilarating feeling.

I love the tranquility of my home, and so when my idiot neighbour decided to take down as many of the 30 foot cedars on the property line that he could get away with … and replace them with a 7 foot stucco wall, a different kind of passion was on display! He is just lucky I didn’t let the Liverpool in me come out to play!

I am passionate about staying in shape. I am no spring chicken anymore but I have been basically the same weight for the last 30 years, I still work out 4 or 5 times a week and do what I can to stay healthy. Again this is always a work in progress, doing the same things week in and week out for 30 years won’t work. I switch it up, find things I can “get into” and then I can crank the itunes, use the exercise time to think and benefit from a good workout.

If you can find things that are important in your life then they can help you to really feel alive.

Speaking of things that are important in your life, later today I will be jumping on a plane to go to the UK. I will be visiting with a sharp, witty and interesting eighty-five year old Irish lady. She is ninety pounds of pure energy, reads voraciously, will debate politics anytime and can talk intelligently on almost any subject and yet she was forced to leave formal schooling in her early teens. This lady has a passion for life … and she is my Mom, I guess I come by that Irish temper honestly!

I have written previously about the need to support charities in our society, but its time to bring it up again!

Corporate Social Responsibility is expected of good companies and Eagle supports a number of charities, our most prominent these days being the United Way. As September approaches the United Way begins its annual fund raising campaign which I wrote about that last year. In addition to company money donated, Eagle’s employees are also very generous with their time, providing assistance to a variety of organizations.

Individual donations are as important as corporate giving, so Janis and I make substantial donations to a number of charities, including the United Way, Mission for Men, Boys and Girls Club and the Heart Foundation. We also regularly cut $20, $50 and $100 cheques through the year as we get “hit up” for support … in addition to giving time to several charity committees.

I believe that EVERYONE who has the means should give something back to society. I wrote about individual responsibility for giving last year and admitted that I didn’t always think this way. For some of us it takes time to get our head around this notion that we should give money and time back to support our community. Once we “get it” then we realise that not only are we better people for doing it, but we wonder why it took so long to figure it out!

I won’t preach too long … please be generous in your support for charities, whichever ones you choose to support!

Risk is one of those words designed to set people’s teeth on edge. The mention of risk to some people is enough to have them running for the hills. The reality is that life without risk is not possible and we all need to find our tolerance levels.

Risk can come in many forms. It can be physical risk such as that taken by people who climb mountains or jump out of airplanes or ride fast motorcycles. It is also present every time we get in a car, cross the road or walk down some steep stairs.

Risk can be financial risk such as when we make investment decisions, sign contractual agreements or make decisions that can affect our income in some way or another.

Risk can come in an emotional form such as when we develop new friendships, commit to long term relationships, or through our connection to anyone else … because we can’t control their actions or emotions.

So … risk is present in our lives every day and we all have our own levels of tolerance to risk. As part of that tolerance we learn to take steps that reduce, or mitigate, the risk as much as possible but while still being able to do things we need to do.

For me when I ride my motorbike I know that my safety is solely my responsibility. I need to be aware of everything around me, I need to anticipate the actions other drivers might make and be prepared to react quickly. I could choose to not ride the bike … that would be certainly be much safer, but I would miss out on one of the joys in my life.

Risk is omnipresent in the business world, and we try to mitigate as much as possible with good contracts, good business processes and by making sensible decisions. We try to understand all of the things that MIGHT go wrong and then decide which are important and which we can live with. We might look at a business situation, recognize that a weird set of circumstances would cause the company to go out of business but decide that the potential for that to happen is so far fetched that we do it anyway. Another company might choose to walk away. A publicly traded company might have no choice to but to walk away. Success in business does not come from being averse to risk!

In our personal lives we might choose to not go looking for a partner because we are afraid to commit, or afraid to get hurt and yet if we are not willing to take that risk then we also accept that we will not find that partner. Great relationships don’t come without a cost and yes the failed relationships hurt … but for most people the win is worth the risk.

When we invest in our RRSPs or in a start up company we need to understand how much we are prepared to risk and make a decision about whether we could live with the worst case scenario … or whether we need more certainty in our investments. There is always the option to stick our money in our mattress, but even that has an element of risk!

Every day we all make these decisions at some level whether it be conscious or sub-conscious. The process goes some thing like this …

1. Understand the risk.
2. Look at all of the options.
3. Look at ways to mitigate the risk.
4. Decide how much risk is acceptable.
5. Make the decision.

When I am looking at business situations I get input from my advisors, legal, accounting, sales, other management and weigh up the options before making a decision. Understanding the risk is important however just because there is risk it doesn’t mean you should avoid it … it just means you go into the situation with eyes wide open and hopefully with contingency plans.

One of Bob’s rules was … The risk of riskless living, is the greatest risk of all! He may have adapted it from robin Sharma’s “greatest risk is riskless living”.

Add a little more risk to your life … you certainly don’t want to be on your deathbed wishing you had (a) tried something, (b) done something, or (c) achieved something, that was achievable but you were too cautious!

A colleague of mine recently asked for some advice about networking, because she was going to attending a “networking event”. I gave her a few tips and when I chatted to her afterwards it appears that they worked OK, so I thought I would share them.

One thing I did not suggest and which in hindsight would have helped was to set yourself a goal, or a couple of goals. If it is a sizable group then getting to talk with 10 people might be possible … to get a “connection” with 2 of them would likely be a good outcome.

Here are some of the ideas to help get there:

1. Remember the point of the event … it is not a social event it is a networking event. So, you want to meet as many people as possible. It is important to be able to disengage from (a) those people who “cling” to you, (b) your colleagues (c) even those people you really “connect” with … in order to meet more people.

One idea … “Its been great talking with you you and I would really enjoy continuing our conversation, but I promised myself I would meet lots of people here tonight. Can I call you and plan to get together when we have more time to talk?”

2. People like to talk about themselves … get them talking. So go armed with questions that will get people talking.
Who do you work for?
How long have you been there?
Have you been in the field long?
Have you been a member of this organization long?
What do you think of this event?
Once the conversation goes then it becomes easier to keep going as you find topics of mutual interest.
Note: My colleague was surprised that she got everyone talking a lot, but no one asked her about herself! This is good … they will remember her as an interesting person because she showed interest in them! Mission accomplished.

3. Gauge people’s body language as you approach them to talk. You will know if they are going to be open to talking very quickly.

Tips. People on their own are the easiest to approach. Groups of 3 or more are the next easiest, and will often “allow” you into their conversation. Do not try to approach two people talking, it is very difficult to break into a two person conversation.

4. Do not hang out with people you know. In fact it is better to go to these events alone so that you are forced to mingle. Very often you will see two or three people from the same organization, or who know each other well, off together … which is not much value to them from a networking perspective.

5. Take lots of business cards, and give them out.

You might also be interested in my blog about the Power of Networking from May 2007.

Good luck!

I was going to skip blogging today because of too many other commitments, so with the Olympics dominating the press I thought I might throw out an idea or two for people to ponder ….

Thought #1:

Why does Russia’s invasion of Georgia get almost no press in comparison?

Thought #2:

Why are we as Canadians so philosophical about having NO medals. Some of the quotes I hear are …”At least we made the finals” or “Yes, but we tried our best”.

Here are a couple of quotes with perhaps a slightly different perspective:

“Show me a good and gracious loser, and I’ll give you a failure.” … Knute Rockne

“Winning isn’t everything — but wanting to win is.” … Vince Lombardi

Any regular reader of this blog knows that I am a big advocate of good time management techniques … also acknowledging that we are not really “managing” time, just trying to maximize our use of it.

My overriding theory is that if we are very productive in the time that we allot to the various areas of our life then we will get to spend more time doing what we want to be doing … rather than what we have to be doing! One particular relevant blog entry was called Finding Your Life Balance.

I have also talked about using Goal setting as one tool to help in being more productive. For many people setting goals is just too structured, or too hard, or not a high enough priority. I also find that there are times when people are more susceptible to trying something new … and maybe you are ready to try goal setting right now?

If you have any of the following signs in your life then I believe goal setting could help you:

1. You are a little unhappy in your current job.
2. You are bored with your lifestyle.
3. You are in a rut.
4. You are overweight and want to do something about it.
5. You are unfit and want to do something about it.
6. You really want to do something … but don’t know how to start.
7. You feel you could be better … at anything (work, dancing, soccer, darts, pool etc)

Goal setting sounds so formal … but all you are doing is developing a plan to get to where you want to go (the goal) and once you have a plan then you automatically increase your chance of getting there. Conversely if you just keep doing the same things you have been doing … then nothing will change! (See Bob’s rules … Insanity is doing the same thing you’ve always done and expecting different results.)

So … here is a link to my entry about Goal Setting for 2008, which in turn will link you to a number of entries on the subject. Print them out and give it a try.

The only limiting factor to what you can achieve is you! All you have to do is commit.

A few days ago I wrote a blog entry about “Bob’s rules” … this blog entry is about another one of Bob’s rules, based upon a Benjamin Franklin quote.

I am working with a small group of entrepreneurs on a start up idea and one of the toughest parts of any start up is assigning value to the entity, deciding upon the ownership structure and determining the cost to be assigned to that ownership.

These can be some of the toughest early discussions and can certainly cause some potential partners to back out. When we started Eagle we had at least one potential partner who backed away because he felt the deal was not fair to him … bet he’s sorry now!

Our recent meeting involved several people who are used to being the leader of their own organization, but we were able to reach consensus. A common goal of “making this work”, a willingness to compromise and a vision of future success meant that we were all able to reach agreement.

During the discussion we were trying to evaluate contribution to the entity, versus equity ownership. One of our group made the very true statement … Lots of people “talk” about business opportunities, but it is the few willing to actually “do something” that will be successful.

“Well done is better than well said” … Benjamin Franklin.

I am an admirer of people who are good with words (well said …). I envy their eloquence and wish I too had that gift. Having said that I am someone who acts, who is willing to roll my sleeves up and make things happen.

When I DO something well the return on investment is far greater than talking about it. I might not always do things as well as I would like … but if I DO enough things, then something will work.

If I just TALK about “doing things”, then it will never result in a return!

It seems like our recent reunion with Bob could be the inspiration for a few of these blog entries! Bob was certainly someone who took action and made things happen … and I can’t remember him ever NOT doing things well!

Food for thought? NO … food for action!

That does seem to be the mantra in the work place today … everybody is busier than ever. The pace is fast, the demands are high and stress levels are equally high. What can we do?

Despite the title of some earlier blog entries we can’t “manage” time … there will always only be 24 hours in a day no matter what we do. The best we can do is to make the best use of the time we have.

Over the last couple of years I have written a number of blog entries on the subject and thought they might be worth revisiting. One of the more recent entries gave some Time Management Tips (sorry about the title).

I wrote a blog entry specifically on the subject of To Do Lists called Ten Tips for Effective To Do Lists.

Some time ago I bared my soul as I was slipping into some bad habits and wrote the Time Management Hiccup.

Finally I had a blog entry specifically for sales people called Time Management for Sales People.

If you take a few minutes to read through those four blog entries I’m pretty sure you could come up with an idea or two that could save you some time, or help with your productivity. That in turn will help reduce your stress just a little … try it!

Bullying has been a long standing problem in schools, and most schools have adopted a zero tolerance approach to bullying. Whatever society says and does about the subject we will throughout our lives find times when we come across people who like to get their own way through the use of bullying. Whether it is in the schoolyard because they are bigger than us, or perceive themselves to be “tougher” than us, or whether it is in the corporate world because they are bigger than us or more senior than us, or just generally in our home lives when people try to impose their will on us.

The plain fact is that nobody likes a bully. They are filled with their own sense of importance, whether it be on the “macho” scale or the “social” scale or the “hierarchy” scale. Intimidation is a key component of their tactics, whether it is physical or some other form of intimidation and responding appropriately to that intimidation is critical in how things will play out.

When I was growing up in working class Liverpool I learned that if you let the bullies get away with it, then your life could become miserable. You also learned that taking bullies on “toe to toe” could be a painful experience. So the appropriate “tactics” become paramount in order to ensure you do not become a target of the bullies.

The easiest tactic was to be one of the “in crowd”, because it is rare that “insiders” are picked on. In school that wasn’t all that hard if you were athletic, played for one of the school teams or happened to be close to the “tough kids”. It worked for me.

A slightly harder tactic was to pick your battles and to send a very clear message that if anyone messed with you they would pay a price … and not always “toe to toe”! This is a good deterrent 90% of the time … and if you play it out well it can be done without too much pain to yourself. I resorted to this tactic just once, and the message was received.

The reality is that in today’s schoolyard, bullying receives more scrutiny than in previous times, but it is still a scourge that will never go away entirely. As we get older and more “civilized” we should expect that bullying would be a thing of the past. The reality is that we come across it throughout our lives and if we allow people to bully us then they will keep doing it.

Whether it is the person in a position of power or the person with a lot of money who thinks he can do whatever he wants, there needs to be consequences. I am not suggesting that if you find yourself in such a situation that you take the person out and beat them up … that would be wrong and you would be sinking to their level. I do however believe that bullies need to feel consequences for their actions, or else they will continue to bully others.

None of us need the kind of pressure these people bring to bear … and if you can give them a “metaphorical” black eye, then go for it! The more times we “hurt” the bullies the better chance that they will back off. It could be publicity … it could be exposure in the corporate world … it could be getting help from others capable of putting the bully in their place. It could be to hurt them financially, to bruise their ego or to “shut them down”.

A career, or a peaceful home life can be seriously hurt by these people … don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself!