Every now and then I blog about the various holidays and traditions associated with countries or religions around the world. During my lifetime attitudes have changed considerably and the norm in my world is that people are people regardless of race, religion, colour or any other unique characteristic.

Understanding the various traditions and cultures from around the world helps us to learn tolerance and embrace other cultures.

Today the topic of this blog is Passover … which is a Jewish festival celebrating the seven day Feast of the Unleavened Bread which commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery.

In the story of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. The Hebrews were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term “passover”.

When Pharaoh freed the Hebrews, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is also called “The Festival of the Unleavened Bread”. Matza (unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday.

Book Review – Derailed. Five Lessons Learned From Catastrophic Failures of Leadership … by Tim Irwin

This is a book that focuses in on the failures of six high profile leaders, and what was the cause of their failure. The people profiled here (and I NEVER want to be profiled in this way!) are …

Robert Nardelli at Home Depot;
Carly Fiorina at HP;
Durk Jager at Procter & Gamble;
Steven Heyer at Starwood Hotels & Resorts;
Frank Raines at Fannie Mae; and
Dick Fuld at Lehman Brothers.

I felt that there were a few overriding themes through these failures …

The first was incredible arrogance and mega-egos. I don’t think would be a shock to anyone, in fact I don’t think you can get into one of those positions unless you have a pretty healthy opinion of yourself! Perhaps, understanding that fact, it is important for strong leaders to recognise that they need checks and balances and that they need to have the right governance surrounding them.

The second thing that jumped out at me was those leaders who caused a significant change (for the worse) in their company’s culture were setting themselves up for failure. People join a company and stay there because they like to work there … changing a corporate culture can be a good thing, but it needs to be done carefully without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The third thing that jumped out was that these people were all incredibly competent in some area or areas of their jobs, but nobody is that good at everything. It is important not to let your weaknesses drag you down … so you need to plug those gaps perhaps by trying a little harder in those areas, but also by surrounding yourself with complementary skills AND trusting their judgement.

Certainly for Lehman Brothers and Fannie Mae the economic meltdown was a major factor in the demise of their leaders. The question remains whether they were a part of the cause … or were they caught in its destructive path. Either way their job was to steer their companies in the right direction and that didn’t happen.

Irwin suggests that there is a predictable process that occurs over time, before the “derailment”. He talks about the following Stages;

Stage 1. A failure of self awareness (or awareness of others). Empathy did not factor much in the character of these people.
Stage 2. Hubris … Pride before the fall. These people generally felt that they were the “centre of the universe”.
Stage 3. Missed Early Warning Signals. There were plenty of signs that things were not going so well in all of these companies … but no-one took on the leaders.
Stage 4. Rationalizing. Even when it is clear to the leader that they are in trouble, they will rationalise themselves into thinking they can fix it.
Stage 5. The Derailment. The author was particularly hard on these leaders because he felt that even as they left office, they did not do so with dignity which further hurts their companies in addition to their own credibility.

As the book suggests, the author cites five lessons to be learned.

Lesson 1. Character trumps competence. I would have suggested it a little differently … you have to be good at what you do, you ALSO have to have the strength of character to be humble when necessary.
Lesson 2. Arrogance is the mother of all derailers. It was there in spades with these guys it appears.
Lesson 3. Lack of self awareness seems to be a key factor with all of these leaders.
Lesson 4. We are always who we are … especially under stress. I guess the author is suggesting that these leaders demonstrated their character under stress and were lacking.
Lesson 5. Derailment is not inevitable … but unless there is intervention it is probable.

There are some interesting parts to the book, but some of the conclusions are a little bit of a stretch. To my mind, arrogant overbearing CEOs exist in spades and don’t implode, because they have good governance, because of circumstances, because of their management team. He might just have easily have suggested these were high profile failures, the details are interesting but it generally comes down to a huge ego with no way of keeping it in check.

I had refrained from passing comment on this subject … however my son was surprised that I had not commented, I guess he thinks I have an opinion , so here we go!

Ann Coulter was invited to speak at the University of Ottawa to a small group. It was not an official University invitation, it was an invite from a group of students.

The woman is very controversial, seems willing to say just about anything and gets away with some of it because she is said to be a comedienne and satirist … although many are offended by her attempts at “humour”.

The University’s provost Francois Houle wrote a letter to Coulter before her arrival advising her against speech that would be unlawful in Canada.

The night of her talk there was a mini riot, about 2,000 showed up for a venue that might have held less than 100. There were lots of loud protestors, someone pulled the alarm, there was jostling and the police came. A suggestion was made that she cancel the talk, she did and everyone went home.

That’s when the furore really started!

Coulter supporters claimed that she had been barred from speaking at the university and that was a violation of her rights … namely freedom of speech.

The provost has been hung drawn and quartered for sending the “warning” letter ahead of the event, and causing a lot of the subsequent hassle.

The University of Ottawa is looking like a backwater institution that won’t allow anyone to provide opinion that isn’t mainstream or approved.

Coulter herself is considering a Human Rights complaint against the university.

Wow … what a storm in a teacup.

The BIG issue appears to be freedom of speech.

Coulter spoke at two other Canadian universities on this Canadian trip and I have no reason to believe she wouldn’t have been allowed to speak in Ottawa if the circumstances had not become unsafe. They became unsafe partly (mainly?) because of the furore caused by Coulter and her cohorts prior to the visit in response to the provost’s letter.

Kevin’s take: Nobody’s right to speak was violated.

The University look stupid.

Yes they do. Welcome to the real world, suck it up and get past it. The letter was naive and with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight I’m sure the guy is kicking himself for writing it. I’m also sure he was acting in the best interests of the university, trying to look out for their best interests. Anyone with any understanding of Coulter would know that she would pounce on it and use it for her own gain … and boy did she get some press out of it!

Kevin’s take: The provost was well intentioned but naive. The university might want to hire some PR expertise and provide their administration with some training.

The Students were intolerant.

This is an interesting one. The supporters of Coulter are allowed to support the kind of hatred preached by the woman but those who are appalled by her and all she stands for are supposed to not voice an opinion. I didn’t see any reports of violence, I saw reports of a potentially violent situation. There were a lot of young people who were vehemently opposed to letting this hatred monger talk … that’s an opinion too.

Kevin’s take: Coulter got what she wanted … a ton of free publicity. The students let the world know what they thought, I think that’s not all bad. Should they have let her talk? I don’t think they stopped her talking … if she had insisted on talking there might have been more police, there might have been some violence who knows.

At the end of the day Coulter won some publicity (now more people know what kind of stuff she talks about), the university looks bad but they’ll get over it, the students are students and the press got something to write about. It will be interesting to see if Francois Houle survives, I think he should but sometimes sacrificing the lamb helps to sooth the pain. Or maybe that’s something Coulter would like!

I have been very involved with Canada’s Staffing Industry for the last twelve years or so, I was a member of the National Board for 9 years, Past President of the association (ACSESS) and am currently Chair of the PR Committee.

The American Staffing Association have done a lot of work in tying the performance of our industry to the performance of the economy. Here in Canada we felt that same correlation would apply and so I set out to develop a Canadian Staffing Index on behalf of ACSESS.

We enlisted a representative number of staffing firms in Canada to provide us with performance data starting in July 2008 (pre-recession). Having just received the January 2010 numbers it tells us a story about the recession here in Canada, how it has affected the staffing industry and consequently how it has affected our clients … the companies and governments that make up Canada’s economy!

Setting the benchmark month at July 2008, and assigning it an index of 100 we saw that the economy was still growing and October 2008 was the peak with an index reading of 107 (7% higher than the benchmark). Starting in November 2008 the numbers fell of precipitously and by May 2009 Canada’s staffing industry had shrunk by 35% from the benchmark and almost 40% from the high mark!

The road to recovery has been long and slow … with a steady increase through 2009 starting in June, however when we hit November there was an anomaly! A one percent dip at the national level, which did not seem to make sense. The only thing different was that Bill 139 in Ontario came into affect … a draconian bill implemented by Minister Fonseca and which has clearly cost Ontario a lot of jobs!

December and January and typically down in performance in the staffing industry due to a lot of factors … increased days off, a natural end to a lot of contracts, the end of seasonal work and a slow start to new work in January.

Having said that the index for January was 68 … still 32% off the benchmark and 37% off the high mark … this IS a long slow road to recovery. Our member companies are experiencing a big increase in activity, there are lots of orders and many new jobs being created … but the numbers tell the story and as of January 2010 we are still hurting!

I expect the February numbers to be a big improvement and am looking forward to a continued improvement in our economy … but don’t be fooled into thinking all is well, there is still a mountain to climb!

It would be nice if governments could hold off on new legislation that hurts industry but I guess votes are more important than economic considerations … hopefully the end of the McGuinty era is in sight! It has been and continues to be painful!

“Many hands make light work.”

“Two heads are better than one.”

There are many sayings that relate to the same issue … that there can be power in a group.

A good friend of mine ran a strategic planning session recently, which included many strong personalities, with a diverse and sometimes opposite set of opinions.

He wanted to demonstrate up front that by working together the group would be able to achieve much more than each operating separately. He chose to start the session with a little team building exercise.

1. He told them all to have a pen and some paper … and gave them 2 minutes to come up with as many uses as possible of a styrofoam cup.
2. He had asked people to tell how many uses they came up with and identified the average and high numbers.
3. Then he asked them to pair off with the person next to them and to develop a list together … and of course they were able to come up with many more answers.

This was not rocket science, but it made people think a little when even such a simple example can produce such a result.

Maybe the thought for the day should be … are you taking advantage of the brains around you?

Or are you trying to do too much on your own?

Linda Ellis is a writer and poet who wrote a poem called The Dash … and there is a short inspirational movie of the same name. The poem talks of a man reciting the eulogy of a friend. The Dash is the hyphen between the person’s birth date and the date of their death and “the dash” has come to represent all that we do with our lives. The poem is intended to remind you about what is truly important in life.

Have you thought about what is important to you lately?

Some time ago I wrote a blog entry that asked that old question “How Do You Want to be Remembered“? I think it is worth a read … if only to get you thinking.

I have written a number of entries that could relate to this subject, mostly around the subject of personal responsibility … and one was called “We Are Responsible for Ourselves”. That entry was designed to get people to stop looking at what was wrong in their lives … but rather to take charge and make good things happen!

The plain fact is that we all arrive here the same way … and some time later we leave this life. Mostly we don’t know when the second date will arrive.

In between, (the Dash), we have the opportunity to make an impact, to do positive things, to learn and grow, to create, to help others, to be a positive role model, to contribute and to build a meaningful and full life. We have the opportunity to conquer fears, to overcome obstacles, to battle through adversity and be proud of our achievements.

Many people will not achieve their potential … they will not stretch themselves or help others, they will avoid challenges and just try to “get by”.

What kind of life do you want?

I have talked before about how setting expectations can be a good way of building credibility with a client.

As a salesperson you say the following to your client …“I will get back to you before Friday with an answer to that question.” As long as you meet or exceed that expectation your client will be satisfied PLUS you will have gained some credibility for actually delivering!

What about if your salesperson was less precise in their statement? “I will get back to you real soon, with the answer to that question.” That statement invites a disconnect because it can be interpreted in multiple ways! The client might think that real soon (other than not being good English) means this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The salesperson might think that real soon means in the next couple of weeks! What happens now is that the client gets more and more agitated the longer they go past THEIR EXPECTATION and yet the salesperson has no idea that they client is unhappy until (if?) the client decides to let him/her know.

Here are a few classic statements, some of which you might recognize, that will create a different perception of expectation!

I’ll be home soon dear.
It’s a smallish dog.
I’m just going for a quick drink after work.
It won’t take long to get the yard in shape.
Could you cut my hair short please.

As you can see setting expectations is important, but ensuring that everyone is on the same page is equally important!

The eating the elephant metaphor has been around a long time …

Question: How do you eat an elephant?
Answer: One bite at a time.

The metaphor is applied to any large problem … you break it down into manageable tasks that you can accomplish, one at a time.

No matter how many times we hear the metaphor we can still tend to “panic” when handed what seems to be an insurmountable problem.

This technique however will stand you in good stead whether it is putting together one of those supposedly “easy” pieces of furniture from Ikea or solving a larger business problem.

I think that there are many people who will relate to the Ikea story, or the children’s toy that needs to be put together on the evening before their birthday! In this case the expectation is that it will be easy and when it is harder than expected (expectations are out of line with reality) the job suddenly becomes big! There is a little voice in the back of your head saying … “Go have a beer … buy something else and return this thing!” (Maybe that is just my head … but I’ll put money that I’m not alone).

The trick is to get expectations and reality back in line … break the job down and understand what it is really going to take, make sure you have everything you need … including time and extra hands to help if necessary and work through the problem. (You can even have that beer while doing it!)

What about BIGGER problems?

You are unemployed and there is a recession on and you can’t find work. BIG problem!

What CAN you do about it?

Break it down into manageable pieces and attack the issue one step at a time ….

What kind of job would you LIKE to do?
What kind of job COULD you do?
Can you relocate to where there is work? Where is feasible?
How far can you travel?
What skills do you have … hard skills (experience, credentials) … soft skills (personality, communication, etc.)
Why would someone hire you? List ALL of the reasons including “soft” reasons … energy, drive, enthusiasm, willingness to do what it takes, maturity, caring nature, positive personality etc etc.
Who do you know that could help?
Have you got references from previous jobs?
Do you give back to your community? Does that show on your resume? Have you tapped into that network?
Create a list of every place you would like to work. You can add to it over time.
Update your resume … and get help, ask advice, get a professional to help you if possible.
Use an employment agency … if you are a senior person talk to executive search firms.
Create some cover letter using the reasons why people would employ you as a basis for the message you want to deliver … get help.

There are a lot of things you can do to find that next job … it looks like work, it can be a very daunting task BUT if you break it down into smaller tasks then you can “Just Do It” one task at a time.

Its a funny thing but actually ticking off those tasks as you complete them feels good … and when you actually meet your target it feels REALLY good.

Elephants are there to be eaten … and anyone can do it, it just needs to be done in a way that you can handle it! 

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!
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General Observations:

“Slow but steady” continues to be the message as the Canadian economy recovers. There are plenty of good indicators demonstrating that things are heading in the right direction, but the stability of World economies has already proven to be fragile so we remain cautiously optimistic!

When I wrote this update three months ago the TSX was at 11,600 (a 12 month high at the time) but last month it dropped back a little and this month it is back up at 12,100. The economy is like that … Canada gained 20,000 jobs in February and has gained 159,000 jobs since July 2009, but having said that 417,000 jobs were lost between October 2008 and July 2009. This means that we are recovering but we have significant gains still to make! This month our industry published its first staffing index that showed the staffing industry is still down 30% from its high in October 2008, but is up 14% from its low in May 2009!

Here at Eagle we are continuing to see an uptick in resource requests, both contract and permanent, both on the technology side and in Finance & Accounting. Clients across most industry sectors are hiring again, but cautiously and being careful not to overextend themselves beyond their current lean staffing levels.

More Specifically:

The GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is very active with hiring demand continuing to increase, and for the first time we are seeing signs that good candidates are getting multiple offers. While rates remain fairly steady, some clients are being disappointed when their candidate takes another offer because they were slow in making their hiring decision. The banks are very busy, the telcos are very busy, the Ontario provincial government is also very busy and we are also seeing some of the System integrators increasing their demand.

Western Canada has picked up significantly with Calgary clearly the hottest market, but there are definite signs of life in Edmonton and Vancouver too. The provincial governments in the West are still tentative with budget cuts and deficit fighting measures in play, but the oil and gas sector and the system integrators are getting quite busy.

When I talk about Eastern Canada, for Eagle that really means Ottawa and Montreal. Montreal seems to have become quite busy in February and like Toronto it is the financial sector and the telcos that seem to be driving demand. Ottawa has been quiet but signs are that Federal Government budgets are not going to be slashed this year, which creates an expectation that business will be picking up as we speak.

The following are some facts/indicators we are watching as of time of writing:

> The price of oil is a little over $82 a barrel which is up $10 in the last month … suggesting perhaps the oil sector might be ready to spend again!
> Natural Gas prices are trending down again as the weather improves, but Encana did announce it will be doubling production … mixed signals?
> The TSX seems to be doing well, currently around 12,100 … up from 11,200 a month ago, a very positive sign.
> The Canadian dollar is very strong, currently about 99cc US. Not always a good thing for Canadian business, but a positive economic indicator.
> Prime remains at 2.25%, making borrowing inexpensive. This is good for when companies feel optimistic enough to invest … of course Carney has only promised to hold those rates until July!
> Canada added 20,000 jobs in February, having added 60,000 full time jobs and lost about 40,000 part time jobs.
> Alberta’s provincial government continues to grapple with its unusual situation of a $7B deficit, and the requisite cuts that go with that.
> We are seeing a pickup in activity in most sectors … banks, energy companies, and telcos in particular. There is also some pickup in Municipal, Provincial and Federal Government activity.
> The Canadian government is not expected to drastically reduce its spending this year, which is good news for anyone dependent upon the Feds for business.
> Canada’s new Staffing Index was released showing that temporary staffing levels are still down 30% from the peak of October 2008

Summary:

No really big changes from previous months, just a slow steady increase in activity and no signs of a double dip recession … fingers crossed!

The Canadian economy is more and more a knowledge worker economy, hence the demand will increase for skilled workers. People who cannot bring value in the knowledge economy will struggle. For the next few months I also think many companies will maintain their very lean structure which means that co-op or summer jobs may be scarce this year and new grads will likely struggle to find employment initially.

The good/bad news is that as long as this recovery continues the Canadian economy will create a huge demand for talent and we will return to talent shortages and eventually labor shortages. Then we face a new set of issues … but I’ll take those rather than recession any day!

In the true spirit of having fun, people all over the world will celebrate St Patrick’s day today. Many will reach back into their ancestry to find some Irish connection that they can point to, as good cause for celebration; others will join in the celebrations just because its a party!

Certainly here in Canada it is good timing to celebrate the end, or near end, of a long Winter … so St Patrick’s Day is a great excuse for a party! In case there is any interest in the origins of the holiday, below is an explanation.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17th in honor of Ireland’s patron saint. St. Patrick was born between 370 and 390 C. E. in the Roman Empire in Britain. His given name (Magonus Sucatus) was changed to Patricuis (Patrick) after his baptism. At the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland. He remained captive for six years during which time he worked as a shepherd and began to have religious visions. Patrick eventually returned to Ireland as a missionary and succeeded in converting the Irish to Christianity. He used a shamrock to explain the Trinity to potential converts; the three leaves represented the father, son, and holy spirit.

St Patrick Day parades around the world celebrates everything Irish and contain dozens of colorful floats, marching bands of many organizations and nationalities and costume characters. The parades have become a rite of spring and usually marks one of the first time after a long winter that city’s streets feature a gathering of people.