Roger Greenberg of Minto Group was reflecting on his journey to building one of North America’s leading real estate developers. He acknowledged that the struggle is constant, and the uphill climb can be very hard. His advice to all those climbing similar mountains was to stop from time to time and admire the
Read MoreThe Chagres River feeds 2 billion gallons of fresh water each day into the 82km Panama Canal to move the immense cargo ships through the channel. The canal carries about 6% of the worlds trade. It’s forecast that a 6-foot drop in its water levels is likely by the end of July. This means that the vessels can only carry 60% of a full load and sail...
Read MoreAbout a year ago in the sprawling Fura mine in Mozambique Balbir, the master sorter was on to something. After the sorting and sifting of hundreds of tons of earth and ore, a small red golf ball sized rock stood out. It was destined to become the world’s most expensive ruby. After the cutters and polishers had finished with it, the now thumbnail...
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I was at a live event where a series of executives explained their firms’ approaches to financing companies deploying sustainable technologies. Their intent was to generate interest in their services. One after the other they tried to differentiate themselves on their features, advantages, and benefits. As you might expect, after...
Read MoreAt last, in the Northern Hemisphere at least, summer is here😊 . It’s time to get outside, enjoy the sun on your face, swim in a lake and, for many, plan a vacation. But each year there seems to be an increasing amount of guilt associated with holiday travel. Taking a cruise, traveling by air, or firing up the family wagon are all activities that...
Read MoreWe’ve helped hundreds of companies take new products into new markets and when I say new products, I don’t mean a slightly better ‘me too’ product, but ones that completely change the way things have been done up till then. This includes tomato bio-char, de-pyrolysis of used tires, smart home grids, GPS farming, and many
Read MoreThere are hundreds, if not thousands, of great technologies that could have gone on to improve our world but were never able to get that magical ‘product – market’ fit…. that moment when you discover the ideal match between a product and its intended market, resulting in satisfied customers and spontaneous word of mouth
Read MoreI recently met with two CEOs who shared that one of their worst mistakes was hiring a senior sales executive to help them launch their new products. Seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? New product, new market – hire a really good salesperson to lead the way. Unfortunately, it never works out
Read MoreLast week I participated in the ACG event – a forum for people who fund the ‘middle market’. Attendees are typically VCs, banks, investment agencies, family offices, private equity – in short anyone who has a few million to give, lend, or invest in mid-sized firms. One of the most interesting sessions was on ESG (environmental, social and...
Read MoreListening to a recent ‘Under the Influence’ podcast, I learned some fascinating things about Roger Nielson. Many of you know him as a coach with the NHL’s Ottawa Senators but before that he was breaking the rules in the OHA. And how! Well, actually, not really breaking the rules but playing the game in a way that was so radically different that...
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