I 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...
Read MoreTime to drop the clutch There is a great deal of talk about the economy slowing down. So what? The North American economy is still worth about $28 trillion and Europe’s about $19 trillion. So even if it’s not accelerating, there are still, collectively, 47 trillion ways to make a buck. To go faster we must change gears, and that is just what...
Read MoreIn Ottawa, as a many other places in the world, public meetings are often prefaced with a short recognition that they taking place on native land. Sometimes these recognitions are quite cursory. At other times, they are quite long and well thought out. I’ll come back to this in a
Read MoreEarlier this week I participated in a conference at the historic Chateau Laurier in Ottawa organized by the Canadian Club on the future of Electricity in Canada. The message is that we need much more power and, given the long lead times, we need to start the building this capacity now. Right
Read MoreWatch the rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex4jjxn75os The UN said today that “the chance of evading the most severe impacts of burning fossil fuels is almost out of reach, scientists warn, unless radical changes are made—and immediately.” Wow. What are you doing about it? The phrase Planet, People, Profit has never been more
Read MoreWe are working with the owner of a $20M business that manufactures racking systems. Growth has been solid, and they have come out of the pandemic with a solid order book. Sounds good, but the problem is that they are having tremendous difficulty attracting staff, completing orders, and managing inventory in an overcrowded work-space. The owner is...
Read MoreWe recently completed some market research to help a manufacturer selling premium products to determine which geography to focus on. As a premium product, it required individuals with sufficient disposable income and psychographics that would support our client’s product. We looked at age, family groupings, housing density, education and of...
Read MoreWhile the Bridge Keeper in the movie The Holy Grail only asked ‘questions three’, I will ask you ‘questions eight’. Eight questions that as a business owner you can ask yourself, and the answers to which could help you cross the bridge to greater success. We talk a lot about being ‘Best in World’ - executing on the above is the path to get...
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