Unemployment figures continue to improve; we have a little way to go before we are back to pre-pandemic levels, but we are moving in the right direction. Currently, unemployment in Canada is 7.5% (1.5m) and in the US it is 5.4% (10m). These figures will include people who are ‘looking’ for work; they won’t include the people who could work but f...
Read MoreWhenever the name Thomas Edison is mentioned, people often think about ‘the man that invented the light-bulb’, and most are aware of the many variations of his famous quote about trying to make the lightbulb work: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work”.
Read MoreSuccess in business is a rare thing, in fact 70% of businesses fail within their first 10 years. And that number holds true for all types of business. Of those that don’t fail, only a few really soar. Why am I saying this? Simply to suggest that you be careful when you think about emulating your peers or you may well be joining a pack of lemmings h...
Read MoreTwenty years ago, Salesforce invented the phrase “Software-as-a-Service” or ‘SaaS”. Since then, the growth of this concept has been phenomenal. A few years ago, I was collating Latvian SaaS companies into a single database to facilitate investors. Now, categorizing SaaS enterprises is not a straightforward activity as they fall into so many differe...
Read MoreAn area that people get wrong all the time is pricing. Some people price high based on the profits they hope to achieve. Some base it on some sort of average industry “cost-plus” rule. Some are afraid to charge too much. Still, others simply add a few percent to last year’s price. So before you set your next price or quote your next deal here are...
Read MoreFirst, let me tell you how grateful I am for the good fortune Kingsford has experienced during this crazy year of 2020. While many have suffered difficult times, we have been lucky to have an expanding roster of great clients who are thriving in this weird economy and are seizing the emerging opportunities.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has been an excellent stress test for society - the way work and the way we live. It’s brought to light things that are obsolete, things that are inefficient, and things that from a 21st-century perspective, are simply wrong. We all read about the dramatic changes that are happening in retail. Companies are attracting clients...
Read MoreThis is the second of two articles exploring the connection (or rather, often the lack of it) between strategy and operations. Last week we discussed how ‘doing strategy’ was about keeping in your mind’s eye on what you want to be and where you want to go as a company, while at the same time being aware of the art of the possible. The future is un...
Read MoreThis is the first of two articles exploring the connection (or rather, often the lack of it) between strategy and operations. The two things are separate but inseparable. Any organization needs them both to be working in harmony and feeding each other. We see many companies embarking on an exercise of strategic planning while simultaneously dri...
Read MoreBy the late 40s, the US Air Force was experiencing an unacceptable increase in the rate of air incidents and crashes. This was the era of the introduction of jet aircraft. Apart from appearing to be pilot error, there didn't seem to be a common underlying cause. But there was. Back in 1926, the Air Force realised that pilots came in all differ...
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