Working with several businesses at various stages of development, as well as many projects that are to become the basis for future businesses, I’ve discovered something interesting about management teams. Every business or project has one, even if the entire company consists of a single individual. However, what I’ve discovered is that there is a [...]
In my recent post The Right Time to Network I emphasized the importance of networking well in advance of you actually needing something from your network. I was mentioning the post to my photographer during a photo shoot (new images will be put up within a few days), and he described it in a way [...]
Over the past few years, I’ve participated in a variety of networking groups, both online and in real life. I’ve also read several books on networking, and have been coached by a professional networking facilitator on etiquette. Out of interest, I started asking people around me about their networking experiences, what pushed them to start, [...]
Part of my business involves advising other business owners how to avoid certain pitfalls they may encounter as they grow. I teach them how to manage quality, people, expectations. I teach them how to balance the need for an immediate solution against the long-term needs of the business for a stable solution. The question I [...]
When HP was first founded, it was done on the basis of a product which had been built out of curiosity and then sold, followed by requests for more. The engineers then built another product, and then another, each of which sold to more and more customers. The company grew on the basis of many [...]
Do the clothes make the man? Perhaps not, but they can certainly change perceptions. Recent discussions with a variety of office managers led me to the conclusion that perhaps, in a desire to have an open and comfortable environment, the lack of protocol in the offices exacerbated the issues with motivation. Protocol has a variety [...]
A few times over the last few months I had been thinking about risk, and the entrepreneurial lifestyle. I’ve held discussions with various people, and while I have not had any great epiphany, I have realized that it’s only once you think about this that you truly understand. Before working exclusively for myself, I worked [...]
I was informed today that starting in October, I will be back playing hockey once a week. This was not prompted by myself, but by my wife, who suggested that having taken 2 years off from playing, it’s about time I get back on the ice. No, this isn’t about me having a sedentary lifestyle [...]
I just got off the phone with my cell phone provider having had a very good experience. This is what customer service should be like – reasonable, helping me figure out what I need, and then getting it for me at a reasonable price. I’ve been with Telus for seven years, and have always had [...]
There are hundreds of sites for asking questions – some focusing on particular areas such as programming or building a business, others which are open to any type of question. In recent weeks, I have spent time browsing through questions and answers, looking at the way in which people phrase their thoughts. What struck me [...]
