By Tim Rooney, February 21, 2012.

During my late teens growing -up in Zimbabwe – my French teacher, who was famous in our school for losing a finger to frost bite climbing Mont Blanc – said to my mother at a school “open house” – “ your son won’t even make it as a butcher” !

In the pecking-order of jobs in those days – being a butcher was about as low on the totem pole as you could go – and I wasn’t even going to qualify for that!

I never liked Wally,   but in truth he had good reason for saying what he did . I had just failed all my subjects -   including English! Yikes – how low can you go! So Wally was probably right,  although I resented him saying what he did  and was quite pleased he had lost his pinky climbing Mont Blanc !

In a way – I suppose I should be grateful to Wally – he told the truth.  I was heading on a   downhill road. Struggling to find an identity for myself  I was trying to copy my very popular older brother Rory. I did this by  trying to attract attention and popularity by playing the role of the amusing rebel looking to stir up as much trouble in class  as possible. Problem was my  “friends” – were not laughing with me – but at me !

Fast forward a few years and my life changed for the better. I went onto be reasonably successful both in business & hopefully as a family man

So what changed?

First of all I was “taken-out” out of the private school I was in  [ “taken –out” being code for- the school  suggesting it might be a good if I left ! ] and started again at a government run school – where I completed my schooling.  It was a “new beginning” – no reputation to worry about – just put your head down and be a little serious.

Two teachers made a huge difference – I still remember their names. Pete Snyder – was my geography teacher and also coach for the first team rugby. After my first class he said to me “ Tim would you like to try-out for the team” .  A vote of confidence and “invitation” – as opposed to being told to do something.

The other was an Irishman, Mr O’Brien  – our English teacher , a man with a low temper threshold – but much respected by all of us in his class for his brilliance and passion. He invited me to play a key part in the annual  school play and after class one day  asked me “ so Tim , what University are you going to after you leave school?” This was was also huge for me – that he didn’t even question if I was smart enough to go to University !

So what’s the lesson learned?

It’s this. Very often as people struggle in life and they seem to be failing – all they might need is someone to believe in them and offer encouragement when the don’t believe in themselves.

So what happened to me was in effect the Pygmalion effect.

The Pygmalion effect, or Rosenthal effect, refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the expectation placed upon people, often children or students and employees, the better they perform. The effect is named after Pygmalion, a Cypriot sculptor in a narrative by Ovid in Greek mythology, who fell in love with a female statue he had carved out of ivory after it became human from his wishes.

The Pygmalion effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, and, in this respect, people will internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly. Within sociology, the effect is often cited with regard to education and social class.

By: Brad Ysseldyk, February 20, 2012

“It is what it is”.

This was the  unofficial strategic vision of a company that I visited frequently over the years.  I heard this mantra  repeatedly and watched uncomfortably as complacency set in and the company nearly failed. Competitive advantages were lost, future product development lagged, and customers began to question the company’s true focus.

Accepting ‘the way it is’ was toxic for this organization and many good people were put out of work as a result. Fortunately, the company discovered that to operate successfully in a highly competitive global market, growth strategy must be dynamic, flexible, and most importantly, born out of creativity from employees who are empowered to think freely and think often.

Since the beginning of the 2008 recession, managers everywhere have evaluated and then re-evaluated their vision for growth. While many organizations used the economic downturn as a means to reduce staff and cut costs while simultaneously trying to enhance execution, the unfortunate reality is that for many, this awakening to a new business paradigm seemed to be a one-time event. If we are to assume that the rules of business have truly changed, with marketplaces now more dynamic than at any time in history, a stagnant growth plan is simply unsustainable.

The reality is that at some point all businesses hit the proverbial wall in terms of growth. At the very least, growth will slow and be somewhat selective. Companies that fail to prepare for this eventuality (think S curve) are the same companies relying on outdated growth strategies. Maintaining the status-qua and managing old business will leave any organization in disarray when stagnation sets into their core markets.

The question then becomes, “What can I do as a senior executive to mitigate challenges when the inevitable slowing of growth occurs?”.

The answer: preparation.

Although this perhaps sounds  rudimentary, it amazes me how quickly a market leader becomes complacent and myopic, and ultimately unable or unwilling to acknowledge new market realities. In this sense, as RBC national director of small business Michael Michell suggests, “planning for business growth is as important as planning for a start-up”. Put differently, preparation equates to re-invention, or the ability to adapt to changing opportunities and market realities. How is this done? Although there are different paths to growth, regardless of the economy, these three things could mean the difference between being in the red or celebrating ongoing profitability:

• Focus on edge – Be less traditional and look at bringing both the edge of the market, as well as the edge of the company to the center. There are untapped resources at both of these “edges”. Customer needs or problems, for example, that traditional strategic planning methods fail to address are sitting on the market periphery and can be a source of significant revenue. Furthermore, bringing fresh faces from the edge of the company, especially front line employees, into strategy sessions is an easy way to eliminate market myopia and keep strategy dynamic.

• Shake it up at the top – In an earlier piece, I wrote about ‘Leadership lost in a sea of Leaders’. Specifically, some people are leaders, some are managers, whereas others have a more entrepreneurial outlook, and yet others excel at running a business. Regardless of skill set, it is imperative that prior to the financial S curve starting to turn, new talent must be injected in order to evolve the company’s capabilities and jump to a new S curve.

• Maintain surplus talent – I have been told that the best indicator that a company has a surplus of good talent is when employees have the time (and opportunity) to develop ideas and simply time to do nothing but think. Although some may be sceptical of this concept, after spending time at Google’s Mountain View campus, I became a believer in this idea. By giving employees room to grow personally and professionally, as well as encouraging unhindered thought to problems the company may be facing, new products, processes, and even markets will evolve. Although counter intuitive, cutting staff as growth slows will do nothing but accelerate that downward slope of the S curve. Jump to a new S curve and hire (or at least maintain) quality people and let your competition do the cutting.

To the point, employees along the organizational hierarchy should be encouraged to think freely about the direction of the company or even their particular division— “it is what it is” is simply unacceptable.

Instead of asking workers to fill their calendars with what often amounts to uninspiring meetings, time should be set aside to encourage real, creative thought. Growth strategy sessions should not be confined merely to the realm of management retreats. Empowered employees should be encouraged to participate in the process by providing processes and time for creative thinking. In fact, I have often found that off-site management meetings that are scheduled with the intention to review and generate strategy will typically de-volve into a formalized planning session void of any creative thought, essentially recycling old and tired ideas. It was Mitzberg  who said “real strategic change requires inventing new categories, not rearranging old ones”.

This is a paradigm shift for some, and it is time that companies start getting creative with how they are going to achieve this.

Over the years, one of the most frequently asked questions of myself is, “what am I worth?”.

On the surface it would appear to be a fairly straight-forward question, as in “what do you believe I am worth on the market?”.  Like most things in life, the answer is not necessarily black and white.

Value is a function of how valuable certain things in life are to you.

What is YOUR value system? What stage are you at in your career? Are you still climbing the ladder or are you looking for something else at this particular stage of your career? Without necessarily delving into all of the determinants, I simply ask the question, ‘have you placed a value on what is important to you?’.

In a recently concluded search, an individual left her former role to take a position that in point in fact paid less than what she had been earning.

While the difference in compensation was not great, it seemingly flew in the face of conventional wisdom that suggests that you should always make a move that will see you better off financially. The candidate’s former employer made a counter-offer with financial inducements that were enticing. However, the one thing that her former employer could not offer her was the principal motivator in her thought process – a severely reduced commute. The candidate had an opportunity to reduce her commute time by an hour and a half to two hours cumulatively each way every day by moving to her new role.

That represented seven to ten hours of freed up time per week. At her current level of compensation, she was in fact over the course of the year significantly better off (more valuable) when she incorporated the value derived from the distribution of time allocated for family versus work. When initially recruited, I asked her the question, ‘what would that additional family time be worth to you?’.

Commute-time is but one of many factors that an individual should consider when trying to ascertain their worth. If the answer lies strictly in dollars and cents then using standard parameters – eg,  comparable sized companies in similar markets with similar roles to determine one’s worth -  works well.

More often than not though, factors such as corporate culture, flexibility, experience and challenge are others factors like the commute need to be considered.

While not surprising, the good news is that employers are for the most part inclined to gravitate toward candidates whom gave increased compensation as a motivator lower on their priority scale.

In today’s highly competitive job market, perhaps the question should be, how much are these criteria worth to you?

By Greg Berube, February 19, 2012

I’ve been in the Branding game for more than 20 years. One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed the industry is the lack of real rules. This may sound strange, but with branding being a creative game, conforming isn’t the most natural path!

Comments like “we don’t do it that way” or “it needs to be like this” are far too limiting for the Creative Branding people.

One test I have used in the past to judge the level of “acceptable” is to put a solution in front of the client that answers the criteria but is very, very liberal  - just to see the reaction and body language in the room. Believe me, you can learn a great deal, plus give yourself a benchmark and an understanding of the boundaries.

That being said there are a few rules of the industry. These are simple and can really guide your path or career.

1.   You must be able to do the work – simple, you need to be able to understand the problem and put forward reasonable solutions.

2.   You must be able to present – this one always surprised me, how can you be in a communications industry and have a fear of presentations? You must be able to convincingly communicate and sell your idea.

3.   You must be financially responsible – responsible to the internal budget – it’s part of your job to drive profit.

Simple!

As the world changed there are now a few more considerations:

1.   1+1=3. This is important – - all solutions MUST drive revenues for the client. The client may appreciate your ideas but if you can’t turn it into revenue it will most likely die.

2.   The CFO gets two votes. In today’s corporate world the CEO or the VP Marketing will not have the last word on your solution. The CFO will hold the final card – again, you must convince this “show me the money” person – that your solution will equal dollars.

This may not sound as “fun” as it should be – but if you get the CFO on-board with your thoughts and direction early, you will have a better chance of your solutions succeeding.  You can establish boundaries and tolerances and still have enough room for creative interpretation.

Always remember – money talks!  Learn how to talk the money.

Brazil, is one of the members of BRIC, and is ranked  as one of the world’s top five economies.

For analysts the Brazilian economy will be growing steadily, promoting external investments, broadening their commodities’ exportations, and raising expectations to a new lower middle class.

As a result, executives and companies are the ones interested in establishing solid bases in the country, considering the potential of growth opportunities.  Companies and investors are not only projecting their ventures while thinking about the 2014 Soccer World Cup or 2016 Olympic Games    , but they are also looking for possibilities beyond those events.

However, how are companies and investors reaching this valuable market? What are the tools they will need, in order to be successful players? What do International Executives need to learn, to be successful in their missions?

The composer Antonio Carlos Jobim (Tom Jobim) once said: “Brazil is not for beginners”. In the same way that immigrants face the lack of “Canadian experience ” when landing in Canada, experienced international executives will face cultural business differences, when working in Brazil.

People often ask: What are those business differences? In a global economy, why are businesses in Brazil not done in the same way that they are done in Canada, USA, England, and Germany?  What are the different aspects between Brazilian executives and other international executives? The answer lies in the “Brazilian way”, an approximate translation of “jeitinho brasileiro”.

The “Brazilian way” can be defined as being a way to work in the country when confronted with:

-  the lack of medium or long-term planning; the measures adopted to confront the giant bureaucracy; the overhead costs arising from inefficient public services; the deficient basic infrastructure; the poor security; the improvisation; and the lack of quality controls.

To face this difficult scenario, investors and international executives need to be trained, and be mentored by experienced counsellors and Brazilian executives. Those executives have a high level of international education and understand how to do business in the country. They are hard-driven and can be a valuable asset to companies starting-up their business within Brazil.

Another point to mention is that Brazilian executives like to build strong relationships with their business partners. Based on this strong relationship; then business can be done, process can be improved, and goals may be reached.  Changing members of international teams are not recommended.

To build long-lasting relationships, is the basis of doing business successfully in Brazil. International executives cannot expect to start a venture during their first trip. It takes time to get favourable feedback from the Brazilian executives. A full understanding of the scenario, and the “terrain”, is mandatory.  Alliances with seasoned local lawyers and accountants, is obligatory – and they can work as useful advisors to avoid pitfalls.

To conclude, international executives will be doing well if they are patient, flexible, and reliable when dealing with Brazilian partners.

A lot of patience is necessary in understanding the curves and the ups and downs of a negotiation. It takes time, and the international executives need to evaluate if they are dealing with the right people, as people are a big part of their decision process.

In some cases the process does not flow at the necessary speed because the negotiators are not the ones interested in reaching a final decision.

Also, international executives need to be flexible to find ways to deal with the complicated Brazilian bureaucracy.

At this point, the use of reliable forwarding agents (despachante) is recommended. They are able to speed process, follow rules and procedures – saving cost to international players.

Finally, reliable people are the foundation of successful negotiations.

Brazilian executives are experienced in doing business with consistent partners that they can count on. International executives cannot misinterpret “the Brazilian way” as an excuse to not follow rules or to be unethical, or breach contracts, or to dismiss previous arrangements.

Brazilian executives admire counterparts that are able to confront the country’s challenges with professionalism, passion, and knowledge surpassing momentary obstacles.

For International Executives dealing with Brazilian counterparts, please try to understand “the Brazilian way”.

O compositor Antonio Carlos Jobim (Tom Jobim) uma vez disse: “O Brasil não é para pricipiantes”( Brazil is not for beginners). Da mesma forma que imigrantes confrontam a “falta de experiência no país”  (“Canadian experience ”) quando se estabelecem no Canadá, experientes executivos internacionais estarão confrontando diferenças culturais na forma de trabalhar quando negociando no Brasil. As pessoas podem indagar: Porque estas diferenças na forma de trabalhar? Numa economia global porque  lá os negócios não são executados da mesma forma que  no Canadá, Estados Unidos, Inglaterra e Alemanha? Em que aspectos os executivos brasileiros diferem dos executivos internacionais? As respostas estão no “jeito brasileiro” uma aproximação do  “jeitinho brasileiro”.  O “jeito brasileiro”pode ser definido como forma de trabalhar  frente a dificuldades como: a falta de planejamento no medio e longo prazo; as medidas adotadas para enfrentar a grande burocracia, os custos indiretos oriundos de serviços publicos ineficientes, a deficiência na infra estrutura básica,  a falta de segurança, a improvisação e, o deficiente controle de qualidade. Para sobreviver neste difícil cenário, investidores e executivos internacionais necessitam ser treinados e orientados por experientes conselheiros e executivos brasileiros. Estes executivos tem um alto nivel de educação internacional e conhecem como fazer negócios no país. Eles são direcionados, articulados e, podem ser considerados valiosos ativos para companias que estão iniciando atividades no Brasil.

Outro ponto a ser mencionado é que executivos brasileiros gostam de construir com seus parceiros comerciais fortes e duradouras relações. Baseado nesta forte relação, negócios podem ser feitos, processos podem ser melhorados e, objetivos podem ser alcançados. A mudança de membros de um time internacional não é recomendada.  Construir longas e duradouras relações são as bases para fazer negócios no país. Executivos internacionais não devem esperar fazer negócios na primeira viagem.  Leva tempo para obter uma resposta favorável de executivos brasileiros. O completo entendimento do cenário e do terreno apresentado, é obrigatório. O acompanhamento de experientes e recomendados advogados e contabilistas é também obrigatório. Estes, devem trabalhar como úteis conselheiros, evitando-se dificuldades.

Para concluir, executivos internacionais, quando negociando com parceiros brasileiros, estarão corretos se forem pacientes, flexíveis, e confiáveis. É preciso muita paciência para compreender as curvas e o sobe e desce de uma negociação. Leva tempo e, executivos internacionais necessitam avaliar se estão negociando com as pessoas certas, se estas pessoas fazem parte do processo decisório.  Em  alguns casos, o processo não anda na velocidade necessária porque os negociadores não são aqueles interessados na decisão final. Também, executivos internacionais necessitam ser flexíveis para encontrar os caminhos de como lidar com a burocracia brasileira. Neste ponto o uso de despachantes (despachante) é recomendável. Eles são competentes para dar velocidade em processos, seguindo regras e procedimentos, economizando custos para clientes internacionais. Finalizando, pessoas confiáveis são as bases de negociações de sucesso. Executivos brasileiros são experientes em promover negócios com parceiros consistentes e com quem eles podem contar. Executivos internacionais não devem entender ou mal interpreter o “jeito brasileiro” como uma desculpa para não seguir normas, ser anti-ético, não cumprir contratos, ou desfazer acordos prévios. Executivos brasileiros admiram parceiros aptos para confrontar os desafios do país com profissionalismo, entusiasmo e, conhecimento para ultrapassar os obstáculos do momento. Executivos internacionais, quando negociando com parceiros brasileiros, tentem entender o “Jeito brasileiro”.

We all know that from time to time in life  “ bad things happen” to us – sometimes those bad things can be quite overwhelming

How we respond can either strengthen or weaken us and is a measure perhaps of our true character

A long time ago – I remember reading – “Mans Search for Meaning” –  by Victor Frankl and how inspired I was by this man’s ability to overcome life in the most outrageous conditions,  in a notorious concentration camp and to never lose hope or his humanity

I’ve recently started to read the book again. One paragraph caught my attention where he recounts …

“ We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one last thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’ s own way”.

Having endured all the suffering imaginable Victor Frankl never lost his will to live and even in the most abject conditions – kept finding meaning in his life.

He did this by never losing sight of his end goal when he got out of the concentration camp. He kept going , by studying the  behaviours of those who never gave-in to see what  separated them from the majority, who succumbed to the horrors of life in a concentration camp and those who rose above it. When subsequently freed by the Allies  he converted this knowledge to Logo Therapy which today is acknowledged as a powerful therapy focused on helping people find meaning in life & over-coming depression.

Victor Frankl set the bar very high for us to measure our own response to “bad things that happen” and that we have the will to “choose our attitude”  to any given set of bad circumstances that inevitably happen in our day to day lives

There is a time that a Franchisor inevitably ask themselves why some of their Franchisees bought the franchise in the first place.  The answer usually lies in how the relationship is initially handled by the Franchisor.  Usually a Franchisee comes into a system with good intentions; to leverage the Franchisor’s knowledge and Brand equity by using the systems and processes the Franchisor has developed.  The trouble is, it’s not long before a Franchisee gets to a level of operational competency.  Ad that to the independence that they strove to attain through Franchising and they start to fool themselves into thinking that they are entrepreneurs when the reality is that they are not.  If they were, they would have developed the brand, the operating system, and processes themselves.  Try telling that to a group of Franchisees that in short order think they know more about the business than the people that developed it in the first place.  Yes, many Franchisees will say that “my market is different” and “my customers” are unique.  Therein lies the fundamental mistake of the Franchisor; they haven’t made it clear from the outset that the “Market” and the “Customer” is not the Franchisee’s … … it’s the Franchisor’s.  The Franchisee enters into a term agreement with the Franchisor to have access to, among other things, the right to us the Franchisor’s Brand to access the Franchisor’s Customers in the market that the Franchisor sees fit.  I often think that Franchisors would be better served to instil this philosophy into their Franchisees at the outset and continually reinforce it.

‘cause when they don’t, … … … they’ll feel they are herding cats!

As more and more senior-executive boomers are seeking post-corporate career options, the greatest roadblock they face is how to market their expertise. Boardroom Metrics Inc., a talent agency for senior executives, prepares its members for the transition into post-corporate careers, while also marketing and placing them as consultants, interim managers, coaches and Chief Executive Officers.

Founded by CEO Jim Crocker, Boardroom Metrics offers programs for senior post-corporate executives, providing them with a branded platform, a team, marketing and advisory support to identify and seek business opportunities. A major component of the service immerses senior executives in the latest technologies of social media and blogging, enabling them to maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Its ‘Accomplished Executives Program’ attracts top talent with high-level boardroom and senior leadership experience. Boardroom Metrics promotes its executives to corporations seeking experienced talent for Boards and senior management.

Each member of the Accomplished Executives team has a unique area of specialty including expertise in corporate and not-for-profit governance, corporate branding, mergers and acquisitions, CEO coaching, business conflict resolution, early stage business development, recruitment, strategic planning, marketing, social media, forensic accounting, employee health, professional services and fundraising.

Members of the talent roster provide the ‘Business Tools’ to help Boards of Directors and business owners create sustainable and transferrable business value. Focusing on the real drivers of the company, the objective is to help clients improve organizational effectiveness.

Boardroom Metrics executives have worked in sectors such as technology, telecom, healthcare, not-for-profit, consumer packaged goods, retail, manufacturing, franchising, professional services and financial services; serving major organizations such as Anthony Robbins, Pepsi, Tim Hortons, Bell New Ventures, Canada Bread, Kraft Worldwide, Starlight Children’s Foundation and The Source.

Updated news:
Boardroom Metrics is proud to announce the addition of Stephen O’Keefe, Vice President of Operations at the Retail Council of Canada, and former Vice President of Loss Prevention and Risk Management at Walmart. Stephen brings experience as a consultant in the areas of risk management, loss prevention and process improvement to the Boardroom Metrics team.

About Boardroom Metrics:
Since 1994, Boardroom Metrics Inc. provides the people, processes and tools for assessing and creating valuable businesses. To create value, senior leaders must understand what the value drivers are, how they are performing and what changes will drive improvement. The firm believes that those with real-life business leadership experience are best-suited to help other executives. Its team of Accomplished Executives are proven performers across industries and in key roles. Based in Toronto, Boardroom Metrics represents team members in Ottawa and Halifax.

Available for interviews:
Founder and CEO Jim Crocker
Partner and Director Karen McElroy

Recently, in the news there have been some very disturbing events concerning brands and how organizations fail to understand the importance of everyday brand communication.

As I pointed out in an earlier article, we define ourselves by the brands we choose. It helps us understand our place in the world. Organizations bank their revenues on this type of philosophy.

With this in mind I would like to draw to your attention two terrible mistakes made by two international brands that will affect their go- forward planning and certainly overall revenues.

1. The unfortunate Costa Concordia disaster. This tragedy and the ensuing blame around a hotdogging captain and false rumours of a 30% discount on future cruises for stricken passengers represent the worst kind of brand disaster – breached safety standards and passenger, person insensitivity can be fatal to even the strongest brands.
2. Blackberry (RIM).  This Company has had its troubles in the past few years as it struggles to catch up with the competition that always seems to be one step ahead. Finally, after pressure from shareholders the two founders stepped aside and named a new President. Unfortunately, stating that the there is no need for major change and that “the Company will continue to build on its present plan” in his first public appearance was also insensitive and exactly what customers, shareholders and people who care about the brand didn’t want to hear. The share price and media sentiment reacted accordingly.

Although these are starkly different examples of brand disasters, it doesn’t appear that in either case there was much of a meaty plan to recognize the sensitivity requirements and the necessity to ‘communicate the appropriate message’ .

Here are a few tips and ideas on brand disaster planning for your consideration:

• Rally the troops, circle the wagons – start internally, get all employees and stakeholders organized and define rules and expectations from all senior and intermediate managers. Remember, they speak directly to customers and affect revenues daily.

• Get the story straight – get all the facts – take your time and make your first interview count, all other communications will be based on the first words, the tone, the language – even the body language, all must be right. Deliver your message and believe it.   Don’t make the media guess, draw their own conclusions or connect the dots. Their job is to sell the story – the more sensational the better. They really won’t care if you don’t care.

• Choose a media format – it could be a Press Release, electronic media (reality is  Facebook and twitter will most likely break the story before you) – you must be in front of, (and in control of) the message.

• Stick to the story – once you got your message keep repeating it, most people need to hear/ see something three times before they absorb it completely. Make sure you leave the option open to expand the story as facts change.

• Pick a spokesperson – one person – this is important – not all CEOs make good spokespeople, find one early and get them media training.

• Accept some loss – you will lose some revenues, plan for the future.

Although these steps seem simple, planning for them can sometimes be a difficult exercise. Brand disasters just don’t happen everyday!

However, when they do happen, and as companies further develop and fund and tie their financial success to their brand, this planning must be undertaken. When disaster does happen, everyone is going to thank you.