Alberta Business Marketing

As we say sayonara to 2011 and usher in 2012 its prime time to consider the "3 re's"; re-focus, re-engage, re-commit. If what you did last year worked for you - great, keep doing more of that. If you want a different result make sure you are not living Einstein's definition of insanity "doing the same thing and expecting a different result."

While debating what message to start the New Year with I came across a piece of paper with my chicken scratch entitled the 5 Secrets to Life. Well I can't recall who passed along these gems to me I can pass them along to you and hope you find as much value in them as I did.

1. Be true to yourself - the only person you really ever have to answer to is you. Are you living the life you want? If yes move on to number two. If not, consider building a personal compass by identifying your core values and for one month rate yourself daily to see if you are on course. Click on the link for a list of Core Values and rating info.http://www.salesfertilizer.com/documents/corevalues.pdf

2. Leave no regrets - one of my favourite quotes (which is on my e-mail signature) is from Nelson Mandela, "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." Commit deeply to what you love (i.e. passion), dream big and follow through.

3. Become Love - initially this may sound a little corny. To be clear we are talking about the big L Love - i.e. Love thy neighbour. Bitterness and anger, guilt and jealousy are emotional destroyers that take their toll. If you are resenting someone, the reality is you're punishing yourself more than you are punishing them.

4. Live in the moment - Buddhists call this Presence - the art of fully being in the now vs. getting caught up in useless past and future mind chatter. Whatever you are doing, do it fully and completely and find joy in the moment.

5. Give more than you take - Imagine how the earth (and all of her inhabitants) would benefit if we all had this mind set. Find other's with a similar mentality, work together and watch miracles unfold.

While resolutions and goals are good without getting to the core of what matters most to you, achieving those goals is likely to feel like a hollow victory. Why not make this your year and live your life accordingly each and every day.

Best wishes for a joyous 2012,
Shelley McQuade

Tags: Strategy
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You see a successful company in action or in the news and it all seems well seamless. While many a CEO has mastered their “game face” and spouts no problems propaganda, the CEOs that are near and dear to my heart are the ones that give you the goods – the real deal. And according to neuroscience we get that. When a leader is authentic and speaking from the heart we sense it and respond by fully engaging and giving back with our all.

This week I had the fortune of attending the Golden Horseshoe Manufacturing Network Breakfast session where Steve Meldrum of Eco Waste Solutions shared his perspective on innovation and reverse engineered their project success. A real deal CEO, it became increasingly apparent as he spoke that his leadership played an intricate part in their overnight success (which in reality was made up of many, many nights) and helped his team tackle the task at hand with aplomb . They were awarded a significant contract from NATO to design a remote waste management solution. Sounds pretty simple at first blush for a company that specializes in waste solutions. Ah ah ah, not so fast, there were significant constraints. Like the “must be able to withstand the elements and operate in snow blizzards, sand storms and the rainforest” or the “must be shipped in a 20 foot shipping container”.

Steve shared nuggets of innovation wisdom. I’ve taken the liberty of synopsising them add putting my spin on it.

New ways are much harder than old ways: You design a better mouse track, heck you even create new processes that are going to make it way easier to build. Everyone is going to be excited, jump on board and make it happen ASAP. Or folks could struggle with the idea of doing things differently, want to stay in their comfort zone and it could take a little (ok a lot) longer than anticipated. The salient point – be prepared for resistance (often unconscious or at the very least unexpressed resistance) when introducing new things to your team. Find your change agents, engage them early on and identify and help the resisters get on board.

“Easy changes” take forever: Little things mean a lot. Little things can really stack up. If you estimate it is going to take a week – double or triple the time and the cost. Enough said. Underestimating “easy changes” can kill your project and prevent you from focusing on the “high return” components.

It seemed like a REALLY good idea: You’ve gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. It’s 10 PM, the teams been at it for hours, your all pumped with caffeine – and you find the latest, greatest solution – until the next morning when you realize what seemed really hot is not. Failing is a part of innovation – failing fast is smart innovation. Know when to let an idea go to make room for a better solution.

They say hind sight is 20/20. However there is something else about hind sight. When you have lived and breathed an experience day in and day out it becomes hard coded in your brain and you have a deep sense of knowing next time around. According to Steve, his organization learned much from overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. Success breeds success and having done it before, gives you the confidence to do it again, so innovation is deep seated in your organization's DNA. A competitive advantage to be sure.

Shelley McQuade

Tags: Strategy
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Some business succeed to due to a lack of competition, others succeed in spite of it. If you can make it in the airline business my guess is you could make it in pretty much any industry. Consider the following. First, you need a whack of capital to start and build your business. You are navigating a number of “uncontrollables” like fuel costs, airport fees, and catastrophe’s like 9-11. Yet in spite of the odds being stacked against him Robert Deluce of Porter Airlines rolled the dice and began Porter Airlines almost 5 years to the date. For Small Business Week he’s out and about sharing his story from a Chamber keynote this morning to an interview with Lang and O’Leary earlier this week. (Skip to end of video to see Porter segment). As one who looks for patterns of success and has a fondness for synthesizing information I thought I would take a crack at recounting the “Porter Success Formula”.

1. Culture Counts – One of Porter’s biggest successes and an on-going challenge is building and maintaining a strong corporate culture. Engaged employees spawn loyal customers. Loyal customers improve profitability – enough said.

2. Resilience Matters -The business plan was written, the real estate (aka Toronto Island Airport) secured, the plan for the bridge to transport people over was designed – and then it was turned down. Some would have thought – no bridge, no business. Instead Mr.Deluce picked himself up, dusted himself off reworked the business plan, dug deep to find more capital and made sure he had the best and brightest senior executive team to get the job done. Roadblocks are a fact of life; overcoming them is critical.

3.Little Things Add up to a Lot – Free beverages (and not just any beverage – wine and beer), pleasant snacks, more leg room, leather seats, a lounge with great seats, wifi and the crème de la crème friendly people! Customers like to feel special. Porter’s customers feel cared for. So much so that their customer satisfaction rating was 83% - a higher number than Ipsos Reid had ever seen in the airline industry. Crafting a good customer experience and aligning all of your touch points provides a solid pay back.

4. KISS – Keep it simple s_ _ _ _ _ _ ! Speed, convenience, service – those are Porter’s foundational pillars. Whether you create a guiding principle like the Four Season’s (do unto others as you would have done unto you) or foundational pillars like Porters; a simple, succinct message that helps your employees understand what matters most makes sure your unique competitive advantage gets walked and talked every day.

5.Cost Controls are King – Sure it’s great that you can provide a superior customer experience but if you can’t do it efficiently you’ve got a hobby not a business. Porter’s breakeven load factor hovers around 50% in comparison to other industry giants – low cost carriers come in at 73% while legacy carriers are at a whopping 83%. Figure out how you can give more than your competition and keep your costs lower and you’ve got a recipe for success.

So next time you’re sitting around the board room table lamenting that it can’t be done. Look at someone like Porter who has done it and do a bit of brainstorming as to how you can apply the same principles in your business.

Shelley McQuade

Tags: Branding, Strategy
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The dog days of summer are coming to a close… (a - like you need the reminder and b – what is a dog day?)

Well I’m glad you asked - according to Webster’s, it’s the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere; a period of stagnation or inactivity.

It won’t be long before the kids are back in school, vacations are a distant memory, and you are back in the groove.

Which begs the question, how well is your groove working for you?

I often hear people lament – specifically on the work front – that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Well the hours in a day are finite, how we use those hours is a choice.
How does one in essence create more time?

Rule # 1 – Multi-tasking is a myth. While we may be able to do a couple of rote tasks at the same time doing two or more things at once and/or switching tasks consistently – reading the report, checking e-mail, talking on the phone, back to the report – means our brain literally has to shift gears as different tasks use different parts of the brain. This mental gymnastics takes time – both the switching and the refocusing. Commit to a task and stick with it to get more done in less time.

Rule # 2 – Energy = Productivity. You can have the best of intentions; be sitting in front of your computer, and even typing words however, if you are not in a peak state (i.e. high energy) you are accomplishing less. When we are in “flow”; that state where time flies by and what we are doing feels effortless, we achieve our personal best. We need to be accessing all of our brain to be in flow. Physical activity helps, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of rest to name a few.

Rule # 3 – Prioritize. Business guru Peter Drucker said it best “Do first things first and second things not at all”. As human beings we are social creatures and research has shown “feeling in on things” is a prime motivator for employees. So much so that I believe people attend meetings they don’t have to, throw their hat in the ring to be part of a project when their expertise could be better utilized elsewhere. Make a list of everything you are currently working on. Prioritize what you feel will yield the highest return based on your organization’s goals. Do you have the time you need to work on this? If not, what could you drop to free up time? If you lack objectivity bring a trusted colleague into the scenario to help and offer to do the same for them.

Time really is on your side, it’s up to you to make sure it stays that way.

Shelley McQuade

Tags: This and That
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Not to keep banging on about my trip to Italy but the food (and wine) was amazing. Wood-oven thin crust pizza with tomato sauce so fresh and flavourful topped with large leaves of basil and creamy buffalo mozzarella. Not to mention pairing it with a fine Chianti; who knew house wines could be so good! And the gelato – the limone and pistachio (that’s pronounced – pist – ack – eo). All of this while sitting in a cafe watching the Italians go by. Let’s face it, they know how to dress and ooze style. Women in stilettos driving on scooters, men wearing scarves stylishly knotted at the neck. What an experience!

Ahh back to reality... (and now that summer is here not too harsh of a reality). Yesterday I was at the Royal Botanical Garden -a beautiful venue - where I was practising what I preach; networking after a networking workshop I did for the Burlington Chamber. While sipping on wine we got to talking about wineries. Living a half hour drive from Niagara wine country we lamented how good the wine tastes when you are at a winery and the winemaker is passionately telling you about the grapes he selected, why he selected them and his entire process from vine to bottle. Top that off with tasting tips on how to best enjoy it in the glass (letting it breath, swirling before smelling and tasting – you get the idea). One of my fellow networkers Rick lamented “and then you buy three cases but it just doesn’t taste the same at home”.

We are sensory beings ruled by emotion vs. logic (although we like to think the contrary). We respond to stories, are stimulated by sight and sound. It’s how we’re wired or hard wired according to Evolutionary Psychology which tells us our brains haven’t changed all that much since we roamed the Savannah. It is indeed the emotion we feel from experiences that shape our lives.

As a business we have an opportunity to create a mediocre or spectacular experience. So what kind of an experience are you giving your customers? Is it happen-stance or have you carefully crafted it to meet their needs. Is it consistent and memorable or easily forgettable? Back in my advertising days, one of my key messages to clients was “I can get them in the door, what are you going to do keep them”. Before you discard the concept, thinking your business is different, you don’t sell wine or food, think again – a transformational experience is possible in any business, it simply needs to be gift wrapped uniquely for your customer. And the bonus – companies that provide exceptional experiences are rewarded with loyal customers that happily pay a premium. Perhaps it’s time for your company to move into brand prominence.

Shelley McQuade

Tags: Branding, Customer Experience, This and That
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