"Stimulating" the Economy

Around the world governments have been implementing "stimulus" packages to try to get the economy back on track.

First point ... I think that is absolutely the right thing to do. Business as normal would be like "ostrich syndrome" ... sticking your head in the sand and pretending nothing unusual was happening.

Second point ... its not enough! We need to have everyone pulling together and herein lies the problem ... in ONE word ... GREED!

Wall street investment firms paid out Billions of dollars in bonuses this year ... EVEN as they were going cap in hand looking for money from the government ... read Joe average tax payer (who are the shareholders of the government).

CEOs continue to take home significant incomes, with massive bonuses and stock plans, despite the fact their companies have tanked!

Executives of these publicly traded companies continue to enjoy the "lifestyle" of the rich, flying in corporate jets, dining in exclusive restaurants, golfing at exotic locations etc. and I honestly believe that is all extravagance that NO shareholder should need to pay for These people earn good money, if they want these perks make them pay out of their own pocket!

Boards of publicly traded companies continue to enjoy the same perks and income they enjoyed despite the market crash!

Here is my take:

1. The taxpayer (ie. governments around the world) have done their bit ... and may continue to add "stimulus" where they can. Thank you!
2. CEOs need to get with the program ... change your behaviours, reduce your income, STOP taking massive bonuses from the shareholders.
3. Executives in general need to follow the same example ... cut back, be frugal, be seen to be part of the solution.
4. Ditto for board members.
5. Companies need their own stimulus packages ... encourage staff to invest in the economy. Implement employee purchase plans ... eg computer purchase plans with payroll deduction; charitable contributions with payroll deduction; where possible lower interest rate loans/no interest rate loans for targeted purchases relevant to their jobs.
6. Companies need to invest in the economy ... adopt a charity; support local businesses; spend wisely with local suppliers etc.

There will always be nay sayers to the stimulus package. I am disgusted with the NDP and Parti Quebecois who are playing political games at a time when we need EVERYONE pulling together on a fixing our economy.

That old saying says it all ... lets ALL be part of the solution and NOT part of the problem!

A Rant!

Yesterday I blogged about dead wood ... Wikipedia characterizes this as referring to "non-contributing members, usually of longer standing", which is pretty good in my book.

Today the union representing the "dead wood" that comprises the OC Transpo in Ottawa reached the milestone of 50 days on strike.

Yesterday I read that more than 70,000 jobs were lost around the world just in January.

Yesterday the Canadian Federal Government unveiled a package of spending designed to stimulate our economy in the face of such world-wide turmoil.

The Teachers Assistants at York University have just about killed the academic year for many students with their strike action.

What is wrong with this picture?

Why does our society provide protection to these ungrateful people?

Every morning I pass a bunch of picketers blocking traffic into Ottawa city hall. A cadre of policemen have to direct traffic and presumably protect these morons from people who just might be inclined to vent their frustration on them.

The world is mad!

It would be SO sweet to fire them all and replace them with people that want a job!

Not sure if you noticed ... but I am a little worked up about unions these days!

Dead Wood!

We have been hearing about the issues in the world’s economies for some time.

If you have any of your assets in the stock market then you will likely have been severely and negatively impacted over the last few months … anecdotally a “hit” somewhere between 25% and 40% on the value of your portfolio. Your advisor of course will tell you that is just a paper loss, as long as you don’t need the money now … but the reality is that the dollar (or pound etc) that you put in the stock market in September certainly isn’t worth a dollar today!

As time has gone by we have seen the impact spread to engulf institutions, once venerable and now not so desirable as they slide into bankruptcy, or look to the various governments for handouts. The architects of this economic mess are the financial institutions, and some of them no longer exist, Lehman Brothers being probably the most famous … but the list is long! The affects of the crisis have been severely felt in many sectors and Wikipedia even maintains a list of business failures, with the last year or so demonstrating just how many companies have succumbed to this crisis.

Companies that are still strong have taken this opportunity to look at their current workforce and trim costs. For most it is an exercise in cutting poor performers, whether it is at the individual level such as a broad-brush "bottom 5% (or 10%) out" strategy, or it is an opportunity to divest themselves of poorly performing business units!

This is called trimming the dead wood!

The very clear message to any employee right now is this … YOU do NOT want to be known as dead wood!

So … in these unprecedented times, in order to preserve your income I suggest that you need to do things differently! You need to elevate your performance, demonstrate a great attitude and make sure that you are doing everything possible to be (or become) invaluable to your employer!

I did write a blog entry about What to Do in a Recession back in November which might be worth a read too.

Like I said in that blog entry the bottom line is that you need to come to work every day prepared to put in 100% effort! If you do that you will probably be OK… but to be safe, aim for 105% (sorry for the cliché)!

Do NOT be the Dead Wood!

Queen's Entrepreneur's Competition - a Showcase of Talent!

I had the pleasure of spending a day at Queen’s University in Kingston on Saturday. They were running their annual Queen’s Entrepreneur Contest and my wife was one of the judges for the final day.

There were six (6) entrants who made it through to the final day, from a field of sixteen (16). I managed to watch the presentations from five of the six finalists and was extremely impressed by all of them. Each team presented their business case in about a 40 minute time slot, answered questions and received feedback from the judges panel, which seemed fairly heavily loaded on the financial sector.

In the evening there was a meet and greet, followed by a dinner and dancing. As usual Janis and I were the last of the “older generation” to leave, and while tempted to get on the dance floor we decided to head out some time around 1am.

I was left with a number of impressions from this experience … so I’ll try to capture just a few.

1. The confidence and maturity of these young people was astounding. They were very accomplished presenters, who had gained good sales, marketing and general business experience in developing their ideas … and most have every intention of seeing them through to fruition.

2. Naturally there was disappointment amongst those who did not reach the finals, and those who felt they should have placed higher. We talked to a few of the students who were second guessing their business idea based upon some “tough” feedback. We told then that what they got was “opinions” from a few people, and that different people might well have had very different opinions. We also told them that if they believe in their idea then they should keep pushing it!

3. I found myself comparing my own background with these people. I have had some success, but later in life after a “slow start”. At their age, in fact older than most of them, I was just beginning to get serious about studying heading back to school after seven years in the Royal Navy! These young people have a tremendous opportunity ahead of them and they are going to be very successful.

4. The networking skills displayed by these students was impressive. Within a couple of minutes of arriving at cocktails we were the target of a barrage of questions! It didn’t let up for the whole evening.

5. The enthusiasm and attitude of these students was refreshing and contagious. If only you could bottle some of that energy!

6. This event is totally organized, and executed by a volunteer student group … so not only are the contestants impressive, so too are the organizers. They did a superb job!

Overall, as you can see I was very impressed, and as one of the other judges said … the future of business is in good hands, and with today’s economy we hope they get into the fray sooner rather than later!

Create AND Protect Your Image!

If you are reading this blog entry then likely you are internet savvy enough to be aware of the social networking phenomena of the past few years. I am personally on LinkedIn and Facebook, but only an occasional user … not one of the people that “lives their life” online. There have been many stories of how facebook antics or ill conceived YouTube appearances have been the undoing of people. Whether it is HR professionals finding information about job applicants, the media uncovering information about political candidates or future executive being derailed for previous indiscretions it pays to THINK before you do something that you will regret later.

These days one of the descriptions given to this type of image consciousness is personal branding. Like corporate branding you want to develop a consistent message or series of messages that people “get” when they think about you.

Do you want to be thought of as the “party animal” … or as a work hard, play hard type of person.

Do you want to be the “geek” … or the intelligent, thoughtful type.

Or … if you are still young, perhaps still in school do you want to avoid future problems and worry about ACTIVE personal branding later?

It pays to spend a little bit of time thinking about this now … because if you don’t worry about it now you may well be kicking yourself later!

There is a decent article about Personal Branding on the CPSA website. It is definitely aimed at people who are into their career already, but like I say it doesn’t hurt to start the thinking process now!

Tom Peters wrote an article on the subject for Fast Company titled The Brand Called You, which is also worth a read.

Is it time for you to think about YOUR BRAND? I think so!

Creativity in the Face of Adversity

I started this blog in January 2006 and after three years and more than 650 posts there are some days when I struggle to come up with a relevant topic ... go figure!

Today my good friend Jim Stechyson, a fellow business owner who is also suffering through the OC Transpo strike in Ottawa came up with some help! I have been known to use other people's "stuff" before, I often refer to Kit Grant's work or John Izzo or Pat Katz to name a few. What I really liked about Jim's message is that it is positive, even though the bus strike is have such a negative affect.

Thanks Jim ...

If there is one thing any entrepreneur has learned, it is that change is the one constant we can always count on. Change in business can be proactive or reactive but usually comes about as a result of business conditions that more often than not are out of our control. Strikes, recessions, currency fluctuations are just a few examples.

So if these changing conditions are beyond our control – how we respond to them is clearly within our control and often presents valuable opportunities for innovative thinking and action.

Take for example the current OC Transpo bus strike in Ottawa. While the negative economic affects to local business are obvious, it’s also the opportune time to step up customer service efforts and differentiate your business from the competition.

For the local shop owner perhaps its time offer a delivery service (paid or complimentary) for customers who are unable to access your store.

Maybe its time to finally launch that online store you’ve thought about?

Or offer taxi “chits” to customers for purchases over a certain value.

How about offering complimentary services for clients who offer to car pool a group to your company (think Bingo Halls)

I heard a radio commercial yesterday with a local “restauranteur” offering packaged services to Sens games that included dinner, tickets and a free shuttle to and from the game. It’s been done before, but I bet its paying dividends right now.

When changing conditions present negative consequences to your business your opportunity is to respond to it with positive and innovative change that improves your customers’ experience.

Perhaps the bus drivers don’t care about their customers … but yours will surely remember that you did!

The Staffing Industry

I have written a number of blog entries about our industry and given that the industry does seem to be misunderstood by many, I thought I would publish them again in one location.

In July of last year I wrote a blog entry called The Greatest Canadian Staffing Challenge. In there I talk about the threat to our industry posed when various levels of government impose adverse legislative changes, without understanding the full impact on our economy. Given our current economic situation this is very relevant!

In December 2006 I blogged about Staffing Industry Leadership, the value our industry brings and the need for leaders in our industry to promote those messages.

In May of 2008 I wrote a blog entry called Statistics and Facts About the Staffing Industry. this entry was designed to debunk some of the myths that I see written by people who do not understand our industry. Another blog entry from November 2007 talked about the Finances of the Staffing Industry ... a candid look at what agencies ACTUALLY make!

In June 2006 I wrote a blog entry called The IT Staffing Agency Value Proposition. Many of the points in that entry apply to ANY type of staffing company, and this blog is designed to educate the reader about the true value clients receive from a staffing agency.

I sit on the board of two industry associations ACSESS which represents the whole staffing industry in Canada, and NACCB (Canada) which is very focused on the IT companies in this space. I devote this energy and time because I believe in this industry and the value it brings to our clients, the people it employs and to the economy in general.

My message to legislators at all levels of government is to take time to understand the value of our industry and to work with us towards solving issues, and perceived issues rather than implementing legislative change that can harm our economy over and above the damage done by others!

The Management Role

There are many aspects of management that are tough, the role brings with it higher expectations, there are people issues to deal with, there are targets to meet, there are politics to deal with ... but in my opinion, one of the things that managers struggle most with, is supporting "the party line" when they might personally feel differently.

As a manager you would hope to have input into the direction of your business unit, whether it be a small business unit within a large company or a large unit in a small company. It is however a fact that your job is to support the company in its goals, and you CANNOT undermine the company direction.

If you disagree with some policy or initiative, then it is your responsibility to give that feedback and to be heard, but if the company decision is to keep it the way it is then your responsibility is to publicly support and defend the company position. If you feel so strongly that you can't do that, then you really have a big decision because the only real alternative is to leave.

Some people who are managers forget this ... and it will get them into trouble.

Some people who are new to management don't fully appreciate this, and need to learn it and hopefully not the hard way!

It is absolutely critical for a company's management team to present a united front, and that is how companies create strong cultures and provide confidence to their employees. When individual managers undermine that unified front it destroys credibility and causes serious damage. The time to question and oppose the ideas is behind closed doors with the management team, and you must be willing to accept that you will not always get the answer that you would like ... that is just life.

I have written a fair number of blogs that have a management component to them ... here are a a couple that I think are relevant to the management role.

Back in September 2006 I wrote a blog entry called Today's Leader ... which you might find interesting.

Just last September (2008) I wrote a blog entry about Earning the Power in Your Position.

If you are a new manager, have plans to move into management or even if you have been a manager for a while you might want to read those entries.

A Historic Occasion

Tomorrow Barack Obama will become the first black American President, a celebration for African Americans, for diversity advocates and for 21st Century societies in general.

There are plenty of examples of things that are not going so well these days ... the economy, the fighting in Afghanistan Iraq and Gaza, the bus strike in Ottawa, the corporate greed of some CEOs, the greed and small minded attitude of some unions ... people are ready for some good news!

I am excited, and yet apprehensive, about this event. The expectations of this man are enormous ... and yet he has achieved so much just to get to this position. How can any one man be the saviour of a world beset by so many problems? I fear that our high expectations for Barack will mean he has no chance of success ... and I hope I am wrong!

Fear and anxiety apart, tomorrow marks a new day for this world of ours. A historic and joyous occasion that we will tell our grandchildren about. That it will be held one day after Martin Luther King day in the US is a nice touch, and maybe Barack will be allowed to reach is dream ... maybe he already has!

Whatever this man achieves from here he has give us a historic day to remember and he has already achieved much ... I wish him every success and applaud his accomplishments to date.

I will try very hard not to be sceptical when things go wrong, as they surely will, and I will try to remember to give this man all of my support ... because just maybe this man has a chance of achieving even greater things, and that would be good for us all!

Good luck Obama the world wants you to succeed.

Canadian IT Job Market - Quarterly Outlook January 2009

This is a look at the Canadian IT Job market across Canada from our company's perspective. We have offices in 10 cities across the country and our three General Managers have tapped into their market knowledge to write this ... hope you find it helpful. I will stress that this is not a scientific or statistical look at the market ... this is what we see day in day out "in the trenches" of the war for talent across Canada.

In Eastern Canada, the fall wound down quickly and the winter arrived early and abruptly bringing a feeling of pending economic gloom and doom from forecasters, and yes, these are the same people who, months earlier, painted a much rosier picture, at least in Canada. In the technology sector we are used to change but the magnitude and speed with which change came in the latter stages of 2008 was without precedent. A historic, if not transformational, new US president, 150 year old banking giants flaming out in days and in Canada, a Parliament that teetered before the country introduced a new word into our daily lives "proroguing". With all of this uncertainty, the questions heard most often these days are: "What's going on in the job market?" and "What do you see for the next year in the job market in the East?"

So - what's going on in the job market? For the most part, it was business as usual in Ottawa and Montreal as the year wound down with a decrease in demand for full-time positions, especially in Montreal; however, in some federal government departments in Ottawa, there is a marked increase in demand for contract positions.

Other local factors, especially the transit strike in Ottawa, continue to disrupt the economy and there is chatter in the halls of the federal government about departments and/or projects losing funding as the fiscal year end approaches. However, as the Treasury Board deals with a smaller revenue pot, there are still many projects that require skills and resources not readily available in the government. For example, a large BI/Data Warehousing project in one department will get underway this year.

There has been a small reduction in scope in some government projects; however, this reduction seems to be due to the natural end of projects rather than the abrupt stoppage of work seen in the private sector lately. This has resulted in some softening in rates in the market, particularly among testers, tech writers, and some programmers. It is likely we will continue to see rates soften up throughout the next quarter and beyond as consultants become more focused on things like the length of a contract opportunity rather than the rate increases that come with a hot economy.

As to the second question - where is the job market going? One can be reluctant to predict, but it is safe to say, with budgets shrinking in both the private and public sectors, headcount visibility more important than ever, and an overall shrinking economy, particularly in the US, in the next few months consultants will need to be more focused on bringing true value and impact to their roles in order to assure continued opportunities. There are still many demographic factors that, over the long-term, lend themselves to favoring employees if not employers, particularly in technology, and as organizations continue to downsize, there is the potential for increased contract demand over the short- and medium-term as gaps caused by layoffs begin to impact organizations.

Skills and roles in demand in Eastern Canada include BI and Data Warehouse experts, Data Conversion resources, Security Analysts/Architects, Java Developers and Lotus Notes Developers. In Montreal, Senior Security resources, Oracle functional and technical resources, as well as Help Desk and Tech Support roles are in demand.

In the GTA, the unemployment rate seems to have stabilized yielding a rate of 6.7% over the last two months. This is slightly up compared to this time last year when the rate was 6.1% and slightly higher than the national average which sat at 6.6% in the month of December.

The IT labour market for GTA in the fourth quarter started strong with a number of companies in the Telecom and Retail Sectors initiated large network upgrades. In the month of November, the region saw an overall slow down in technology requirements, however, the month of December brought an increase in activity within the government sector.

With the state of the economy, as expected, IT hiring within the financial sector has slowed down considerable. It is expected that hiring within this sector will remain slow over the next quarter.
In-demand skills in the GTA include: Security Consultants, Technical Architects, Business Analysts, and Project Managers. There has also been a noticeable move towards functional requirements, specific to industry experience rather than technology experience for example BAs with Financial Sector experience.

In response to world-wide economic issues, IT activity across Western Canada has become Bear-ish. This, combined with seasonal slow-downs, has resulted in reduced demand for IT resources across the board. Very large business initiatives and projects have been put on hold or cancelled making contractors nervous about getting extensions. There were many who did not receive the extensions that seemed to be given just a month or two before and, due to the cancellation or delay of large projects, a good number of contractors saw their contracts terminated early.

Compared to previous quarters, contractors are getting fewer offers and there is a growing pool of top-quality IT contractors available for work. In response, the industry has witnessed contractors being much more flexible with their rates. In general, rates have leveled off, if not fallen.

Companies, being cost-conscious, are watching their staffing levels very closely and are making changes to their personnel/contractor strategies. There are many hiring freezes in effect. Some companies have removed all but mission critical contractors from their staffing mix; meanwhile, some companies are using contractors where they would previously have hired full time employees.

While the gloomy economy can be discouraging for job searchers, opportunities are available if you know where to find them. The largest IT employers have been the ones to make the biggest cuts; however, smaller to mid-sized companies are taking this opportunity to attract top-level, affordable talent into their projects. Additionally, there are some companies that are more "recession-proof" than others and these companies are also hiring contractors where there is value to be found or because they want a more flexible workforce through this economic turmoil. Finally, the various levels of government, whose "customers" are the tax payers, are less likely to feel the economic pinch and will continue to need/use IT resources at historical levels. Our advice to the contractor community during this "down time" is to take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade skills and education, polish your resume, work closely with the agencies (build relationships with the recruiters), remain flexible with your rate expectations, and secure contract extensions as early as possible.

Skills in demand across the West this past quarter included:
SAP, BAs, and Testers/QA Analysts in British Columbia;
Oracle experts (Developers/DBAs), PMs, BAs, Developers (.NET, Application) in Edmonton;
PMs, BAs, Communication/Change Specialists, SAP with Oil & Gas or Utilities experience in Calgary; and,
BAs, PMs in Winnipeg.

Book Review - 1 Piece of Advice

1 Piece of Advice ... Patricia Moser-Stern and Barbara Moser

Patricia Moser is a former client of mine who has become a friend. These days she operates her own consultant practice with a specialization in procurement and supply chain. As if that doesn't keep her busy enough she had a "side project" over the last couple of years to write, in a cooperative effort, the book 1 Piece of Advice.

The front cover tells you that the content has exceptional women from around the globe inspiring you to unlock your potential. The premise, like most good ideas, is simple ... the authors contacted some of the most successful women from around the world and asked them to give one piece of advice to women who want to pursue their dreams.

The book has women from all walks of life ... among them a Rabbi, an Anglican Bishop, an astronaut, women business leaders and military leaders, a First Nations Chief an environmentalist, a judge and many more.

Each of them gives their piece of advice ... and you get to learn a little about them.

The 1 Piece of Advice website allows you to give your piece of advice, and never being short of a word I gave my 2 cents!

In reading through the advice I was really struck by the fact that very little of the advice is gender specific, in fact the advice given applies equally to men ... and therefore the content is very relevant to anyone who wants to pursue their dreams. The big difference for women is the knowledge that ALL of these women have been able to do great things in their lives ... so anything is possible.

This is a shameless plug for a friend's book ... but I wouldn't do it if it wasn't a good book, AND the authors are Canadian, so support your local business and buy a copy!

Those Darn Resolutions!

I am a big fan of setting goals, and this time of year a lot of people have "resolutions" for the New Year. You would think that given how often I encourage people to improve themselves that I would be supporting their initiatives!

Well ... its complicated!

1. I'm not a patient guy ... so when all those people with brand new resolutions clog up the gym equipment I'm beginning to wonder whether I should be supporting this way of thinking!
2. If everyone who started using the equipment this month were to keep it up throughout the year, then gyms would just get more equipment ... but history shows that they won't. By end of January a lot of people will have fallen off and by end of February MOST will be gone.

So ...

IF you are going to be one of the very small percentage of people that actually do change your life, and keep up the exercise then congratulations!

IF you are going to be one of the majority to who quit soon ... can you hurry up and quit so I can get on the exercise equipment when I want it!

Better yet ... prove me wrong and ALL of you keep exercising for the whole year. That I could live with!

Constructive Criticism

As I progressed through my career I never very good at accepting negative feedback. I really had a bad attitude towards it, feeling that there was never enough attention given to the "good stuff" and too much attention on weaknesses.

As I have gotten older (I will shy away from the word mature in case anyone reading this knows me) I have learned the value of feedback. Of course I have only been working for more than 30 years ... so I guess that makes me a slow learner! (see that's me giving myself feedback ... or maybe its just self-deprecation).

We always see ourselves a little differently than those around us, and understanding what "they" think is important. It is input that we can use to modify our behaviour, tweak our operating style or give ourselves a major make-over depending on (a) the feedback and (b) what we want to do with it.

IF, as I used to do, we dismiss the feedback as irrelevant, off the mark or just plain wrong then we miss the opportunity to look at the feedback dispassionately and understand how we can use it.

Some people are excellent at listening, internalising and using feedback for their own gain, without letting it upset them. I think my biggest issue was that I took it personally as an insult, when really it was my various managers just telling it as they saw it.

When I first contemplated a sales career I spent a couple of years in the Toastmaster organization which I found to be very beneficial. There was the obvious and primary goal of Toastmasters to help me be a better public speaker, excellent for giving sales presentations. In addition the Toastmaster organization run very "tight" meetings, which is another great business skill to learn and practice. Perhaps one of the lesser known benefits of Toastmasters was the constant giving and receiving of feedback every time you gave talk, whether prepared or impromptu. Maybe this is where I began to understand that feedback is actually a tool for us to use and not some kind of personal attack.

So ... the lesson it took me so many years to learn can be mastered easily by those willing to accept criticism for what it is, just professional feedback designed to help you to be better. Not all that tough to understand now ... so why did it take me so many years to get there? DOH!

Change Happens ... but Unions Don't!

The world that we live and operate in today is incredibly different than the world of 100 years ago … it is incredibly different than the world even 25 years ago! More to the point this world will be very different again 25 years from now.

A recent example might be the manufacturing industry in Canada … perhaps in the Western World! In the last 10 years we have seen emerging nations take over the manufacturing of many of the world’s goods because they can do it cheaper, and in some cases better! In the same way many thousands of information technology jobs have moved from the G6 countries to emerging countries. Both of these recent phenomena are products of our “global economy” and the ability of companies to take advantage of less expensive, qualified labour. Tens of thousands of people have seen their jobs evaporate with this phenomena.

What about the communications world … some of the features available on your iPhone would be considered fodder for a science fiction movie a few years ago. So, with this kind of advance will people need “home land lines” in the future? Who would have predicted a few years ago that Nortel would be on the brink of bankruptcy and Bell Canada would be for sale? Do you think people in this industry have been affected?

We are reading about the plight of the three big auto makers … Henry Ford would turn over in his grave. What used to be the pillars of the US economy are again teetering on the edge of obsolescence. Not only are the thousands of people who work for these companies affected, but whole communities that are dependant upon the “local plant” for employment are being devastated.

New opportunities arise as times change. Smart companies from the industrialized nations are taking advantage of the changes in our global economy and with technology to reposition themselves for success. They grow their knowledge based capability locally, invest in intellectual property and partner where appropriate. New markets emerge with tremendous potential … have you looked at the biotech world lately? The pace of innovation and change in that world outpaces even the technology world … by a large margin!

All of this change happens fairly quickly, but as a factor in our day to day lives we don’t really SEE it … which can be dangerous.

In a world that changes this fast you cannot afford to keep blinkers on! We ALL need to be open to new ideas and to the possibility that things can be done differently. Just because it has always been done a certain way does not mean that is the way it will always be done. Every now and then I am struck by how obvious this is, and yet how many people just don’t seem to get what it means to them. I am particularly struck by how “behind the times” many unions are.

I live in Ottawa and last night the OC Transpo (bus drivers and mechanics) union voted to continue a bitter strike that has seriously affected the whole city. They have been out for a month … that encompassed the Christmas Holiday period, plus a major hockey competition The World Juniors, in addition to several local large events. The disruption at a personal level has been terrible, the affect on businesses and productivity could be devastating. These workers are VERY replaceable. They are unskilled people who drive buses. They are being led by a union that has its blinkers on … demanding its “rights” in the middle of what promises to be a nasty recession.

I read that Ontario’s Elementary teachers are considering going on strike.

The teachers assistants at York University are on strike and are approaching a point where the students there today could lose this whole year!

Unions in the 21st century need to “get it”! I still think there is a place for an organization that protects the rights of their workers … but that should mean helping their employers to keep and create good jobs. It should mean educating their members about the risks presented by a global economy. It should mean providing training and support to their workers so that they bring more value to their employers. It should NOT mean blindly fighting for MORE, when MORE will mean lost jobs, lost productivity and eventually lost employers.

Unions that operate with the “old school” mentality hurt our country’s chance to compete in a global economy and hurt their members ability to get and keep jobs.

Change is the only constant … will the unions ever get it? I hope so, but I’m not holding my breath.

2009 - Make it Work for You

This is a good time of year to reflect upon what you want from 2009 ... and last year I wrote a blog entry to help with that process, all aound setting and achieving your goals. It is basically a review of a number of my blog entries on this subject.

Take a few minutes and read them ... it could be a good investment of your time!

Two years ago I posted a blog entry called Goals 2006 Wrap-up and 2007 Planning. All of the concepts apply this year too!

In January 2007 I asked if you were Ready for 2007, so are you ready for 2009?

Then a week or so later I wrote More About Goals for 2007. Half way through 2007 I did some more nagging about goals ... with no apologies!

Sometimes the message needs to be heard a few times before it will have an affect ... the bottom line is that if you want to improve ANYTHING in your life, the best way to do that is to set goals.

Understand exactly what it is that you want ... not as easy as it sounds ... and create an action plan to get there. It is amazing how often you can succeed this way! (It is important to note that success can come by applying these principles to ANY part of your life ... not just work!)

Walk Fast and Smile!

The Month of Kevuary!

The financial world is going nuts, economists are imitating the grim reaper and the media is totally depressing! So … I thought it was time for a light hearted blog entry!

Each year, starting January 1st I give up alcohol for four weeks. I have always told people I abstain for a month (the assumption being that four weeks is a month) but invariably there is an event towards the end of January where the lure of a glass of wine means 28 days is good enough!

This year my son decided to challenge my assertion that 28 days is a month!

Of course he is right, four weeks is not really a month although it has been used to approximate a month forever. Unfortunately even Wikipedia seems to support his argument, so the “old guy” lost this one!

Not content with winning the argument he then decided to bring his mother on board and torment me! Hence the introduction to the English (Canadian?) language of the new month of Kevuary!

The definition of Kevuary is:

(i) it must be the 13th month … because if a month is 4 weeks, then there are 13 months in a 52 week year.
(ii) it is actually a floating month … it can start any time (based on the start of Kevin’s abstinence) but only lasts for 28 contiguous days.

So there we have it, we now have January, February …. December, Kevuary!

It is important to put this discussion into context, because you will note I was not drinking … however, both my son and my wife were enjoying a drink when they decided to pick on me.

It was great when my son was 9 years old and he would believe anything I told him … now that he is 19 years old I still love him to death, but he is not so gullible any more! I guess that is a good thing!

December IT Industry News

This is my 30,000 foot look at events in the ICT industry for December 2008. What you see here is a precis of the monthly report I produce, which will is available in more detail at the Eagle website. You will also find back issues on the website.

One year ago in December 2007 the big deal was in the gaming space with Warcraft maker Vivendi Games merging with Activision in a $9.85 Billion creation of a new gaming entity, there were a number of other deals but nothing huge. Studies a year ago saw increasing concern about the economy … little did we know how bad it would get!

December 2008 continues the recent trend associated with a poor economy. Sony, Yahoo, Adobe, Nokia and AT&T all announced layoffs while Nortel Networks teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. The $41 Billion Bell Canada deal fell through over liquidity concerns, mass layoff numbers were up and various studies were cautious about hiring plans for 2009. On the M&A front the biggest deal involved a couple of private equity companies buying a Danish IT company (KMD) for $375 million; Sierra Wireless paid $277 million for Wavecom; Wipro paid $127 million for the IT arm of Citigroup (and garnered a $500 million outsourcing deal). RIM was also active, making a hostile bid for Certicom and picking up Chalk Media for $23 million.

Economists continue to tell us the sky is falling, but it’s a new year the sun came up this morning just like every other morning and I am looking forward to a challenging but rewarding 2009!

Happy New Year!

That's what caught my eye over the last month, the full edition is available by clicking here to go to the appropriate part of Eagle's website. Hope this was useful and I’ll be back with the January 2009 news in just about a month’s time.

A New Year ... a New Action Plan?

The New Year is traditionally a time when people make resolutions for change. They vow to lose weight, quit smoking, drink less, get fit or any number of good intentions ... the problem comes in execution, because change is hard, and most people don't have the willpower to stick it out.

So ... how can you effect change in a meaningful way and actually do it?

1. You need goals and a plan to reach them.
2. The goal needs to be achievable and the plan realistic ... based on your knowledge of yourself.
3. Achieving small goals, and rewarding yourself before moving on to the next goal is one way that people "stay with the program". Celebrating success is a great way to reinforce a habit!

Back in December 2006 I wrote a blog entry called Goals ... 2006 Wrap-up and 2007 Planning . In that entry I suggest that you set some goals in the various areas of your life ... I suggested the following areas, but you can determine what works for you:


- Health and Fitness
- Vacation
- Career
- Family
- Training/Education


By keeping things simple you can develop very achievable goals, and set yourself up for success.


For example if you would like to get into better shape you could start with a plan that says you will take a brisk walk after dinner 4 evenings a week for the next 4 weeks.

If you are able to meet that goal, then you might add another walk a week ... or perhaps decide to walk up the stairs to work instead of taking an elevator, or maybe set a goal that you will not use the car for any trip under a mile, for the next 4 weeks.

Now you will have 8 weeks of additional exercise and have started to develop a pattern of success, should actually be feeling better about yourself and you can add to that as you like.

Another example might be in the area of training and education. Many of us will have best intentions to take courses or improve ourselves in some way. Again, using the KISS principle you could start by subscribing to a trade newsletter and reading it once a week. If that works, then you could add 30 minutes of work related reading 3 nights a week, and once you are seeing results you can determine what comes next.

The most important thing is to actually DO SOMETHING! Far too many people live their lives on cruise control, by setting goals and creating a action plan you are actually driving your life ... and that feels good!