Blogging, Staying Positive and Busy Times!

It is not often that I miss blogging on a business day, however I have managed to miss the last couple of business days. I don’t have any great excuse other than the volume of work on my plate these days. I have blogged about the need to increase the effort during these economic times, how critical it is to be out meeting clients, understanding their needs and having a finger on the pulse. In the last few weeks I have significantly increased the number of meetings I have been at … more coffees, breakfasts, lunches and dinners than I am accustomed to … but a great way to understand what is going on. Needless to say, the pressure builds and other things tend to give a little … hence missed blog entries.

I am also totally immersed in the issues facing the staffing industry … right now in Ontario we are under a relentless attack with Bill 139, which in its current form will cause significant damage and cost a lot of jobs. The Liberals in another of their behind closed doors decisions also decided to implement HST … as if we didn’t have enough to contend with. The cost to business of implementing this change will be significant and to many services based industries like the staffing industry there will be serious long term implications. Just to compound our misery, the Federal Government have decided to review the labour code based upon the Arthur’s report, which at first read appears to be singing from the same song book as Dalton McGuinty and Minister Fonseca in Ontario. NOBODY seems to understand that we should be focused on fixing a broken economy and that these well meaning, bleeding heart bills will cost Ontarians and ultimately all Canadians jobs! These politicians need to look at FACTS not listen to the heartrending stories of the few people who have had bad experiences … this industry employs 300,000 people in Ontario and McGuinty’s government are going to mess with that! Yes fix the problems, but don’t paint us all with a brush that should be aimed at the bad apples!

So … now I feel the need for a blog about optimism! I am a positive person, despite the challenges of running a business in a tough economy. I liked Colleen Francis’s blog today about Getting Rid of Life Suckers from your life. It reminded me a lot about a blog entry I wrote in October last year about Positive Influences. It is a hard thing to do, but if you can spend most of your time with happy and positive people then it will reflect on your mood too … conversely it is very easy for the naysayers to drag you down! So hang out with positive people!

With the current economy and strange activity by our elected representatives it would be very easy to worry … but worrying doesn’t solve anything. My blog called Don’t Worry be Happy, attempts to put things in perspective. YES … it is important to take action on those things you can affect, but worrying about what MIGHT happen isn’t a productive use of your energy. Having said that, for many people it is very hard to remain positive through the tough times … so my blog entry called Staying Motivated, gives some ideas about how you can do that!

The McGuinty government concerns me and along with my fellow ACSESS members I am doing what I can to educate ministers about the serious damage they are doing to Ontario’s economy. They may listen or not … I can’t worry too much about it, all I can do is my best effort on the issue and plan for the future. No matter how bad things seem, tomorrow the sun will rise and opportunity will knock!

Walk fast and smile!

Its TOUGH Out There ... What Do YOU DO?

A little while ago i referenced a John Izzo article about Managing Through a Downturn ... some good advice to managers and business owners in the face of the coming economic downturn ... which of course we are now experiencing full-force!

A little while later I thought it would be a good idea to provide some ideas for those who are not in management ... people that actually DO stuff, what can they be doing to improve their chances through such an economic downturn. I called that entry What to do in a Recession.

I still think these are very topical ... and if you are currently recession-proof perhaps working in the government it would be good for you to understand what is going on out in the private sector. (Perhaps someone could give a copy to Premier McGuinty, Minister Fonseca and those ministers seemingly intent on hurting the private sector in Ontario).

Today I was visiting one of my favorite blog sites, Tom Peters from In Search of Excellence fame and a noted consultant, speaker and industry expert. His blog entry is called Dealing With Recessionary Times and as I might expect he is a far better author than I could ever be! her are Tom's thoughts as you deal with these very challenging times ....

I am constantly asked for "strategies/'secrets' for surviving the recession." I try to appear wise and informed—and parade original, sophisticated thoughts. But if you want to know what's going through my head, read the list below:


You work longer.
You work harder.
You may well work for less; and, if so, you adapt to the untoward circumstances with a smile—even if it kills you inside.
You volunteer to do more.
You always bring a good attitude to work.
You fake it if your good attitude flags.
You literally practice your "game face" in the mirror in the morning, and in the loo mid-morning.
You shrug off shit that flows downhill in your direction—buy a shovel or a "pre-worn" raincoat on eBay.
You get there earlier.
You leave later.
You forget about "the good old days"—nostalgia is for wimps.
You buck yourself up with the thought that "this too shall pass"—but then remind yourself that it might not pass anytime soon, so you re-dedicate yourself to making the absolute best of what you have now.
You eschew all forms of personal excess.
You simplify.
You sweat the details as you never have before.
You sweat the details as you never have before.
You sweat the details as you never have before.
You raise to the sky the standards of excellence by which you evaluate your own performance.
You thank others by the truckload if good things happen—and take the heat yourself if bad things happen.
You behave kindly, but you don't sugarcoat or hide the truth—humans are startlingly resilient.
You treat small successes as if they were Superbowl victories—and celebrate and commend accordingly.
You shrug off the losses (ignoring what's going on inside your tummy), and get back on the horse and try again.
You avoid negative people to the extent you can—pollution kills.
You eventually read the gloom-sprayers the riot act.
You learn new tricks of your trade.
You network like a demon.
You help others with their issues.
You give new meaning to the word "thoughtful."
You redouble, re-triple your efforts to "walk in your customer's shoes." (Especially if the shoes smell.)
You mind your manners—and accept others' lack of manners in the face of their strains.
You are kind to all mankind.
You leave the blame game at the office door.
You become a paragon of accountability.
And then you pray.



Thanks Tom ... Hold on tight people we are all in for a rough ride!!!!

PDA Etiquette

As our Blackberries, iPhones, Windows Mobile Devices, Palms and a host of other hand-held "offices" invade our lives more and more it becomes clear that many people need some basic rules around their usage!

I am a productivity junkie and absolutely love the fact that "being connected" allows me to stay in touch with my business without being shackled to the office ... but there are definite limits!

1. Meetings!

PDAs should really be banned from meetings. How many times do you see the people around you looking intently at their kneecap, and all of a sudden their attention is absolutely somewhere else. Its rude! It does not value the other people in the meeting and it wastes their time.

At the very minimum the things should be set to silent ... NOT vibrate!!! We can all hear the thing going off every 30 seconds and watch your body language change every time it happens. "Gee ... I wonder if that is important?"

2. Meals!

Don't leave the thing on the table ... its really bad manners. Leave it holstered, turn it off or turn it to silent. Do NOT take calls or look at emails unless there is some emergency brewing in which case state that up front ... and go somewhere private for your call (and don't use your foghorn voice)!

PDA junkies disrupt not only those they are sitting with but those around them too. How often have you been distracted at lunch or dinner by the buzzing PDA on the table next to you, or worse still by the person talking on it!

3. At Home and on holiday.

Unless you are the President of the United States, or some equally important person there is absolutely no reason to have 24 hours access to email while you are on "personal time".

As a business owner I like to know what is going on, so I do keep in touch. However a buzzing PDA, or constant checking for emails or working the keyboard while on the beach or out on tour or when you and your family are "relaxing" is just nuts! Its a bad example for the kids, its rude to your spouse and it makes you an extremely one dimensional (read BORING) person! Oh ... and don't even go there with the PDA on the bedside table!!!!

So people ... get a life!

The blackberries are GREAT ... but don't let them take over your lives!

A Canadian Woman for Ada Lovelace Day

I received an email from my niece about this day of recognition ... I received it late in the day, but just in time to post on March 24th ... just Eastern Standard Time as opposed to Greenwich Mean Time! My wife is not going to be happy with me for this ... but you only live once (it just might be short)!

Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology.

Women’s contributions often go unacknowledged, their innovations seldom mentioned, their faces rarely recognised. We want you to tell the world about these unsung heroines. Entrepreneurs, innovators, sysadmins, programmers, designers, games developers, hardware experts, tech journalists, tech consultants. The list of tech-related careers is endless.

Recent research by psychologist Penelope Lockwood discovered that women need to see female role models more than men need to see male ones. That’s a relatively simple problem to begin to address. If women need female role models, let’s come together to highlight the women in technology that we look up to. Let’s create new role models and make sure that whenever the question “Who are the leading women in tech?” is asked, that we all have a list of candidates on the tips of our tongues.

Here goes ...

Janis Grantham is President and COO of Eagle Professional Resources Inc. one of Canada's leading IT Staffing companies. She has been in the technology world longer than she would care to admit and has worked as a programmer, systems analyst, client support rep, in sales support roles, as project lead, database designer, project manager and her last title before joining Eagle was as Director of System Integration.

She was one of the founders of Eagle, bringing her management skills, technology skills, client relationship skills and her newly minted Executive MBA to the table when we started the company in 1996.

She has been a driving force behind the company's success and as a woman leader in business has been honoured many times.

She has been on the Profit W100 of Top Canadian Women Entrepreneurs for seven years.

She was on the list of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful for three years before being inducted into the Top 100 Hall of Fame.

She was Ottawa Businesswoman of the Year in 2006.

I am proud of this woman leader in management and technology, she is my business partner and my wife!

Bill 139 Public Hearings

So the McGuinty government will start its public consultations on Bill 139 this week. I posted my feelings about this bill a few days ago, and I have to admit I am very nervous about the outcome. This Ontario government has not proven itself to have an ounce of common sense when it comes to business.

I was always taught to live within my means ... so just because I wanted a new car, if I couldn't afford it then I didn't get it. If I wanted to eat a steak meal out i might often have made do with a home cooked meal because I couldn't afford it.

The Ontario government seem to approach things a little differently. Perhaps I just don't understand politics ... its all about getting votes. It doesn't really matter whether you are fiscally responsible or not.

This is the government that brought in Family Day. Nice idea. Very popular with workers because another day off work is great, February was a good time to do it ... so lets grab some votes. The estimated cost to Ontario businesses was $2 Billion in lost productivity.

This is the government that brought in mandatory WSIB in the construction industry. Again a great idea that will cost the average contractor an extra $11,000 a year.

Now they are coming after the staffing industry, which generates 300,000 jibs a year in Ontario and something like $4.5 Billion in revenues. This bill will hurt any agency that supplies temporary labour to the point that many (including Eagle) will be forced to walk away from the temp business. It is designed to create jobs ... and it will cost jobs. The people most hurt ... those who need the short term gigs, people new to the work force, new immigrants, people with few skills ... in short, the very vulnerable workers this bill is intended to help.

McGuinty's government will do what it wants ... and if it wants to get votes it will push this bill through. The fallout will not get much press as slowly companies go out of business and jobs are lost. The Liberals will hail their bill as protecting the vulnerable workers ... right, it will protect them so much they won't get a job!

This government is costing business money, adding red tape and ultimately costing all Ontarians jobs. It does not understand the concept of responsible fiscal management and is spending my dollars! I thought it was tough owning and operating a business before ... but when you have to battle through normal competitive pressures, add in a global recession and then your government decides to "put the boot in" things go to a whole new level ... I guess my character is being tested!

I know who I won't be voting for in the future ... the big question is whether there is an alternative or should I just take my business elsewhere.

Good Times, Bad Times and Uncertain Times!

Life is a journey, and during that journey there will be good times and bad times, there will be tough situations and there will be situations that don’t work out as bad as you think they might.

When times are tough you will lean on your friends, dig a little deeper into your fortitude and get through it. The world will keep turning, it may take time for things to get back to an even keel … but it will happen.

When times are good, you need to enjoy them, savour them and build up “credits” for when you might need them. That might mean investing in your friends and relatives, it might mean building up a nest egg in case it is needed, it might mean investing in your health so that you have the strength to tackle anything that might come. It might just mean enjoying the good!

Somehow we know what we need to do when things are bad or things are good … often uncertainty is a tougher challenge.

When faced with uncertainty I think you need to have a positive strategy, assume the best and don’t let yourself worry. Worrying won’t help, if things work out well then you will have caused yourself heartache for nothing. If things don’t work out so well then you can deal with it when the bad news comes.:

- Assume it will work out OK
- Think through your options
- Develop an action plan
- Execute on it
- Still assume it will work out OK!

What kinds of situations am I talking about, could be anything.

A performance conversation with your boss;
A health discussion with your doctor;
A special meeting with the school principal;
A “heart to heart” with your significant other;
Any discussion where it would be easy to anticipate bad news.

Don’t worry about things beyond your control … focus on those things that you can change!

Discipline

Discipline is an "old fashioned" word ... you won't see it mentioned too much in our 21st Century, web 2.0 enabled world. The word reminds me of my time in the military, several decades ago ... a time that is very different than the one we live in today. The implementation of "discipline" in the military is not really what I am focused on here, but there are a lot of positive attributes to associate to the word discipline ... and they ARE really very pertinent today. Maybe I learned a little about discipline during my time in the Royal Navy!

What AM I talking about?

We live in a society where generally we get quite comfortable in our surroundings, and there is little that we deny ourselves. If we feel like something to eat, we eat ... whether we are truly hungry or not. If we want to buy ourselves some treat, clothes, jewellery, electronics or whatever ... whether we need it or not, whether it is a special occasion or not, we go ahead and buy it.

There really isn't anything wrong with that ... we just need to be aware of the consequences, because there are consequences to EVERYTHING! So if we over indulge in food we may put on weight, if we buy too much "stuff" we might get ourselves into debt etc.

Applying some SELF-discipline to these situations might make us act a little differently ... but again, that is personal choice.

Where self-discipline is REALLY needed is at work!

It is very easy to let our personal habits invade the workplace ... and that can hurt your productivity, your chances for promotion, your earning power and even your employ ability!

Let me give you some examples ...

There are 8 hours in the typical work day ... how many do you "waste"?

If you smoke then you probably waste 20 minutes each time you smoke a cigarette ... between getting ready for a smoke, gathering your companions, going outside, chatting, waiting for your friends to finish and then walking back and getting back to work. If you smoke just 3 cigarettes in a day you wasted an hour ... every day, more than half a day each week.

If you read the paper at your desk ... maybe when you get to the office, or at "break" you might be wasting a half hour of productive time each day.

If you surf the Internet for some personal stuff, read online articles and stay on top of news you can easily waste an hour a day.

If you are instant messaging with your friends while doing your job you will be easily wasting hours.

If you get up and go for coffee/water every hour or so, stop and chit chat for a couple of minutes, maybe stop at the washroom ... then that could be 10 minutes every hour, or more than hour every day!

These kind of behaviours become the "norm" in the workplace and get tolerated, but companies need productivity from their employees in order to survive in the global economy ... never mind in the current recession!

If you do these things and are still be one of the most productive people in your company then perhaps you have tremendous discipline or focus for those hours that are not being wasted, and more power to you. The reality is that most people are very productive or they aren't ... and if you fall into the NOT category, then I reiterate ... you risk your career, your chances for promotion and your very employ ability. More importantly you are not getting SELF-satisfaction!

Discipline is an old fashioned word that could help YOU to be a better employee, which gives the power back to you.

CHOOSE to be productive! Look at the top producers in your company and emulate them. Choose to stop doing the things that hurt your productivity. Choose to be very focused with your time, doing ONLY things that will bring value. WORK at being successful ... and that means giving up bad habits and investing in new ones!

All of that takes DISCIPLINE ... have you got what it takes?

The negative nellies out there will say that this is just a management perspective. I would suggest that this is the perspective of people that want success and are willing to do something about it. Everyone can strive to be better and enjoy the "wins" along the way. The personal satisfaction you get from self improvement, from recognition and from the resulting career moves are the rewards for this kind of approach. It helps that you get to keep your job too!

Know What You are Getting Into!

Sometimes people just walk into minefields ... and don't even know it! I guess there is a good lesson there for all of us.

The latest incident involved somebody I was interviewing who arrived somewhat unprepared, which was a bad start. On their resume was the statement Excellent Time management skills, which of course caught my attention. Anyone that knows me also knows that time management is one of my areas of interest, and indeed I have written plenty of blog entries on the subject.


The art of interviewing is to really understand what is beneath the words on paper, and that is best achieved by asking questions and getting the person talking. This can be a series of more pointed questions as you get deeper into the subject. In this case it took three questions ... all with very short answers.


So ... do you have specific time management techniques you use? No, I'm just a productive person and do what it takes to get the job done.
I see ... have you had any time management training? No.
Have you read any time management books? No.


At this point, after establishing that the candidate had not even researched our website before the interview I was pretty sure this wasn't going to work. I wrote about the need for preparation for job interviews just a couple of days ago.

The point is that if you are going to make claims about a skill, expertise or any other experience then you had better be able to back it up ... because some day you will be talking to someone who knows a bit about it!

A CareerBuilder survey some time ago suggested that perhaps as many as 57% of resumes contain significant lies. This young man wasn't lying, just trying to make himself look good ... but shot himself in the foot!

IF he had done any research he might have seen that I write a blog and a quick search would have revealed a lot of content about time management. My most recent blog entry on the subject was called a Good Time Management Approach written just a few weeks ago on February 19th.

A week or so before that I referenced David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology in my blog entry about harnessing productivity.

I have written a blog entry with Time Management Tips, I have even highlighted some of my own Time Management Hiccups and I have written many blog entries about goals and how they can help you to be successful.

When you are passionate on a subject and somebody casually suggests that they are an expert on it, they are really setting themselves up for scrutiny. I have no problem with people admitting they don't know a subject or are willing to learn. I am huge believer in lifelong learning ... somehow I think other people subscribe to the BS approach to advancement, and it always catches up with you eventually!

Does the Recession Act Like the Hockey Trade Deadline?

The National Hockey League (NHL) has 30 hockey teams who all play something like 80 games in a regular season. At the end of that season 16 teams will battle for the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup.

Every team, whether it is a hockey team or a business team needs its players to deliver to a high standard and if you get the opportunity to strengthen your team then you take it!

A few weeks ago was the trade deadline for the National Hockey league, teams jockeyed and negotiated and traded players and “futures” with the intention of closing the season with the strongest possible team they could. Those teams who are not going to be “contenders” this year might reluctantly give up a “star” here and there, with the hope that they can rebuild their team to do better next year. The top teams will “tweak” a little, add some grit perhaps, or a goal scorer … maybe even a backup goalie to bolster their chances of lifting that cup.

In business we try to find talented individuals to add to our teams, so that we can get better, grow and prosper. Typically however there is no trade deadline and it is very hard to find those “great players” who are willing to move.

Enter the recession … and maybe this is our trade deadline!

Good companies will survive the recession, perhaps because they are well diversified, their clients are strong and they have a good team. But they can always get better! The other thing that happens during a recession is that good people sometimes realise they are on a struggling team, and so they suddenly become “available”, also some companies are forced to let good people go, so they too become available.

All of a sudden companies looking for talent are faced with some choices … "I already have a team, but if I cut my weaker players and brought in the strong players would my team be better"? Probably!

We have seen many companies around the world lay off 5% to 10% of their staff, citing economic reasons. Well really those economic reasons are that the company can very probably “trade up” and increase their productivity, profitability and return to shareholders! They might not even need as many people to replace the “bottom 10%”.

So … recessions actually help strong companies to get stronger. In addition to taking the opportunity to buy weaker competitors at a time when valuations are low, the strong players also improve the quality of their team! Its no wonder that the strong players keep getting better!

So … if you are a company, are you growing or are you shrinking?

If you are an employee, are you close to the bottom 10%? I wouldn’t want to be one of those. Of course your destiny is in often in your own hands, just make sure that you are not one of the bottom 10%. As the old saying goes … you don’t need to out-run the Grizzly Bear, just your friend next to you!!!

Job Interviews - Getting the Job

Job interviews are a stressful thing and I can remember early in my career not really having a clue about what to do that might increase my chance of getting a job. In fact I probably didn't even think about it in those terms ... I would probably "hope" I did well, which puts all of the power in the hands of the interviewer!

There are a myriad of sites with advice about job interviews but I thought I would make a few of my own observations.

In addition to the basic skills needed to do the job, here are some other things that I look for ...

• A positive and cheery attitude ... I don't want to introduce a "negative personality' into my work place.
• Evidence that the person did some research before the interview ... at a minimum visited the website and understands a bit about the company.
• Some questions that show they have thought about the role, and how it might work.
• They should dress appropriately.
• Enthusiasm for the opportunity ... I want to feel they really want the job.
• Good manners!

Some of the things I might "dig for" in an interview will reveal a little more about the person ...

• Will they be willing to put in longer hours when it is needed.
• Are they going to have "staying power" or stamina as per a recent blog entry.
• Are they interested in ongoing education? Will they invest in themselves or just expect the company to provide all of the training?
• Do they get involved in other activities outside work ... charities, hobbies etc. Signs of a balanced approach to life.

It is hard to hit the right "note" when in the interview process, but good preparation goes a long way.

Visit the website and try to find out about the company, its values, mission, vision etc. What does the company do? Does it have awards? Is it involved in charities ... and what are they?

If someone interviewing with me said that they saw we are involved with children's charities and would the new role present an opportunity to get involved ... I would be impressed.

If someone said, I hope you don't mind but I googled you and see that you are very involved in industry associations, that must be a big commitment does Eagle get anything from that? ... I would be impressed.

Our website has a ton of information about the company, its history, awards, press releases etc. in addition to executive bios ... it would be excellent fodder to differentiate with. I saw that your President has numerous awards ... is good stuff.

It is pretty easy to find general questions to ask ... what is the culture like in the office? Does the company have any training or a philosophy about training? Do people move about within the company? Are there growth opportunities?

There are also more specific questions about the role ... who will i work with most? Where do I sit? What kind of technology do you use? Is there travel? etc.

When you go into a job interview it should always be with the sole purpose of getting the offer. By having that very clear goal, then you can develop a plan that includes research, developing questions, deciding what you should highlight about your experience and skills.

A job interview is hard work ... if you "wing it" then you are flipping a coin, if you do the preparation then you have a much better chance of success.

Optimism is the Answer!

I have just returned from a week in the Mexican sun ... something I can definitely recommend for anyone who has to endure the long Canadian Winters. It was a lazy week ... lots of sun and sand, too much to eat and drink, read a couple of novels (not business books) and kept my email activity to a minimum (what can I say? I own the company!).

What a trip like that does for me is to remind me of just how lucky I am to be able to afford such a luxury. Sure I work hard, but so do lots of other people who don't get to hit the beach ... so yes I am lucky!

I like to have motivational books and memorabilia in my office and every now and then I will take a few minutes to remind myself of just how lucky I am. One of those books is called Life's Little Instruction Book which has "511 suggestions, observations and reminders on how to live a happy and rewarding life".

You don't NEED to hit the resort beaches to be happy, we can all operate in a way that will give us a multitude of reasons to be happy, and this book hits on some of them.

The book has some very "interesting" entries ... perhaps a reflection of the author?

Don't pick your teeth in public?
Resist the temptation to buy a boat.
Take a nap on Sunday afternoons.


But there are also a lot of entries that I can relate to ... here are just a few.


Be enthusiastic about the success of others.
Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.
Don't rain on other people's parades.
Be courteous to everyone.
Hire people smarter than you.


Then there some that could be personal mantras ...


Share the credit.
Do more than is expected.
Read to your children.
Don't expect money to bring you happiness.


The last entry in the book is interesting ...


Call Your Mother!

I do that regularly, and it brings a smile to both our faces!


Our world is in a mess, there is plenty of negativity out there and yet we are told time and again that it is optimism that will "fix" the system. Once optimism returns then all that money "sitting on the sidelines" will come back into the system and we will return to what may be a "new normal".

It is my belief that in order for us to be optimistic about one area of our lives we need to adopt a general air of optimism ... we ALL need to start being thankful for the little things, and to lead our lives in a way that will generate a lot of those "feel good" moments!

Eagle's Economic Stimulus Package

Governments around the world are doing it!

It sounds like a funky thing to do ... a "stimulus package"!

I thought that Eagle should do something to try and help.

What did we do?

We have implemented an employee computer purchase program that provides our staff with an interest free loan of up to $1,500 to buy a computer! They will pay us back through payroll deduction over 24 pay periods (one year).

The response has been very positive ... I know that quite a high percentage of our people are considering taking advantage of the program.

It has created a pretty good buzz.

If every company did something like this then there would be a pretty good flow of cash into the economy. Loans are tougher to get right now and the economy is being hurt because people are not spending ... this might just make a small difference.

Its a nice perk for our employees at a time when we are asking them to work just a little harder in a soft economy ... a little give, a little take keeps the emotional bank balance straight!

So my challenge goes out to ALL business owners. What creative things can YOU do to help get the economy going again?

Canadian Professional Sales Association Magazine Article

I have often extolled the virtues of the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA) and have been a member for many years.

I joined originally because the member benefits were so good ... and they still are! As a business owner I am acutely aware of travel costs and certainly my savings in hotel rates over the years have probably paid my annual membership fees many times over! It is worth joining just for that ... and you don't even have to be a salesperson! It makes eminent sense for any independent business person to belong to this organization.

Once I had become a member I started to receive their regular newsletter and articles about sales, and these have proven to be an excellent reminder about the sales profession and what it takes to be a successful sales person. If I was starting out or new to sales I would certainly take the CPSA training modules, and have paid for many of my staff to do just that over the years.

I think that by having an organization representing the interests of our industry, establishing and educating people about best practices in addition to providing a certification program it raises the bar for a much maligned profession.

There are very few organizations that can survive without sales, and a great sales team can be the difference between the best of breed company and the "also rans"! So a professional approach to sales, and to sales education makes so much sense. As an aside, it is good to see that in recent years universities and colleges have begun to offer more sales focused qualifications ... but it is still an area that needs more focus.

One of the recent CPSA magazines had a very good article from a UK author (Jonathan Farrington) called the 12 Golden Principles of Selling. He lays out these principles as they might be presented to new salespeople ... such things as "Always sell to people" (not to an organization) or "Ask Questions" then "Listen to Understand". The principles talk about not selling on price, about being professional and about the fact that a sale is often emotionally driven as opposed to a logical thing!

The article is a very good high level introduction to the "high points" of sales ... perhaps the one thing I would add to these principle is the need to be NICE! People like to deal with nice people. Then again if the author were to add that then there would be thirteen principles ... and the unlucky reader might never get a sale!

Check out the CPSA ... its a good deal!

Bill 139 – McGuinty’s Ontario Government Gets it Wrong!

Some time ago I wrote a blog entry about the Greatest Canadian Staffing Industry Challenge … in which I identified misplaced government legislative change as a huge problem.

Maybe someone in the Ontario Government read my blog, realised that Ontario was in deep economic trouble already and so why not pile on the misery by attacking the staffing industry! Minister Fonseca, the Ontario Labor Minister aided and abetted by our old “friend” Vic Dhillon are doing just that!

Bill 139 is attempting to protect “the vulnerable worker’ … but is an agenda driven by misinformation, and a lack of understanding of the value our industry brings. The staffing industry in Canada upholds high ethical standards and conforms to the requirements of the labor laws. The suggestion is that “temporary workers” have been mistreated and therefore the members of our industry are all crooks … so the Ontario Government feels the need to fix that!

The staffing industry provides employment to some 300,000 people in Ontario. Are any of them mistreated? Possibly … maybe even probably, but why not address the issue and go after the companies that abuse the individuals or ignore our labor laws? Wouldn’t that make a little more sense that trying to change a whole industry, when you really don’t understand the implications ... despite repeated attempts to educate!

Bill 139 will result in lost jobs … absolutely!

Bill 139 will very likely result in staffing companies going out of business … particularly in light of the current economic conditions. Statistics Canada cites average profitability among Ontario staffing companies as 2.6%! Do you think we have room for the additional costs and administrative burden this bill will bring? NO!!! Do you think our clients want to pay more? NO!!!

Bill 139 will result in lost productivity in Ontario … and being the ONLY jurisdiction in North America imposing these punitive measures on temporary help companies, it just means the work will be done elsewhere … maybe China, or India!

It appears that there are some MPPs who get it! This is a quote from Joyce Savoline during second reading debate of this bill …

I would like the minister to tell me why he is creating make-work projects when we have much more urgent business to attend to. Deflecting from that business with this bill does not serve us well in this Legislature.

Taking up valuable debating time when we are struggling is not appropriate. This is yet another bill and another example of a good idea not being followed through appropriately. It does not identify the hardships that will ensue for firms that are scrupulous and for their employees. I understand that there are some firms that take advantage of employees, but the legislation should target those companies and those companies only.

Did Minister Fonseca say, "Mr. McGuinty, I know that the economy is weak and that we don't have a plan to make it better, but what I'd like to do is make it harder for the businesses who are out there finding employment for transitional and temporary labourers to operate"? What planet are we on here?

Imagine … the Ontario Government might concern itself with fixing the needs of an economy that has been decimated through losses in the manufacturing sector and now an “economic tsunami”, instead of attacking a sector that creates jobs!

I am not noted for my political correctness … and I am not about to change. I have some very pointed advice for Minister Fonseca and Premier McGuinty.

GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ARSES!

Canadian IT Job Market - Monthly update

Eagle’s Regional General Managers create a cross Canada look at the job market every quarter. These are available in our newsletter at the Eagle website, and I publish them as a blog entry the most recent being in January. Given the current economic climate, and the fact that we are asked every day by clients, contractors and even our neighbors “what is going on?”, we thought that we would try to insert a short monthly update between those reports. This is our first attempt and I’m hoping you find value in it.

The last update was in January and the general news from across the country was very similar. There is a softening in demand, all organizations are looking hard at reducing budgets and there are a growing number of IT people in the ranks of the unemployed. This means that there are more qualified people available for work, when we had anticipated shortages … this of course is exacerbated because the retirement plans of many “boomers” are on hold until their retirement savings recover.

Having said that, companies still have work to be done and if they need extra help then contractors are a great fit, providing needed skills without the commitment of bringing in full time staff at a time when many companies have implemented hiring freezes.

Comparing the first couple of months in 2009 to the last few months in 2008 here at Eagle, we are seeing a much bigger flow of resumes coming through our website. In fact the numbers have probably doubled. This is partly due to an increase in out of country applicants, who perceive Canada to be a “land of opportunity” that is less impacted by global economic conditions than most. There is however an increase in Canadian applicants also, for the reasons mentioned above.

If I compare the number of job orders that we receive, they are down a little but not significantly, but what we are seeing is clients being “pickier”. Where in the Fall a client might accept a candidate that was a “close fit” to their requirements, today they want the perfect candidate. Clients are also very conscious of their budgets and being extra careful about getting the best possible price. This results in a slightly slower “hiring cycle”.

The biggest differences between the Fall and now can be seen in Alberta, which has been seriously impacted by the dropping price of a barrel of oil. The oil sands projects in particular have been hit “bigtime” which affects much of Alberta, and the resultant decrease in tax revenues will impact the Alberta Government in Edmonton. Through the current economic downturn Ontario has probably been the most impacted over all, but this has been an ongoing issue for almost a year when the financial institutions started to reduce spending and the manufacturing sector continued to be decimated. A recent conference board document suggests that Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the two provinces most likely to weather the storm well, and might be the new land of opportunity!

February 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.

Two years ago in February 2007 there was plenty of M&A action and the big news was the Oracle purchase of Hyperion for $3.3 Billion. There was also some big layoffs with both Nortel (2,900 people) and Alcatel-Lucent (12,000) announcing layoffs in their ongoing attempts to fix their respective woes. Last year in February 2008 Nortel was still announcing layoffs (its been a long process . and not over yet). The news centred around economic uncertainty and signs of what we are indeed experiencing today!

Here we are February 2009 and again my monthly industry news is more about layoffs and economic uncertainty than the good stuff . but we can't change reality. NEC (20,000), Panasonic (15,000), Nortel . again (3,200) and Micron Technology (2,000) all announced significant layoffs. Nortel emphasized their woes with the sale of their Alteon asset for less than $18 million, which they bought for $7 billion nine years ago!

There was not much action in the M&A space, Oracle and Novell made some small acquisitions and Motorola decided to get out of the mobile email business and Fujitsu is selling 80% of its hard disk drive business to Toshiba.

The story on layoffs wasn't good, with January numbers 45% higher than December . and three times the numbers from 2008. here in Canada we lost 129,000 jobs in January . but Statistics Canada numbers do seem to trail reality, those numbers don't seem to reflect what we know of the "hit" on the oil sands projects in Alberta. IT salaries are shrinking, the semiconductor market is down about 15% this year and here in Ottawa the competition bureau charged 7 companies and 14 individuals with bid rigging . ouch! A report lists the top 25 most dangerous cities to outsource to, and suggests a trend towards near-shoring . GOOD NEWS in the sea of bad!

Perhaps the brightest light for the month was an announcement by Intel that it is investing $7 Billion of its own cash in building next generation chip plants! Follow that up with emerging details that the economic stimulus packages from various government are finding their way to the IT sector ($52.4 Billion in the US) and maybe it is not all bad!

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 February 2009 news in just about a month’s time.