Investment in Training

Today I spent the day at the 2009 ACSESS conference along with 120 or so of my industry colleagues here in Canada. It would have been an easy decision, with the economy tough and getting tougher, to save a few dollars by missing this conference. However that would be a poor decision ... the energy from a conference like this, the lessons from industry experts and the new ideas shared will be crucial in the coming months.

Our industry, like most industries is experiencing significant change and we need to adapt to those changes. We are experiencing the worst economy in living memory and our wonderful Ontario government under the "leadership" of Premier McGuinty and our Labour Minister Fonseca found a way to hurt our industry with ridiculous legislation. We have increasing global competition and technology being introduced that changes the playing field.

All of this (except unexpected government interference) should be expected in today's hyper-competitive environment. No matter what industry you are in, you need to be adapting to new realities ... the staffing industry is no different.

If you are operating today the same way that you were last year and the year before ... then you are going to be in trouble. The best way to prepare is to invest in learning, to understand industry best practices and to learn from the best.

That is what this conference is all about!

If that isn't enough ... the networking opportunities are extraordinary and the opportunity to build relationships that may lead to partnerships are everywhere.

If you don't invest in training you are falling behind ... invest in yourself and your company or face becoming irrelevant. There is no better investment in training than an industry conference.

One final thought ... in addition to all of the above you are supporting your industry!

Canadian Federal Government IT Procurement – What is all the Fuss?

Over the last few weeks the rhetoric has heated up and various groups have been stepping up their lobbying of government about what they perceive should be happening in IT procurement in Ottawa.

All of this has a backdrop that includes, but is not limited to:

Ø Accusations of bid-rigging against seven local companies, and fourteen individuals related to those companies and others.
Ø Polar opposite opinions, and strong lobbying efforts by protagonists about the correct approach to the outsourcing of major contracts
Ø Lawsuits by losing contractors
Ø Political intervention in the process
Ø A procurement arm of the government that is under more scrutiny than most of us would care to live with … and trying to do the right thing.
Ø Accusations by “the big guys” that the smaller staff augmentation companies bring no value to the equation
Ø Accusations by the “little guys” that jobs will be lost in droves

The supercharged atmosphere puts increased pressure on everyone to "protect their turf" and on the procurement guys have to operate under a moicroscope ... not fun for anyone!

Is there substance to all this rhetoric … or is it a reaction to the fact that competing factions are getting more and more heated? Are the different group protecting their own positions … or is there some truth here?

Like most situations there are many sides to this argument and there is some truth, and some myth in all of it. At the end of the day what has to prevail is common sense and what is good for the Canadian tax payer.

Here is Kevin’s take on the questions of the day!

Question 1. Should the government award mega-contracts to one winner in each of the four “pillar” contracts of the Shared Services initiative?

NO … for several reasons:

Ø I have yet to see an impact analysis by the government that would show the affect of awarding these contracts … they have had ten years to understand this, and it would be just plain wrong to proceed with no understanding of the impact.
Ø The Canadian government and the very large companies have not got a great track record of success with mega projects. The list of “failures” is long … and I am not pointing fingers, I think by their nature these projects are doomed to failure. (That could be the subject of its own blog entry).
Ø The award of one mega project that puts all the eggs in one basket is just too risky … even IF the companies involved had a great track record. Why would you do that? Spread the risk!
Ø The lack of competition WILL mean that the government will NOT reap financial reward from these mega projects.
Ø Even the “big guys” have to realize they will also be losers in a winner takes all scenario … if Bell Canada wins the network contract what happens to Telus, Allstream, Rogers et al?

My solution would be to take each of these “pillars” and award several large contracts under each “pillar” … spread the wealth and the risk. The contracts would be large enough to provide the “big guys” with some meaty projects, the Crown would get competition and if one failed there would be other successes to point at.

Question 2. What about the SMEs? Will there be a mass loss of jobs?

NO ... there will be some loss of jobs and an impact on those companies that only operate in this market, which will be a hard loss to the local economy. Those people who do the work through the small guys today may well end up working for the “big guys” … or we may see some jobs lost to offshore solutions, which would be a worst case for Canada scenario. An impact analysis would give us clearer answers on this impact and there may also be ways that the government can provide some protection to the SMEs.

Question 3. Do the staff augmentation companies bring no value to the Canadian economy?

Rubbish!

Staff augmentation companies have a value proposition that is a huge part of the economic success of our nation. There is not a single large entity that doesn’t take advantage of the flexible workforce associated with staff augmentation. Whether it is armies of “muscle” to tackle peaks in demand, or teams of IT specialists to fill out project teams the value is clear.
We provide fast access to a skilled workforce that is larger than any single entity in Canada ... and at very competitive pricing.
We manage the administrative burden of the large flexible workforce and offer our clients protection from the risks associated with co-employment.
Many of the large successful companies started from humble beginning as a staff augmentation company or independent contractor company.
The intellectual property created by many companies was delivered with input from contract resources.
The staff augmentation companies provide profits and taxes into the Canadian tax coffers, not some far away headquarters in another country.
Staff augmentation companies support our own staff, the communities in which we operate and are huge contributors to charities and non-profits.
Some of the largest companies in the world are staff augmentation companies … Manpower, Adecco and Randstad are successful multinational giants.

How will we get the right answer?

The right answer comes from a collaborative approach with all stakeholders bringing something to the table. Those stakeholders who feel they are threatened will protect themselves and that has led to the rhetoric ... we need all parties to have input, and hopefully that is what is happening now.

Is Spring Here?

The weather here in Toronto (and back in Ottawa) was very nice today ... a warm, sunny day which always gets me feeling positive.

Why is that?

Spring is a time of renewal, it is a time when the Winter starts to feel like it is done and gone (although don't tell that to my Calgary friends). The buds are starting to show and that amazing period of growth happens. When I arrived from the UK 27 years ago I was astounded at just how fast things grow in the Spring here, the grass goes from brown to bright green in what seems like an overnight spurt ... the trees bloom and fill out and before you know it everything looks lush.

If only our economy could rebound in the same way ... but I am feeling some confidence that the "Winter of our economic recession" is almost done! Just like the weather, there are signs of recovery and growth .. the markets have pickup up significantly in the last few weeks and we are seeing signs that companies are considering new projects. The orders are coming in and clients are making decisions again.

Maybe if we ALL think positive while we enjoy the warming weather it WILL spill over into the other parts of our life!

Are you ALL listening ... POSITIVE THOUGHTS ONLY!!!!!

The Fine Art of Relaxing

I have been writing this blog for more than three years now, the first blog entry was in January 2006. In that time I have posted 710 entries of which more than 440 have some relation to personal development … I guess you could be forgiven for suggesting that I’m pretty opinionated on the subject!

It is important to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, and often when I write a blog entry it is based upon research or some article that I have read. I try to add my own perspective or throw in some of my experience and make the entry more personal. It does not however mean that I am an expert on the subject … or even any good at it!

One of the things that I am really bad at … is relaxing!

I am acutely aware that I am writing this entry on a Sunday morning at the office … which I have been doing ever since we started the company back in 1996.

When people ask me what I do for relaxation I talk about my motorbike; I used to mention soccer but now I have accepted it is a thing of the past and talk about my exercise regime; I also talk about reading.

The reality is that I SUCK at relaxing!

The demands of running a business are pretty significant, and switching off that little voice reminding me of the “tasks”, commitments and issues of the business just doesn’t go away easily.

I try the techniques … make lists so the brain doesn’t need to focus on them. That’s nice but you can’t make lists that address the unknowns of the economy, of major client changes, legislative issues or our changing world.

I try to take my own advice … worry about the things you can change, let the other stuff go! I’m pretty good at that most of the time, but sometimes there are just so many “balls in the air” it is nearly impossible to forget about the “issues”.

I take up hobbies … but business travel, or work priorities tend to get in the way.

I can look up relaxation on Google and find a ton of hits, a definition on Wikipedia, a reference to spas and getaways, some references to yoga … on and on. I’ve tried spas, done yoga and they don’t work for me.

So is there an alternative to relaxing? For me, it has to be taking my mind off work, which means it needs to be something that fits into my schedule, needs to be active enough that my mind needs to focus on it, rather than wander … and here I am back to the motorbike, exercise and reading a good novel!

Riding the bike required TOTAL concentration … most road users really don’t SEE bikes, bikes can accelerate quickly INTO or OUT OF trouble, so a wandering mind is not going to work.

Exercising vigorously is a great way to focus the mind on a goal … that is not necessarily business related. It makes me feel physically good, releases endorphins and allows me some grace from work.

I enjoy reading a good novel, but rarely find a time when I can do that … other than on vacation. So maybe I need to vacation more!

As I get older I can really relate to the hobbies people have that help then to relax … activities that I may well have “dissed” in the past do make sense, I just haven’t reached the point where I think they will work for me. I can’t see myself pottering about the “garden”, or golfing or collecting stamps … but I CAN see why other people like those things.

I guess I’ll find my answers, but meanwhile … back to work!

Recessions ... Three Truths

I subscribe to Soundview Executive Summaries, as I have mentioned many times before ... a fantastic way to read a lot of business books and zone in on the few that you really want to buy, and spend time to read in depth. The service provides 8 page summaries of the books, with the main points in a condensed 20 minute read.

This month Soundview produced a bonus 13 page report about recessions, which referenced many management books that give advice for these times. The report ended with the three timeless truths about recessions.

1. Recessions happen ... economists suggest that there have been seven in the last fifty years, 1960, 1969, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1990 and 2001. They can last as short as a few months (the 1980 recession lasted only 8 months) or much longer (the 1981 recession lasted 17 months). The dynamic and complicated economic environment in which we operate today really suggests that recessions are inevitable!

2. Recessions are PAINFUL! Nobody needs to tell us that, we are all living it! The economic uncertainty is crippling even to formerly strong companies. In this recession for instance January 26, 2009 is known as blood Monday because of the unprecedented number of layoffs that happened that day ... amounting to about 71,400 jobs in the US alone.

3. The good news is that recessions end ... and every recession has ended with good times for those companies that weather the storm. Economists are expecting an upturn in the economy in the second half of 2009 and that is almost here ... so perhaps we don't have that much longer to hold on!

Fittingly, the article ends with a quote from a great leader, Martin Luther King: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy"

Hang in there ... and keep smiling!

Reasons to be Positive - a Feel-Good Blog Entry!

We all need a lift every now and then ... whether it is the markets, the economy, personal troubles, work troubles or just "the blues" EVERYONE could benefit from a boost!

This is your boost for the day!!!!!!!!!!

One of the first things you should do is to Count Your Blessings! I wrote a blog entry on this subject not that long ago with some suggestions, but basically some time spent on only positive stuff in your life (and there is lots of it) will always make you feel better!

Once you start this positive trend you will be Looking for the Good in Life, another blog entry of mine that references some of Kit Grant's musings. The reality is that we are all capable of deciding our own mood, of determining our own destiny ... take a read.

One of the best ways to feel good is to "hang with" Positive People. Seek them out, stay away from the negative influences in your life and get "infected" by the enthusiasm of the positive people you know.

Now that you are thinking good thoughts, feeling good and have been positively influenced by your positive friends YOU need to be Nice to Everyone! The act of being a NICE person will make you feel better. In fact it fits right in with John Izzo's thoughts about the Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. One of those secrets is to GIVE, unconditionally and without expectation ... and it WILL make you feel good. Giving can mean time, money or just support ... all of it means something to the receiver, and that is what counts.

I wrote a blog entry about what to do if you are Having a Bad Day ... and really its the same if you are having a bad week, bad month or bad year ... you have to be nice to yourself and do all of the above.

Treat yourself ... take a few minutes and browse through these links, it will give you lots of ideas that can help you shake the blues!

SMILE ... ITS CONTAGIOUS!

Give a Little More ... When You Can Least Afford it!!!

The economy is bad ... did you notice?
Unemployment levels are increasing daily!
Companies are cutting salaries, imposing reduced work weeks, removing benefits and generally buckling down to make it through a tough economic time.
We are all a little (lot?) more stressed than we were a year ago!

Can you imagine what it must be like to be asking for money right now?

Charities and non-profits are under even more pressure at times like these ... there is more demand on the food banks, the shelters and all the agencies. Increased stress means more violence in the home, more runaways, more homeless and more battered spouses.

Most if us that still have an income are watching our pennies, maybe cutting back on non-essentials and perhaps foregoing some luxuries. It would be a terrible thing if we cut back on our charitable giving. These organizations NEED our support more than ever and they are a part of our society and we need to dig deep and do what we can to help.

So give a little more; help out that homeless person, buy them a coffee and a donut; give the person in the wheelchair a loonie; drop some food off for the foodbank and give a few extra dollars to your charity of choice.

Remember that under different circumstances it could be us, or even our loved ones, looking for help!

The Oracle Juggernaut Buys Sun!

The rumour mill has been rampant around the sale of Sun Microsystems, but the front runner through the process has always been IBM. Even when their first offer was rejected the “buzz” was that IBM was trying to get Sun for the best possible price and surely a compromise would be reached. Seemingly from nowhere, which shows how good Oracle is at keeping a secret, Larry Ellison’s company paid $7.4 Billion to buy Sun.

I read an article today that suggests Steve Ballmer from Microsoft was having trouble understanding why Oracle would buy Sun … I’m guessing that he’s just playing head games with Larry Ellison!

To me there are at least three reasons why Oracle bought Sun …

The first reason is the same reason that they have bought Siebel, BEA, Peoplesoft, Hyperion and in fact a total of more than 50 companies since 2005 … because they want to be a dominant player in the World. Larry Ellison has a huge ego, Oracle has been a super successful company by anyone’s evaluation and world dominance is probably a reasonable goal in Mr. Ellison’s mind!

Secondly, the trend in recent years has been the merging of hardware, software and services into one entity … with IBM as the model of success. One of the more recent examples of this was HP’s merger with EDS, bringing two of the world’s largest players together into a “full service solutions” company. I think we will see Oracle make some more strategic moves in the hardware arena to strengthen that part of its business, but ultimately clients will be able to buy an Oracle solution ... end to end!

The third reason I think Oracle bought Sun was Java. Larry Ellison will want to make money from Java, it is everywhere and he will find a way to maximize his ROI from such a valuable asset.

Bets on his next acquisitions?

A browser maybe … Yahoo, Firefox?
A PDA company … RIM, Palm?
More hardware or storage … EMC?

Its fun to play the acquisition guessing game, but companies like Oracle are taking full advantage of the economic downturn to strengthen their offerings and position for super growth as the economy recovers. It will be an interesting case study for MBA students in the years to come.

Volunteering ... the Good and the Bad!

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article about the value of volunteers to the Canadian (and of course any country’s) economy. The article was written in preparation for national Volunteer week that is coming up next week April 19-25.

Back in June 2007 I had written a blog entry about the benefits of volunteering, including some of the reasons why I volunteer on a number of boards and charities.

Lately, particularly as the economy tightens and running a business gets harder by the minute I second guess the enormous amount of time that I put in on volunteer activities. Having said that I still recognize, like the article above talks about, that there is a big need for volunteers, and if I don’t do it then who will?

There are however a few pet peeves I have around the volunteer world … which I thought I would share.

1. Those long winded meetings that don’t result in action! Hey I’m a type-A business guy what can I say?
2. Schedules that are made, committed to and then changed … its hard to keep moving schedules when I also have a business to run.
3. People (usually NOT other volunteers) who give me a hard time because they might have done something differently ... IF they were doing the volunteer role!
4. In my fundraising role I hate those people that make me feel like I am begging!
5. Those people and organizations that take my volunteerism for granted … not something that happens often, but it happens.
6. People with opinions, who are unwilling to “jump in” and help.
7. The silent people who benefit from all the work and effort (particularly the industry association) but who don’t contribute.
8. The people who can well afford to give a little, or even a lot, but who avoid their responsibility.

All of these pet peeves shrink to insignificance in comparison to the satisfaction achieved in giving back. It feels good to know you are making a difference! It is also inspiring to work with the amazing people in the volunteer sector. These bright, committed and energized people devote their lives to the non-profit sector and it is fun to work with them.

So … next time a volunteer asks you for help, or for a donation or for ANYTHING, remember they are a volunteer! You don’t need to give … but you DO need to be gentle with them!

Ideas For Success Despite the Downturn

Back in November I wrote an entry called What To Do in a Recession … providing some basic advice to all employees about increasing their “employ ability”.

I have written about the subject several times and in various ways since that time. The most recent blog entry was called Its Tough Out There … and it gave some very tough messages from a well know management consultant and author, Tom Peters.

The reality is that success today is no different than success a year ago … what is different is the environment in which you are operating. When I wrote some Thoughts on Achieving Success in October 2008, the ideas there would be no different if I had written it five years ago. Having said that it is probably more important than ever to take those thoughts to heart and to create an action plan that you can execute!

Here are my observations:

Most people (please excuse the generalization … unless you fall into this category) are slow to accept change. If they don’t believe that they must change then they will do the same thing tomorrow that they did today and which they have been doing for the last number of years! I call these people dinosaurs ... and I'm sure you can figure out why.

Most people (another generalization) that intellectually understand change is required, (a) don’t know where to start, (b) are not self-motivated enough to do anything about it; and/or (c) are too lazy to make the effort.

Those people that are willing to change and who actually DO SOMETHING about it, will be the winners, the survivors and the people who will reap rewards when the economy recovers.

Ask yourself some basic questions:

1. Am I bringing TRUE value to my employer? Am I putting in a fair effort every day? Am I efficient at what I do?
2. Is my attitude good? Am I a positive force in the workplace … or am I a whiner, complainer, back-stabber or any other kind of negative influence?
3. Could I get better … and am I doing something about it? Am I meeting my sales targets … if not am I figuring out why? Am I delivering good reports/code/whatever deliverable … if not, am I asking for advice, taking courses, investing in myself?
4. Does my job look the same today as it did a year ago?

These could be indicators that your job is in jeopardy, but also hints about what you might do to turn that around.

Some time ago I wrote a blog entry about Lifelong Learning. It might just be one of the keys to get you out of your rut! It could be the one idea that saves your job. As a business owner and entrepreneur I am always impressed by people that invest in themselves. I am underwhelmed by those people who just coast through their lives without opening a book, taking a course or striving to get better.

IF you could agree with me that by investing in your own development will pay back many times over, then just do it! Devote time every day (your own time) to reading about your industry. Take courses that will help you in your career. Get involved in your industry association. Join networking groups like Toastmasters, the Chamber of Commerce etc.

Here is a truth that I hope you never experience … a lot more people will lose their jobs in Canada in the coming months! Do everything you can to make sure you are not one of them!

More Inside Scoop on Running a Business

After twelve years of running a business, through boom times and tough times, I think I have a pretty pragmatic outlook on the job. Every now and then through this blog I have provided some glimpses into my world as a CEO and owner of a small business.

When I have written about this subject I have tried to be realistic, because the thought of being a business owner is appealling to many people ... until they realise everything that goes along with it!

I wrote a blog entry called So ... You Think You Want Your Own Business, which talked about some of the risks associated with business ownership. In September 2008 I talked about risk again, in addition to the year end process in That Business Owner Feeling . In Thoughts on Achieving Success I talked about what people might need to do in order to be successful and potentially own their own business ... assuming they still want to, after reading this blog!

Today I thought I would talk about one of the toughest parts of being a business owner, its also a tough thing for any manager ... letting people go.

People will probably be the number one or number two challenge in most businesses, and maybe financing would be high on that list. You can't have a successful business if you don't have good people ... and people, being human, will cause you all kinds of grief! (I know because despite some opinions, I am one of them). Because of that human factor there are a myriad of reasons why, as a business owner or a manager, we are faced with the prospect of letting people go.

There will be clear cut occasions where some action, attitude or even inaction makes it a cut and dried decision. We still agonise over it despite the clarity that it is absolutely the right decision. The conversation is tough, and could become confrontational or quite the opposite. The emotion is high and anticipation of a bad scene is cause for a sleepless night or two. IF you are a "thinker" then you will worry about the person's family, their future and how they might cope. You will likely be a little generous with the "package" and hope that everyone moves on quickly.

More often than not the decision is not so clear cut. The person is not performing as well as they should, or personal circumstances have caused their performance to drop. You may invest time (often more than you should) in corrective actions, in working to fix the problems. Almost inevitably the decision needs to be made ... and here you are again with sleepless nights. You second guess the decisions, you may even postpone it a few times, but in the end you have the "deed" to perform.

In the current economic climate many companies are "downsizing" to reduce costs as a strategy to keep the company healthy. Its a necessary business decision, but is probably one of the hardest meetings to have. These are good people, who under normal circumstances would not be let go, but economic circumstances force a decision. Again, there are plenty of good business reasons for the decision but it affects human beings and that is hard on them which weighs heavily on the manager or business owner who makes those decisions.

Over the course of twelve years I have had many of these meetings. I once flew West on a "red eye" to let someone go and flew back on the next evenings "red eye" in order to be back in Ottawa for meetings. I have had confrontations where we were seconds from calling the police, I have had meetings where I have been sure to have a few of the larger members of the team around ... just in case. I have been verbally abused and physically threatened, and I have had people break down in tears and others beg to keep their jobs. Most people are very professional, they are almost always hurt and a little confused, but they hold it together and leave with dignity.

In every case I am affected. I feel their pain. I feel my own disappointment and failure that I wasn't able to make it work, or that we hired a wrong person which wastes their time and ours. I worry about their next steps and I am sometimes a little concerned for my own safety.

Invariably the decision is the right one for all concerned ... sometimes they are in the wrong job, sometimes they just need a serious wake-up call, sometimes they just need a change.

Intellectually I know these decisions are right, but these situations still get under my skin.

Just one more responsibility of a business owner.

The Joys of Running a Business

There are many rewards for being a business owner. You have the ability to define your own destiny and your fate is largely in your own hands. If you make the right choices, develop good plans and execute well on your plans then you can reasonably expect to do well financially.

There are many people who talk about running their own business and there a subset of those who go on to actually take the risk … because that is exactly what it is. There are a ton of statistics around the number of companies that go bankrupt in their early years in business … around 80% of new companies go bankrupt… and, depending on who you believe , this happens in either the first year, the first three years or the first five years. Best case you have a 20% of surviving as a new business.

Assuming that your business is one of those that survives, it is a fair bet your survival is the result of hard work, good strategy, good people, good execution and some luck!

So now you have a “going concern”, a business that generates profits that can be used to fuel growth and compete with the best. Of course we live in an ever changing world and you have to hope that (a) your company is not operating in the equivalent of the “buggy whip” sector (b) your competition is not reinventing your market space before you can; (3) you can attract and retain talented people; (4) you can attract and retain good clients; (5) you can remain relevant; (6) the economy will not tank to the point where you can’t hang on; (7) a cheap offshore solution doesn't become available (look at SW Ontario’s manufacturing base) and (8) that governments do not introduce legislation that will make your business model unaffordable.

On a day to day basis you are responsible for the operation of your company, its conformance to the many laws of the land, Federal, provincial and even municipal; you are responsible for the actions of your people; you run the risk of legal action for any number of events that could happen among your staff, your offices or your clients.

Now you are a ”pillar of the community”, so you volunteer (happily) to help with charities, donate funds and time help those less fortunate than you. Of course in doing so you self-identify as the person to approach for every charity “out there”, and feel about 3 inches tall every time you have to say no. The time commitment grows and you soon find yourself with another full time job, in addition to the one running your company.

Because you own the company you are expected to “do whatever it takes” for the company. You represent the company on the industry association, you attend breakfast functions, luncheon meetings and dinners. You give speeches (which require preparation), lobby politicians (which requires time and preparation), jump on airplanes at the drop of a hat and learn just how little sleep you can survive on. One entrepreneur I knew referred to the “raccoon look” that he related to entrepreneurs and I relate to business owners … that dark eyed, haunted look of the Type A personality on no sleep!

You spend the years trying to set aside some money for that time when you choose to retire and if a market meltdown doesn’t totally destroy it, or a company crisis cause you to reinvest it, then likely you will end up with your own self funded retirement fund. If when that time comes you still have a “going concern” then you may get the opportunity to actually sell your company. At which point you get to commit to company performance for two or three years following the sale, while you work for someone else and hope they don’t make stupid decisions that kills your nestegg!

Welcome to the life of a business owner … I love it! Does that make me a masochist?

Finding Balance in this Crazy World

Unemployment is high and companies are struggling to survive in what could be the toughest market we have seen in our lifetime … certainly in my twelve years of running this company. One inevitable side-effect of this situation is that balance is tougher to find and stress levels are higher.

- People are concerned for their job security.
- Your boss is asking you to work harder.
- Friends and family are also stressed.
- At work AND at home tempers are shorter … it is hard to find respite.

What can you do?

I firmly believe that attitude is always critical, but especially when times are tough … SMILE! It costs you nothing … it makes you feel better and it makes those around you feel better too! BE NICE TO EVERYONE! You would feel better if people were nicer to you … so set the example!

The traditional debate about balance surrounds the amount of time and effort we put into work versus the time and effort we put into our activities outside of work. We are all different, we have different jobs, different levels of commitment to those jobs and there are different expectations of us. The bottom line is that in order to be successful at work we need to meet, and exceed expectations. The best way to achieve that is to follow this advice … when at work, WORK! If you are totally focused, as productive as you can be and bringing value to your employer then you are doing everything you can. If you waste time, don’t do the things your employer wants or are just a mediocre performer … then you need to work on that! Meeting your employer’s expectations is the minimum required to achieve the peace of mind you seek if you want life balance! (Never mind your own pride!) In this economy you cannot afford to be complacent … your job or even your company’s survival might depend on it!

If you are doing everything you can at work then you need to ENJOY your time away from work. Don’t just drift through those personal hours, make choices … and yes it is perfectly fine to make a choice to lie on the couch and relax, as long as that is not your primary non-work activity. You need to make conscious decisions and not just fall into a bland routine of “same old, same old” … because TRULY enjoying your personal time can best be achieved with the same kind of commitment that we apply to our work lives. We can all find time for family, hobbies, charitable work, health and fitness activities … and the pleasure from those activities will recharge your batteries, give you a sense of satisfaction and bring more meaning to your life.

How much time you give to work versus home life is a personal choice … you need to find a balance that works for you. There are times when work will be more demanding and times when home needs more from you … only you will know if you are achieving the right balance! Achieving that balance will go a long way to reducing those stress levels.

Guidelines or Rules ... Which Works Best?

I don’t profess to be an expert in the area of management … I don’t have an MBA, I haven’t written any book, given lectures or been lauded as a “guru”. I have however had a lot of years experience, made lots of mistakes, read a lot of management books, I am married to an MBA and I have written a few blogs on the subject.

So … take this opinion with a pinch of salt.

Here is my hypothesis … the more rules you put in place, the tighter the box you put people in the harder they will work to circumvent your process.

This applies to:

Managers trying to micromanage their people;
Parents trying to micromanage their children;
Governments trying to micromanage business;
Companies trying to micromanage their suppliers.

In essence any person or group trying to manage any other person or group.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

Classic sales scenario. If you have a sales team and you micromanage every aspect of their behaviour the result will be (a) the effort associated with the micro-management will consume your management time (b) the team will make every effort to find ways around the process (c) there will be more time spent on the administration of “the rules” rather than productive selling.

The better answer is to set clear, measurable and MEANINGFUL goals, such as revenues or margin generated. Who cares if they are not in the office at 8:30am IF they are blowing numbers away?

Classic Client/Buyer Relationship. The corporation wants to get the absolutely best deal it can, so it gets its primary supplier to agree to the lowest possible price, with the most onerous terms and conditions. The quality of what is supplied and the level of service will both degrade. This creates a lose-lose scenario and other suppliers find ways to satisfy the corporation, at a much greater price … further demoralizing the “preferred” suppliers.

The better answer is to have looser rules, firm guidelines and a competitive environment that rewards quality, service and value. This becomes a win-win environment.

I won’t even “go there” with the parent teenager scenario … other than to say GENERALLY if you hold on too tight your result will be counter productive!

Government interference is a whole blog on its own ... and I may well write that one soon!

I firmly believe that the best results will ALWAYS come when two sides work together towards common goals, with the best interests of both being “looked after”.

Canadian IT Job Market – Quarterly Outlook April 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.

This market update covers the period January through March 2009, some of the darkest months in the Canadian Winter and certainly economic conditions have added to the gloom! While Canada has been slower into the recession than the US and many parts of the world we have certainly been feeling its affects.

A year ago the IT Job Market across Canada was strong, with companies in all regions of the country starting large projects and raising the demand for IT professionals. Fast forward to this year and the job market is in a very different position. According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force survey released in March, total employment in Canada fell for the fourth consecutive month, pushing the unemployment rate up to 7.7%, 1.8% higher from February 2008. Ontario suffered the most job losses in February, followed by Alberta and then Quebec.

The good news in the IT sector is that generally, across the country, organizations are still investing in technology. The slow down is palpable, the layoffs ARE real and there is NO growth … but SOME technology work is still happening!

In Western Canada, many industries are feeling the impact of the economy. Specifically, oils sands projects and development have stopped because it’s uneconomical to operate at the current commodity prices, well completions are down 30-50% from past years, and 40% of oil rigs in Western Canada are now idle. The talk of IT off-shoring has also dwindled significantly. Companies are reducing budgets, cancelling projects, releasing contractors early, and implementing hiring freezes. Many organizations are shuffling internal resources or simply reducing the number of people on staff, impacting both contractors and employees. A significant portion of “posted” roles never close as a result of these changing priorities, project cancellations, or staff re-organizations.

Even in these hard times, though, business must get done and there are some employers who are actually seeing this situation as an opportunity to attract resources they have not been able to afford in the past or to fill permanent positions that could not previously be filled. A number of organizations in both the public and private sectors are still posting new opportunities; however, they are exercising more caution in their decision-making and approval processes. As a result, these companies are being more meticulous and cost-conscious when hiring new people, which is causing longer periods of time to finalize the deals.

Employers with new opportunities are finding that they can put less effort into their searches because the market is seeing more IT professionals available and looking for work. As the job market gets more competitive, so are contractors. Many are getting their names out wherever they can and using various strategies to find work including lowering their rates significantly; looking at broader opportunities by chasing roles for which they are over-qualified; and have been willing to locate to different regions across the country (specifically, many are coming from Eastern Canada to the West).

Other contractors are choosing to accept permanent positions. Employers with these opportunities are looking for candidates who are skilled in one area but have a wider range of experiences so they can take on other tasks as well. Specific hot skills in the permanent market right now are PMs, BAs, and QAs.

While many of these trends are consistent across Western Canada, each region has its own trends. The Vancouver and Victoria areas are very slow as many employers are showing caution and putting big projects on hold. Skills in demand here are Siebel, QA, and CRM. Similarly, Calgary is also seeing major projects being put on hold and many contractors are becoming available, but there are some pockets of hiring activity. BAs, PMs, SharePoint, and LiveLink are the major skills for this region. Edmonton‘s hot jobs are for Oracle, BA, and PM positions. The city’s still seeing many government RFPs for IT positions, but far fewer opportunities are coming out as “live orders”. Regina’s IT market is still relatively strong due to government and crown corporations, as hiring remains consistent and there are fewer job cuts. Skill sets in demand include BAs and PMs. Winnipeg, however, is very slow with limited investment in new IT projects and many organizations focusing on maintaining systems and infrastructure. Hot jobs within the Winnipeg market include Network Administrators, Help Desk Analysts, and Business Analysts.

Times are turbulent in the GTA as companies from all industries are tightening their budgets, but there are still some positives to be found. The Ontario Government still has some large project initiatives on the go that will no doubt require contract resources at specific ministries. Even though the banking sector is still feeling the pinch, due to layoffs and exhausted staff, they still have a need for additional resources and, therefore, are contributing to the demand for IT contractors. One trend we are seeing in the telecommunications industry is the repatriation of offshore projects which are being staffed locally in Canada. Overall, Business Transformation seems to be the big push in GTA and several large enterprise infrastructure projects are getting underway.

While many organizations are still hiring, the job market is still fairly slow. Permanent positions are decreasing due to layoffs and headcount reductions, and many organizations that would normally only hire permanently are beginning to only engage contractors. In either case, there is a noticeable increase in IT professionals available for work in the Toronto area and they are becoming more flexible. They are more open to either permanent or contracting positions and are willing to consider jobs in remote areas that require more travel. As jobs get harder to find around Toronto, people are also willing to be a more lenient on common issues like pay rates, contract durations, and extensions without a rate increase.

Hot jobs in this region right now include Business Analysts as well as Infrastructure PMs and Architects. Senior billing resources and .NET C# resources are also in high demand.

In Eastern Canada, Ottawa continues to benefit from the engine that is the Federal Government. What has affected the market, most significantly in the smaller private sector, was a very lengthy and frustrating transit strike on top of economic turmoil and through a holiday season and beyond. The overall effect hurt technology jobs as well as the tech sector sunk to its lowest level in several years.

The Federal government continues to hire and with a stated objective of stimulating the economy it is expected hiring will continue in the months ahead. A Bid Rigging accusation by the Competition Bureau revolved around several IT contracts likely served to heighten attention on an already highly scrutinized procurement community in the Federal government and may have softened demand through March. As fiscal year end has come and gone and new budgets are either in place or being formulated, look for Federal government hiring to increase in the months ahead as stimulus projects are rolled out.

Montreal saw a definite flattening in demand as most organizations, although continuing to look for resources, have been unable to move very quickly through the hiring cycle with approvals pending or just put on hold. This was most evident in the permanent placement market in Montreal.

Hot skills in demand in the region were Oracle Functional, Business Intelligence, and Data Migration, as well as Security Specialists along with Tech Support and Help Desk positions.

The Speed of Change

Do you ever think about the pace of change?

Over the last couple of days I have been conversing with (a) an old Navy friend (I LEFT the Navy 30 years ago); (b) an old school friend, from college 30 years ago; (c) siblings, nieces and nephews in England; (d) a friend in Buenos Aires; (e) a friend in Sydney, Australia; (f) a friend in Colorado; (g) I connected to a few old colleagues and (h) communicated with my kids in Toronto in addition to all of the usual business “stuff” around Canada and the US.

My old navy buddy found me through Google and I found my old school buddy the same way. I connected to old colleagues through LinkedIn, communicated with a friend in Argentina through Twitter, organized a family get-together in the UK through Facebook, shared photos around the globe through Flickr and emailed people using my corporate email, my Gmail account and my Hotmail account. All of this in addition to sending my regular message to “the world” through my blog!

My wife recently got an iPhone and I am currently using a Windows PDA. Through these devices we get email wherever we are, manage our calendars, keep track of tasks and all of the contact information for hundreds of people. The iPhone finds the nearest restaurant/coffee shop, acts like a GPS, identifies the names of songs and a whole host of things that are actually surprisingly useful!

In my life I have laptops, desktops and now netbooks that allow me to communicate with the world, gather information from every corner of the globe and even keep me amused. The internet has brought opportunity, change and even destruction, as industries have been transformed … we could be on the brink of more change as even traditions such as newspapers are threatened.

I have been in the technology world for more than 30 years and ALL of this change has happened in that time. So… just how fast can we go?

I’m hanging on and having a blast, but then again I like to go fast! How are you going to do as we pick up speed?

McGuinty Hurting Vulnerable Workers in Ontario

I'm sure everyone that reads this blog is sick and tired of me going on about BILL 139 ... and I apologise for taking so much air time with this. Having said that, this is a hugely important issue and it appears that our provincial government are going to charge ahead despite the pain it will bring.

1. It WILL cost jobs ... and it will be Ontario's most vulnerable workers who will be affected! This legislation increases costs and risk to staffing companies to the point where we will not be able to supply temporary help

(a) for short term engagements;
(b) where we don't know the candidate VERY well ... so that will hurt new grads, new immigrants, new entrants to the workforce, newly laid off people etc.

2. It WILL hurt Ontario productivity. Companies that rely on temporary help to get them through critical periods, high volume periods, special projects etc. will be forced to look at alternatives. McGuinty thinks they will hire full time staff ... NO, they would have done that if it made sense. They will move the work or they will stop doing the work. The work MIGHT move to another province, but it might equally move offshore.

WHY will McGuinty's government not listen? We are asking for two small modifications to the bill that will have a very positive outcome in the real world ... where we operate.

WHY are they rushing the bill through? They held consultations and heard more than 50 presentations, but are going to rush through a vote next week! There has been NO impact analysis done that shows the extent of the damage they will cause ... even in the face of the current economic climate.

ACSESS released this press release about Bill 139 yesterday ... and it has some more details.

I have never been a political animal, I have a business to run and jobs to create. This bill will hurt our industry so badly that I might become "a believer" and devote serious time to supporting candidates who actually care about something other than votes!

Twitter

So what is all the fuss about Twitter ... seemingly the latest and greatest craze in social networking? Of course Wikipedia has its definition of Twitter. Apparently even Barack Obama is tweeting.

Every second article I have been seeing seems to be about this new service, so I decide to see what it is all about ... so I now Tweet as well as blog! I must be a modern CEO!

This is my second day on twitter so I'm still getting my feet wet ... but starting to get the handle of it. I set up my account and found a few people/services to "follow", and lo and behold some People decided to "follow" me.

The service allows you to get very quick soundbites (up to 140 characters) of information in a timely manner. It allows you to connect to a lot of people quite quickly as you build your network of followers ... providing you have something worth saying. The information gathering is quite interesting for me because of the monthly IT Industry News that I produce ... through Twitter I can collect newsworthy articles quickly and with little fuss.

I can connect to services that will keep me updated on any information that I am interested in ... but like most social networks it can become pervasive, if you let it. So the trick is to understand how much time you are prepared to put into it and manage that. With time i will get a better sense of the ROI.

A friend of mine sent me a link to this Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter. Of course he sent it via Twitter which is again what a lot of people do ... share links to interesting articles. There is also this Newbies Guide to Twitter from CNet.

It will be very interesting to see how it works over the coming months and perhaps I'll give you an update as I go ... my Twitter name is Kevindee300, if you try it out then "follow" me!

March 2009 IT Industry News

This is my 30,000 foot look at events in the ICT industry for March 2009. What you see here is a précis of the monthly report I produce, which is available in more detail at the Eagle website. You will also find back issues on the website.

Two years ago, in March 2007 Cisco was “on a tear” announcing 3 acquisitions, including the $3.3 Billion purchase of WebEx, that month Microsoft also paid about $800 Million for Tellme networks. In March 2008 Microsoft announced three separate deals (one reputedly in the $100Million range); the biggest deal of that month was AOL’s $850 Million purchase of social networking company Bebo; Acer paid $290 Million for E-Ten and Synopsis paid $227 Million for another semiconductor company Synplicity. Also a year ago, Motorola announced that it is going to split into two separate companies (one mobile company and the other networking).

In March 2009 we continue to suffer through tough economic times and record unemployment. Having said that, not ALL of the news has been bleak … in fact one report suggests that the US high-tech industry actually gained 77,000 jobs in 2008, and a couple of Robert Half surveys suggest most CIOs are planning on retaining or growing their staffing levels this year. Meanwhile mass layoff for February in the US saw an increase of 65% over the previous year. More good news was, for the first time in many years there was an increase in grads majoring in computer science.

Some companies in the news for layoffs this month include Cisco, Allegis Group, Nokia, CGI, Google and SUN. Google was also in the news for creating a $100 Million venture fund, and SUN has been the centre of speculation about a potential $6.5 Billion merger with IBM. IBM has also been rumoured to be interested in Satyam. There was not a ton of actual M&A activity this month however Bell Canada’s surprise purchase of The Source was interesting and the break-up of BearingPoint, post Chapter 11, will benefit Deloitte, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, some management teams plus some Asian purchasers.

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