Changing Your Life

What three things could you do that would improve your life?

That's an interesting question ... maybe you should give it some thought, because it sounds like a BIG DEAL but really it is within all of us to achieve.

Here are some ideas ...

1. Health ... what would you like to do for your health?

Lose some weight? Get fitter? Take up a sport? Build some muscle? Stretch more?

2. Knowledge/Education ...

Learn a new language? Take a course? Read a book ... or just read regularly?

3. Relationships ...

Find a partner? Find new friends? Strengthen friendships?

4. Work/Career
5. Leisure/Hobbies

You could take every aspect of your life and decide to change one thing. All you need is a plan and then to take action and you can change your life.

Start slow .. pick just ONE thing, make a plan and then ACT! Its really not very difficult to change things one step at a time.

The Power of "TO DO Lists"!

I have blogged many times about time management … or as a sometimes refer to it, personal productivity (because people tell me time just happens, you can’t MANAGE it).

Some of the blog entries I have written are worth a visit …

Back in September 2006 I wrote Ten Practical Tips to Manage Time. Interestingly enough the first tip related to “TO DO Lists”, the focus of this blog entry.

In January 2008 I did focus on “TO DO Lists” with an entry called Ten Tips for Effective TO DO Lists. You can see I am a big fan of these.

In June 2009 I provided Ten Time Management Tips …again designed to help you to be more effective.

In September 2009 the blog entry was just called TIME and again talked about some peculiarities of getting everything done, that you need to get done!

So … here are some thoughts.

> IF you can be very effective, then you can get your work done in less time … that means more time for you.
> IF you can be very effective then you can achieve more … which might mean promotions, more income just retain your job above everyone else … or any number of good things.
> IF you can be effective then you can do more with your “personal time”.

What can you do with a To Do List?

> You organize your thoughts so you don’t have to think about it … leaving your mind to focus on the “doing” rather than the organizing.
> You have a handy reference for any time you have a spare moment.
> You can prioritise your work AND your personal activities for maximum gain.
> You can ensure that ALL of your projects keep moving along … that could be every sales opportunity, your vacation planning, your education needs, your social schedule etc.
> You can match your energy level to the task at hand … if you are pumped and rearing to go then tackle the bigger, tougher projects. If you are a little down, low energy or just tired them knock off some of the easier tasks.
> Every time you cross another item off your list you can reward yourself, or just feel good about progress.
> You can keep it with you to capture ideas as they pop into your head.
> You can use it to get better at managing time by reviewing how you performed over the last week or month etc.
> You can use it to demonstrate why you don’t have time for another project … or to get input about where the new project should fall in your priority list.
> You can use it when people interrupt you … “sorry can’t chat right now, have you seen my to-do list!”

If there is ONE thing you can do to (a) improve your organizational skills, or (b) be more productive, it is to create and use a “TO DO List”.

The Importance of Client Meetings

I am always telling salespeople that they need to be in front of their clients.

The following are just a few reasons why salespeople need to be meeting with their clients regularly …

1. You don’t know their current needs if you are not meeting with them.
2. You can’t tell your clients about your product or service if you are not meeting with them.
3. It takes at least 7 meetings to START to build a relationship. (That could take months!)
4. If your competition are meeting, and you are not, then they WILL be top of mind.
5. You will learn about the market in general by being out of the office … you will NOT learn about what is going on sitting at your desk.
6. Waiting for the phone to ring has never been a good sales strategy.
7. Your NEXT opportunity (and the one after that etc.) will come from the work done now … if you wait to start that process you push out the end result.

Sales people will often give reasons why they can’t be meeting clients. Some examples ...

1. You have a proposal to write, it involves a lot of work so you stay in the office writing and reading etc. See the list above!
2. You have “paperwork” to get done. See the list above!
3. You don’t have anything to talk about. See the list above!

Do you spot a pattern here?

If you are NEW to sales then it is doubly important to be meeting people because everyone else has a head start on you … but don’t worry because so many salespeople find reasons NOT to visit that you will have no trouble building relationships with THEIR clients!

How do you as a salesperson manage to do this?

Easy … every day spend a few minutes setting up meetings, as far into the future as you like. Try to get at least one client meeting EVERY day, preferably two or three (depending upon the type of business you are in), the more the better. (I make the gross assumption here that these will be productive meetings ... but I guess that is another blog topic).

Fit EVERYTHING ELSE around these meetings.

Enjoy Your Life ... All of it!

Its not a new message, but as far as we know, we only get one "go around" in this human form. So it would make sense to make the most of it!

What does that mean for you?

Let me tell you what it has come to mean for me. I will also point out that this attitude did not come easily to me ... I learned it, and so can anyone.

I enjoy ALL aspects of my life. That's it ... that's my first secret!

Like everyone there are challenges and disappointments, I may get frustrated and I may even get mad sometimes ... but when I look at the big picture I love my life.

I am responsible for my own destiny ... that is my second secret.

If something is not right in my world I can fix it in a couple of different ways. I can change the situation OR I can change how I view that situation. What my experience tells me is that almost always changing my attitude is the right answer.

I am the product of ALL my experiences ... and I like who I am.

Not all of my experiences have been pleasant, I have not arrived where I am in a direct line, but the end result is pretty cool as far as I am concerned.

Some advice to REALLY enjoy your life:

1. Give more than you take ... you will hear this from me a lot. I won't even try to explain it.

2. Don't wish away your days, even your hours ... be in the moment and do your best, whatever you are doing.

3. ALWAYS be empathetic ... look at both sides of every situation and give "the other person" the benefit of the doubt.

It all boils down to your ATTITUDE. Is your attitude good ... or is it getting in the way of your happiness? You might want to take a peek at a blog entry I wrote about attitude back in 2006.

Have a GREAT weekend ... I know I will.

PS. That's me sitting at a bar in Venice two years ago ... did I mention, Life is Good!

Selling ... Are You Getting Buyer's Attention?

I spotted this article this morning about what buyers look for when sales people are "pitching them".

The article is called The Lost Art in Sales, from BusinessBrief.com and authored by Ken Dooley. I read their stuff quite regularly and often find something of value. It looks like BusinessBrief got it from Stephan Schiffman so lots of credit to go around, but sound sales advice none the less.

How your salespeople open a sales call is more critical than how they try to close it, according to a recent survey of purchasing executives. Here are four keys buyers look for in an opening. From sales trainer and author Stephan Schiffman:

1. Make your opening statement short, understandable and credible. Your goal is to start a dialogue rather than a one-sided discourse in which you preach about the features and benefits of your product or service. You establish who you are, why you’re there, and why the prospect should be interested in what you have to say. There are many ways to open the call, but the common objective of good openings is to lead the prospect to agree that you’re allowed to ask questions.

2. Ask questions that will help you pinpoint their problems and your opportunities. You can’t assess the prospect’s real needs without having an understanding of the problems involved. Establish your role as the seeker of information and the prospect’s role as the provider of information. This is the most critical stage. You can’t close business without understanding the prospect’s issues.

3. Let the customers do most of the talking. The more they talk, the better you’ll understand their needs. Listen carefully to their responses, trying to uncover unrecognized problems and coming up with unanticipated solutions. Give the prospects the opportunity to ask questions and focus on what’s in it for them.

4. Resist the temptation to offer any immediate solutions until you have a complete understanding of prospect needs and are ready to offer credible solutions. The more a salesperson knows upfront, the more comfortable prospects feel in exchanging sensitive business information. Summarize or re-emphasize key points. Then propose an action that advances the sale to a successful close.

This is not rocket science, it is stuff we have all been taught , BUT how often do we see salespeople talking and talking and talking, without understanding anything about their client's issues!

Classic stuff ... but stuff to remember!!!

How NIMBLE is YOUR Corporate Hiring Process?

The Staffing and Recruitment business is a VERY high paced, demanding and competitive business. Perhaps that is just the reality for many businesses in this high paced, demanding and competitive world we live in today.

The internet age ensures that communication is instantaneous, with tweets, texts, blogs, wikis and Facebook posts happening in almost real time. You can see it happening all around you, its not just teens walking down the street texting … it’s everyone! Its not just young people with Facebook pages its everyone AND their corporations because Facebook is becoming one of the newest and fastest growing sources of recruiting, in addition to being the social convenor for all post work activities!

But I digress … my point today is that we live in a world that is incredibly fast paced … so why is it that SOME clients just don’t understand the urgency around the hiring process?

We see it time and again … the client absolutely needs a critical resource, with a “hard to find” skill set. We find some great candidates and the client is extremely pleased. They now proceed to put them through the “corporate hiring process”. The first interview is scheduled for next Monday, the second third and fourth interviews fall into line behind each other, and happen ONLY if the previous step is passed.

Invariably the candidate never makes it to step number five because they have received three offers from more nimble companies in the meantime!

Now the client is mad at us because they really wanted that candidate and they are no longer available! No kidding!

Also WE are not at all happy with our client and FRANKLY the next time they want one of those CRITICAL resources we are inclined to make it a lower priority because we do all of the work with no return. I guess that’s why the executive search firms work on retainer!

What is the answer?

It is a fact … the world today is different than it was even two years ago.

If you do not have a fast, clean and efficient process to get new hires in the door AND welcomed appropriately then you will lose them.

Here are some steps to take:

i. Create a comprehensive checklist UP FRONT before the recruiting process starts.
ii. Identify which of the listed criteria are mandatory and which are desirable … be brutally honest and be as flexible as you can.
iii. Assume that anyone who makes it past that checklist is “hirable”.
iv. Get EVERYONE needed to make a decision in the same place at the same time and run the candidates through your own hiring interview conveyer belt.
v. Make a job offer on the spot.

The costs of making a mistake after this process are no greater than making a mistake using the old process … HOWEVER this way you have a chance to actually hire someone, PLUS you send a message to the outside world that yours is a progressive company.

Perhaps John Cotter's book A Sense of Urgency, about change management and the proactive approach to change, would be good reading for these types of clients

PS. Don’t forget that comprehensive on-boarding strategy that ensures everyone feels like a part of the team from the minute they walk through the door.
Hint: Throwing the policy and procedures manual at them is not very impressive!

Frank O'Dea an Inspiration to Give Back!

One of the keynote speakers at the ACSESS Conference held in Toronto (actually Mississauga … OK Steve?) last week was Frank O’Dea. Frank is a founder of the Second Cup as well as co-founder of ProShred Security … obviously a very successful businessman.

There are always lessons to be learned from people who have had that level of success in business … but really Frank’s story is so much more than that! His presentation entitled Hope, Vision, Action is really a call to action for all of us to get involved and make a difference in the communities in which we live.

It’s a great message!

Frank achieved his success against all the odds! He was an alcoholic living on the streets in Toronto who managed (with a little help from some key people in his life) to get it all back together and to achieve great things.

He never forgot about those helping hands!

In addition to his business success Frank has been instrumental in and a part of phenomenal success in philanthropic and charitable works. The following is taken directly from his website …
Early on, Frank took steps to give back to the community. He began by serving on the boards of directors of charities and not-for-profit organizations. But the entrepreneur’s desire to innovate and build was not to be denied. In 1985 he co-founded Street Kids International, an organization developed to help homeless children in third world countries, through education and self-reliance programs. A few years later, he became the founding Chair of War Child (Canada), an organization that provides assistance against suffering and abuse of children in war affected countries. In the same year, Frank co-founded the Canadian Landmine Foundation, an organization that raises funds for the dismantling of minefields around the world. He went on to initiate that organization’s most successful fund raising program, "Night of a Thousand Dinners", with participation of people in 29 countries, raising millions of dollars.

Frank’s story inspires me and reminds me that every one of us can make an incredible difference in the world. It just takes some Hope, a little Vision and then taking Action!!!

What are you doing to give back to our world?

Prepare for Interviews!

This was an interesting little clip I saw in the Globe and Mail newspaper on Wednesday ...

Tricky Questions

Job seekers report being asked these brain teasers in interviews according to glassdoor.com.

How many tennis balls are in this room and why? (Asked at yahoo)

If I put you in a sealed room with a phone that had no dial tone, how would you fix it? (Apple)

If you were a brick in the wall which brick would you be and why? (Nestle, USA)

How would you move Mount Fuji? (Microsoft)

What do you think your eulogy would say about you? (Nationwide insurance)

Source: Wired, UK and The Globe and Mail Wednesday May 12th.

Generally speaking there are no definitive answers to these questions, but there are many right or wrong answers! These companies were looking for their applicants to be creative, to think “on their feet”, to be sharp enough to think through an abstract problem and to come up with an answer that is in some way “right”.

This is an excellent example of why it is important to be prepared when heading to an interview. If you know that the company asks these type of questions then you can practice a few to get in the right frame of mind. You are less likely to be "thrown" by questions that might seem "oddball" if not expected.

So … the moral here is to be prepared before you go. Gather as much as possible of the basic information, as well as any "insights" into the company's interview techniques!

1. Know about the company. What they do, how they are doing, who are the key players … a little research on the website. Know who the competitors are and how they stack up. Have they been in the news lately?

2. Know about the job. Before you go find out as much as possible, what does it entail, who does it report to, what is the atmosphere/culture like (relaxed/formal, large team/small team etc).

3. Have some questions thought out before you go. It is a little lame to get to the end of the interview and not have anything to ask … there are always things to ask. Certainly you want to understand the process and when you can expect to be contacted. You will want to know if there is anything you could do to prepare before joining the company … research, documentation (passports etc). You could ask about future direction, about charitable involvement of staff, about training programs, about company sports teams etc.

4. Work at the logistics. Know where to go, and give yourself plenty of time. Dress appropriately and ensure you are "bright eyed and bushy tailed". Arrive with a positive outlook and maintain it throughout.


There are lots of sites that give information about preparing for interviews … here are some to check out:

Pam Pohly’s Net Guide

Quintessential Career Site … The Ultimate Guide to Interview Preparation

About.com … job search tips.

Lots of good information in here, and it all supports the idea that the better prepared you are the better chance you have for success!

The Value of an Industry Conference

Once again I am at the ACSESS conference, Canada's staffing industry sharing best practices, networking and hearing about the great things happening across our industry. It is an opportunity to show solidarity, to learn and to understand how we can all be better.

On Monday we will all be back in our offices trying to grow our businesses, competing and relishing the times that we beat out our competitor. The same competitors that this week we are drinking beer with, watching the Montreal Canadiens beat Pittsburgh in the Stanley cup.

Some people find it a little strange, but really it is the way all mature industries operate. By working together to develop codes of conduct, establishing best practices and providing guidance and training for our members we all get better. A credible industry can work with governments to help meet their goals and to ensure that policies developed work in the real world. A mature industry grows, provides employment and value to the economy in addition to supporting the communities in which it operates.

I have written many times about the value of industry associations ... in 2006 I wrote about their value in one of my first blog entries.

I have also taken a shot at those who don't "get with the program" and support their industry ... in June last year I wrote about Freeloaders in Canada's Staffing Industry.

A month later I wrote about why I am proud of this industry and referenced the industry association's president, Steve Jones.

So, once again I am here to show my support, to learn from my peers and to network with my competitors. I can tell you it is much easier to have those competitor to competitor conversations when a relationship exists!

If you have been thinking about joining your industry association ... do it!

If you have been wondering if there is value in industry conferences ... just go, you'll see value!

CANADIAN IT JOB MARKET – Mini update April/May 2010

General Observations:

The global economy affects us all, and the events of the past couple of months have been cause for concern. The airline industry was severely impacted by the volcano in Iceland and the Greek economy is in tatters requiring support from the international community. Of course there are lessons to be learned for all of us, that we can’t continue to spend more than we have … at some point in time it catches up. In addition to those negative influences the UK election has a “hung parliament” which will create uncertainty there and likely hinder the recovery in Europe.

Canada continues to outperform the other G8 countries with a generally steady recovery, boosted by last month’s employment figures. The record job increases (biggest in memory at 108,700), the strength of the dollar and even signs that the auto sector is recovering are all good signs. The TSE continues to perform well despite the ups and downs of the markets generically, the housing market appears to be doing well and the staffing industry continues its steady recovery too.

Here at Eagle March was our best month in more than a year, with most markets doing very well and in particular the Toronto area exceptionally busy. Demand for both contract and full-time resources is good and we are even starting to see signs of skills shortages in some areas.

More Specifically:


The GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is definitely still the most active market across Canada. We have reached a point where the supply and demand curves are intersecting, with the most skilled resources getting multiple offers. The financial sector and in particular the banks are very busy, the telcos are also very busy. The Ontario provincial government is fairly steady, with a reported pent up demand working through the process and the System integrators appear to be winning more business and therefore in need of resources. There is a healthy demand for both full-time and contract resources within all of those areas.

Western Canada continues to increase the pace with Calgary still the hottest Western market, although demand is steady as opposed to frenetic. The Alberta Government has picked up a little but BC remains a little quiet. Like the GTA, there are signs in the hotter markets that the candidate supply pool is thinning out with key resources getting multiple offers and clients being disappointed if they don’t move quickly to secure these people.

When I talk about Eastern Canada, for Eagle that really means Ottawa and Montreal. The pace in Montreal has picked up somewhat and like the GTA and Calgary the supply of great candidates is dwindling. Also like the GTA it is the financial sector, telcos and system integrators that have the biggest demand. April marks the beginning of the government fiscal year so demand is a little slow in Ottawa while managers understand their budgets and the projects that are funded. Despite Treasury Board initiatives to cut budgets, reports from the Auditor General and the Clerk of the Privy Council indicate that IT spending will not be hit too badly in the near term. There is an expectation that Ottawa should start to get busy in the coming weeks.

The following are some facts/indicators we are watching as of time of writing:


> The price of oil is around $77 a barrel which is down slightly, but still at healthy levels … the activity in Calgary would suggest the oil sector is picking up!
> Natural Gas prices trend down as warm weather approaches (despite the late snow) … given the long term nature of these contracts this sector is currently pretty healthy.
> The TSX continues to do pretty well at just under 12,100 … despite the affects of the Greek crisis and the volcanic ash.
> The Canadian dollar continues to be is very strong, currently about 98cc US. Not always a good thing for Canadian business, but a positive economic indicator.
> Prime remains at 2.25%, making borrowing inexpensive but concerns about inflation and the positive indicators in the Canadian economy have spawned a lot of speculation the rate will rise soon, making borrowing that bit more expensive!
> Canada added a record 108,700 jobs in April, the biggest gain in memory going back as far as 1976.
> Alberta’s provincial government continues to grapple with its unusual situation of a $7B deficit, and the requisite cuts that go with that.
> We are seeing a pickup in activity in most sectors … banks, energy companies, and telcos in particular. There is also some pickup in Municipal, Provincial and Federal Government activity.
> The Canadian government is not expected to drastically reduce its spending this year, which is good news for anyone dependent upon the Feds for business.
> Canada’s Staffing Index would suggest the staffing industry is recovering slowly but surely and is now just 20% off the pre-recession peak of October 2008

Summary:


The Canadian economy receives glowing praise on the global scene, apparently the best performing economy of the G8 and, this month again we continue to see a general improvement in just about all indicators.

The staffing industry is all about the ebb and flow of supply and demand. When the economy is down there are more people available than jobs. As that trend reverses in a recovering economy, we start to see the first signs of skills shortages. We are seeing those signs NOW in our most active markets, with the most skilled resources having the opportunity to pick and choose between jobs.

Early indicators in May suggest that the pace of demand is not slowing and that we will continue to see skills shortages in the biggest markets, and amongst the most in-demand skill sets. Even with all of the positive indicators most business are still in recovery mode and are still being careful with their costs. The future is looking positive, however we will likely be looking at interest rate increases in the next while, plus Ontario and BC introduce HST in July so we will have see how the economy responds.

The Wonder of Mistakes!

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ... Albert Einstein

If you have been around the workplace long enough then you will have made your fair share of mistakes, I know I have!

There are a few things to know about mistakes …

1. EVERYONE makes them … sometimes they are more public than others, sometimes they have more significance than others … but EVERYONE makes them.
2. How you react to a mistake is important … it defines you much more than making the mistake.
3. Mistakes are a great way to learn … the individual(s) involved will certainly be very careful the next time and those around will not want to be in that position!
4. Mistakes should be treated as just that … not the end of the world, not a reason to write someone off, not a reason to vilify someone … just a way for the individual (s) and their organization to learn and get better.
5. How an organization and its management react to a mistake tells a lot about the culture.

If you take Einstein’s quote you will quickly realize that if people are not making mistakes then maybe the organization is not “pushing the envelope” enough? We live in a world that is changing so rapidly that we need to be changing with it … if you are changing then things will go wrong occasionally, if you are not changing then will become irrelevant and the fact you made no mistakes on the way to irrelevance will just not be important!

Hopefully I will continue to make mistakes into the future … because I WANT to push the envelope , learn, change, evolve and be relevant in a fast paced world economy!

“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.” ... Winston Churchill

Ego ... and Age!

Occasionally I blog about life as a CEO ... and try to give insight into how CEOs think. I know as a new salesperson I was a little intimidated talking to very senior executives, so the intent of these entries is to "demystify" people at the "C" level a little. In actual fact we are just humans too!

If you need more proof, read on ...

Have you ever read Tuesday’s with Morrie by Mitch Albom? It is a great book, an easy read, and among its many messages is the understanding that we can get quality from our lives even under circumstances that previously we could not have envisioned! It’s a book about the meaning of life ... and of how to live!

Part of that lesson is an acceptance of the aging process, and the inevitable fact that as we get older our body starts to wear out … and not evenly! Some bits go first!

Yeah … I know, you don’t need to hear all the gory details, and I’m not there yet so don’t worry!

I’m “in my fifties”, I had to give up soccer a couple of years ago because of the pain in my knee after 40 plus years of throwing myself into this competitive sport. I could probably go and get some surgery and play again, but surgery isn’t appealing, I can still “work out’ and I enjoyed the game for a long time … so “I’m all good”!

WELL … last year I moved from the suburbs and now live downtown, and walk to work, which is good exercise to supplement my “gym” time (saves on mileage on the car too). A few months back we got a dog and I get to walk with the dog once or twice a day in addition to my walks to work, and my “gym time” … all good! Or at least it should be all good … except for that earlier statement about bits wearing out!

So now I’m struggling with the concept of “acceptance” (and ego?) … I’m supposed to wear sneakers (running shoes) to walk to work! What’s up with that?

If I think about it logically … (a) I could buy black running shoes that don’t stand out so much; (b) its not like we are talking about the incontinence problems Morrie was having in Mitch Albom’s book; (c) I blog often about accepting the things you cannot change; (d) I should have learned the lessons from Albom’s book and focus on the good things in life.

But really … sneakers with my suit!!!!

Today is Cinco de Mayo ... Party?

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican national holiday that honors the Mexican victory over the French army at Puebla de Los Angeles in 1862. Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for 5th of May which is when it is celebrated. The holiday commemorates an initial victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5th 1862. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day. Mexico's Independence Day is actually September 16th, which is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

History

In 1861, Mexico had stopped making interest payments to its main creditors. In response, in late 1861, France and other European countries attacked Mexico to try to force payment. France invaded Mexico and was successful at first but on May 5th, 1862 Mexican forces were able to defeat an attack by the French army.

Celebrations - official version

The holiday is primarily celebrated in the state of Puebla because that's where the battle originated. The celebrations combine food, music and dancing and in Mexico City, all the young men who serve the military pledge allegiance to the Mexican national flag.

Celebrations - unofficial version

University students around the world are ALWAYS looking for another good reason to party ... and Cinco de Mayo has a great ring to it, is synonymous with tequila and can certainly form the basis of a good party! Of course people who "used to be students" (could be almost anyone) can also carry on this tradition. So ... its a fair bet that Tex-Mex restaurants around the world will be doing a roaring trade in Coronas and Tequila tomorrow!!! Now THERE is an idea :-)

Giving back ...

There are still a lot of Canadians with good well paying jobs, and successful Canadian Companies, who do not "give back" to the society that gives them that quality of life.

What does that mean ... because we are all responsible for our own success, right? Why should we give back?

Yes we are the architects of our own destiny, so we need to earn our place in society ... BUT if that society is not there then we cannot be successful.

Everything we do has to be put in context.

Our success comes in the Canadian economy, in Canadian communities, possibly through a Canadian education and Canadian experience.

So ... would we be equally successful is we lived in a poorer nation, a nation at war, a nation that was not a part of the industrialised world?

What if Canadian society deteriorated into a "haves" and "have nots" society? Would we see anarchy in the streets, riots and political unrest, kidnappings and drug wars?

Our society is struggling to provide a social net for those who need help, and if those of us who can afford some money and/or some time give back to help that cause then we are really helping ourselves.

A society where everyone has a chance is a great place to be ... we have that today, but we need to keep working at it, so everyone needs to do their bit.

That is a rational argument for giving back ... the other answer is that you receive more rewards from giving than it costs you to give. For that answer you'll just have to take a leap of faith and believe me ... and the many other people who say the same thing.

Take a minute and read an old blog entry of mine ... another dollar to charity.

IT Industry News for April 2010

This is my 30,000 foot look at events in the ICT industry for April 2010. What you see here is a précis of the monthly report I produce, which is available in more detail at the News section of the Eagle website, where you will also find back issues.

In April 2007 Google had a busy month, paying a whopping $3.1 Billion for Doubleclick, in addition to buying Marratech's videoconferencing software; other big deals included CSC paying $1.3 Billion for Covansys; Mitel paid $732 million for Inter-tel, Software AG paid $546 million for webMethods and Business objects bought Cartesis for about $300 million.

The big M&A deal in April 2008 saw a merger of the third and fourth largest chip makers STMicroelectronics and NXP into a $3 Billion company. IBM was busy, making three smaller acquisitions this month Diligent, FilesX and InfoDyne; Yahoo bought Tensa Kft. Despite the attentions of Microsoft; and speaking of Microsoft they had a couple of acquisitions Farecast and Komoku; EMC also had a couple of forays into the M&A market with Iomega and Conchango plc.

Last year in April 2009 other than the recession, the news for the month in the technology world was Oracle's $7.4 Billion purchase of Sun and thus entry into the hardware business! This was not the only big deal with EBay offering $1.2 billion for Gmarket (a Korean EBay), Harris Corp paying $675 million for Tyco Electronic's wireless division and perhaps an end to Satyam's immediate problems with a $422 million purchase by Tech Mahindra. There were also a couple of significant deals in my town of Ottawa . private equity firm Thoma Bravo snapped up Entrust for $110 million and Trend Micro bought Third brigade.

Here we are talking about April 2010 and lots of positive signs that the recession is behind us, but a fairly consistent message that the recovery is slow. My own industry's Staffing Index for March suggests that the Canadian Staffing Industry is recovering but is still only half way back to where it was pre-recession. IDC Canada is telling us that the compound growth rate in IT spending over the next 5 years will be in the 4% range ... which I find hard to believe given the competitive pressures industrial nations will be facing during that time, but what do I know!

The big and somewhat surprising M&A deal of the month was HP's $1.2 Billion purchase of Palm, which will be interesting to watch. Twitter bought a couple of companies, Cloudhopper and Atebits. Symentec also bought a couple of companies (PGP ($300 Million) and GuardianEdge ($70 Million). Oracle paid $685 Million for Phase Forward, Juniper paid about $100 Million for Ankeena Networks and Salesforce bought Jigsaw for $142 Million. Google and Apple were also out shopping this month!

Unemployment in Canada hovers in and around the 8.2% range, the US is about 9.7%, the EU at 10% ... but Spain actually exceeded a million people out of work! As the economy starts to recover an Adecco study suggests that there are a lot of people looking to change jobs . which is fairly typical following a period when change was a little risky!

It was also sad to see a couple of pioneers pass away this month, renowned consultant and author CK Pralahad and the inventor of the first real PC, Ed Roberts both died in April.

The pace of activity everywhere seems to be picking up, M&A activity, client activity, hiring and spending. It must be Spring with such optimism in the air ... let's hope May continues the theme.

That's what caught my eye over the last month, the full edition will be available soon on the Eagle website. Hope this was useful and I’ll be back with the May 2010 industry news in just about a month’s time.