The networking event organized by Linda Ockwell-Jenner at Caesar Martini's on the evening of January 26th was a resounding success with some approximately 50 people in attendance for a long and enjoyable evening of networking.
I was struck by the quality and quantity of the people attending the event.
There seems to be a thirst for genuine networking opportunities in the Kitchener-Waterloo area where people can make fresh contacts and find the bits and pieces they need to advance their businesses.
You can visit the Small Business Community Network on-line at http://www.sbcncanada.org/.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
What is the Role of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs?
We had an open discussion at the last meeting of the Executive of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group on Friday January 15th, 2009.
What I took away from the roundtable discussion is that there is a perception amongst our now 350 group members that the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group is a different kind of networking group than Communitech or the Chamber of Commerce.
Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce do a great job doing what they do. Communitech is great for people and companies actually in the technology-side of their businesses and the Chamber of Commerce a great place for local businesses to learn about each other and look after their mutual interests.
Communitech's CEO Roundtable is a great place for Executives to swap stories that can help each other as they are almost like case studies from which lessons can be learned. Membership, to my understanding, however is limited to CEOs from larger companies. The discussions are also confidential.
What the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrpreneurs LinkedIn Group does is allow members to work on solving individual business problems by providing a forum of trust wherein members can get together on their own to form subgroups to solve their problems and learn from each other. In short, it is in many ways a CEO roundtable for CEOs of smaller companies or anyone interested in advancing their business or career.
What I took away from the roundtable discussion is that there is a perception amongst our now 350 group members that the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group is a different kind of networking group than Communitech or the Chamber of Commerce.
Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce do a great job doing what they do. Communitech is great for people and companies actually in the technology-side of their businesses and the Chamber of Commerce a great place for local businesses to learn about each other and look after their mutual interests.
Communitech's CEO Roundtable is a great place for Executives to swap stories that can help each other as they are almost like case studies from which lessons can be learned. Membership, to my understanding, however is limited to CEOs from larger companies. The discussions are also confidential.
What the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrpreneurs LinkedIn Group does is allow members to work on solving individual business problems by providing a forum of trust wherein members can get together on their own to form subgroups to solve their problems and learn from each other. In short, it is in many ways a CEO roundtable for CEOs of smaller companies or anyone interested in advancing their business or career.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Time for some shameless self-promotion of Vanguard Seas
It's time to do some shameless self-promotion for my company Vanguard Seas because we are helping businesses get ahead during tough economic times.
Just by going to my company website at http://www.vanguardseas.com/ and clicking on the online businesses button you will be presented with some 12 different sites you can use to have your business information instantaneously translated and posted in the language of your choice.
I, for instance, have posted my company profile in Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Arabic, German, etc.. with the push of a button and it can be that easy for you too.
Just imagine inviting your international business contacts to join one of our online services for free and what that could do to help you organize your international contacts to do more business? Just imagine how you can overcome the language barrier by inviting your friends to join.
A new functionality to this "Facebook for International" business will be the creation of directories for your contacts.
Just by going to my company website at http://www.vanguardseas.com/ and clicking on the online businesses button you will be presented with some 12 different sites you can use to have your business information instantaneously translated and posted in the language of your choice.
I, for instance, have posted my company profile in Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Arabic, German, etc.. with the push of a button and it can be that easy for you too.
Just imagine inviting your international business contacts to join one of our online services for free and what that could do to help you organize your international contacts to do more business? Just imagine how you can overcome the language barrier by inviting your friends to join.
A new functionality to this "Facebook for International" business will be the creation of directories for your contacts.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
K-W Entrepreneurs Keeps Growing
The K-W Entrepreneurs Group keeps growing larger. Memership is currently 313 members. I predict that the group will hit 400 within 6 months.
My question is why is the group so successful in getting new members without effort?
It is my hope that members of the group will share their reasons why they have joined the group and talk about what the group has done for them. I'd also like to get ideas about what their expectations are for the group.
You are welcome to make postings as comments to this article or to start discussions in the LinkedIn Group as to your experiences with the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group.
My question is why is the group so successful in getting new members without effort?
It is my hope that members of the group will share their reasons why they have joined the group and talk about what the group has done for them. I'd also like to get ideas about what their expectations are for the group.
You are welcome to make postings as comments to this article or to start discussions in the LinkedIn Group as to your experiences with the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group.
Friday, October 9, 2009
K-W Entrepreneurs Nears 300: Which Way Ahead?
Since my last posting 2.5 months ago in July, K-W Entrepreneurs has added almost another 100 Members.
Last week Jennifer Janik and Deborah Ritchie organized an incredible social mixer at the Waterloo Inn. It was very-well attended and many new faces were there.
The big question now is how to harness the energy of this rapidly-growing group. Harp Arora of Sedona Communications put together a fabulous survey of the group to which many members responded.
Based on Harp's findings, action has to be taken allow the group to self-organize based on the themes arising from her survey. I encourage everyone to look at her survey results in the discussion section of the K-W LinkedIn Group and think of ways the group could self-organize. If you see a role for yourself there, I also encourage you to write me and let me know what interests you.
Last week Jennifer Janik and Deborah Ritchie organized an incredible social mixer at the Waterloo Inn. It was very-well attended and many new faces were there.
The big question now is how to harness the energy of this rapidly-growing group. Harp Arora of Sedona Communications put together a fabulous survey of the group to which many members responded.
Based on Harp's findings, action has to be taken allow the group to self-organize based on the themes arising from her survey. I encourage everyone to look at her survey results in the discussion section of the K-W LinkedIn Group and think of ways the group could self-organize. If you see a role for yourself there, I also encourage you to write me and let me know what interests you.
Friday, July 31, 2009
K-W Entrepreneurs now has over 200 Members
The Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group now has over 200 members. This is yet another milestone for the organization.
There are many items posted for discussion and quite a bit of commentary.
Now there is a Job Posting function provided by LinkedIn which could add a whole new dimension to the group.
Harp Arora of Sedona Communications has prepared a survey which has been sent to group members to see how the organization can serve them best.
The group is still at the early stages of determining how it can best help its Members. We've got Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations doing a fine job at doing what they're doing so it will be interesting to see how Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs differentiates itself.
There are many items posted for discussion and quite a bit of commentary.
Now there is a Job Posting function provided by LinkedIn which could add a whole new dimension to the group.
Harp Arora of Sedona Communications has prepared a survey which has been sent to group members to see how the organization can serve them best.
The group is still at the early stages of determining how it can best help its Members. We've got Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations doing a fine job at doing what they're doing so it will be interesting to see how Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs differentiates itself.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Certainty and Decisiveness
No doubt you’ve heard the saying the only sure thing in life is death and taxes. Before you get the idea that I am going to suggest otherwise, be assured I am not! There are no guarantees and that is a fact. For the masses, the followers of life however, a key quality or trait of leadership is the ability to lead with certainty and decisiveness.
Life presents us with many uncertainties and to some degree this is desirable because it creates some excitement and energy for us as human beings. There are some things that we do purely because of the lack of certainty and not knowing how things will go or in what way they will work out. When it comes to leadership traits however uncertainty and indecisiveness are very undesirable qualities. Certainty is a basic human need that gives people a sense of security and peace of mind. They must know that in your role as a leader, that you are certain and decisive in your decisions. This is true even when inside you don’t know 100% if you are making the right call or taking the best direction.
It’s not so much that you must be 100% convinced every time that you decide to do something that it is the absolute perfect thing to do! How could you be that positive every single occasion? It just isn’t possible. What is important however, is that those that you lead believe that you have chosen the most suitable course of action based on the knowledge that you have from the information available at the time. They must not see you moving forward with hesitation and trepidation because they count on their ability to lean on you and trust your judgment. Once you have waived the green flag they want to know that all systems are go and it’s full steam ahead!
Generally speaking people hate flip flopping and they lose confidence real quick if you are indecisive. It makes them uneasy and nervous. They need to know that there is a pattern of logic and sensibility, “rhyme and reason” otherwise they will lack confidence and consider you to be a flake. It is important that people build confidence in your leadership and this is done by seeing you make decisions, execute plans and then see things through to completion with assurance.
Relentlessly bouncing ideas around, having indefinite discussions about the implementation of systems or examining potential changes in the way you do business with no end in sight frustrates and annoys team members. This is how the government method for doing business at glacier speed. As tax payers it drives most of us crazy and we often poke fun at it! For the most part we rather have them go ahead and occasionally admit that they jumped in too quickly or made a mistake than drag things out forever and never get anything accomplished.
Your team members will be more forgiving when you are certain in your ways and decisions even when you make mistakes. They will be uncomfortable with plan of the day management style, changing direction with the wind or seeing you running and hiding for cover. This way of leading doesn’t instill confidence in anyone! Sticking to decisions and seeing things through to completion matters to on-lookers. They need to know that you are a rock and be able to count on your resolve.
You must know in advance whether or not you will compromise your principles, bend the rules, contradict your values, go against your morals or jeopardize your ethics. People, in most cases, won’t follow someone wishy-washy who flip flops. They get great comfort in following a leader who has a decisive conviction in their character.
Almost anyone can be a leader during picture perfect times. It is during trying times and moments of adversity that we really discover the true essence of leadership. It is when your own certainty and decisiveness are put to the test and you must rely on faith to see you through that you really find out what you are made of. This is when someone with true leadership characteristics will step up to the plate and take charge.
“Of course there is no absolute certainty, but we want certainty the car will start, the water will flow from the tap when we turn it on and the currency we use will hold its value.” - Tony Robbins
Marshall W. Northcott, Canada's Sales Expert
www.marshallnorthcott.com
Life presents us with many uncertainties and to some degree this is desirable because it creates some excitement and energy for us as human beings. There are some things that we do purely because of the lack of certainty and not knowing how things will go or in what way they will work out. When it comes to leadership traits however uncertainty and indecisiveness are very undesirable qualities. Certainty is a basic human need that gives people a sense of security and peace of mind. They must know that in your role as a leader, that you are certain and decisive in your decisions. This is true even when inside you don’t know 100% if you are making the right call or taking the best direction.
It’s not so much that you must be 100% convinced every time that you decide to do something that it is the absolute perfect thing to do! How could you be that positive every single occasion? It just isn’t possible. What is important however, is that those that you lead believe that you have chosen the most suitable course of action based on the knowledge that you have from the information available at the time. They must not see you moving forward with hesitation and trepidation because they count on their ability to lean on you and trust your judgment. Once you have waived the green flag they want to know that all systems are go and it’s full steam ahead!
Generally speaking people hate flip flopping and they lose confidence real quick if you are indecisive. It makes them uneasy and nervous. They need to know that there is a pattern of logic and sensibility, “rhyme and reason” otherwise they will lack confidence and consider you to be a flake. It is important that people build confidence in your leadership and this is done by seeing you make decisions, execute plans and then see things through to completion with assurance.
Relentlessly bouncing ideas around, having indefinite discussions about the implementation of systems or examining potential changes in the way you do business with no end in sight frustrates and annoys team members. This is how the government method for doing business at glacier speed. As tax payers it drives most of us crazy and we often poke fun at it! For the most part we rather have them go ahead and occasionally admit that they jumped in too quickly or made a mistake than drag things out forever and never get anything accomplished.
Your team members will be more forgiving when you are certain in your ways and decisions even when you make mistakes. They will be uncomfortable with plan of the day management style, changing direction with the wind or seeing you running and hiding for cover. This way of leading doesn’t instill confidence in anyone! Sticking to decisions and seeing things through to completion matters to on-lookers. They need to know that you are a rock and be able to count on your resolve.
You must know in advance whether or not you will compromise your principles, bend the rules, contradict your values, go against your morals or jeopardize your ethics. People, in most cases, won’t follow someone wishy-washy who flip flops. They get great comfort in following a leader who has a decisive conviction in their character.
Almost anyone can be a leader during picture perfect times. It is during trying times and moments of adversity that we really discover the true essence of leadership. It is when your own certainty and decisiveness are put to the test and you must rely on faith to see you through that you really find out what you are made of. This is when someone with true leadership characteristics will step up to the plate and take charge.
“Of course there is no absolute certainty, but we want certainty the car will start, the water will flow from the tap when we turn it on and the currency we use will hold its value.” - Tony Robbins
Marshall W. Northcott, Canada's Sales Expert
www.marshallnorthcott.com
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