The Clarity Chronicles

Vancouver Sun Newspaper, by Derrick Penner

Business Section, Saturday, November 19, 2011

Source: google images

Brutally aggressive protests, murderous rampages, and fraudulently corrupt government – not what Canadian companies contemplating non-traditional expansion in a foreign country would immediately contemplate.  Sauder School of Business Professor Keith Head states, “What BC companies need to keep in mind the most is that to make money, they are often going to wind up going into risky places” (Penner, Vancouver Sun) Whether facing experiences similar to Methanex, who closed a newly opened plant in Egypt after violent demonstrations nearby resulted in the death of civilians and soldiers or that of many mining companies who, due to the paucity of resources in “safer” regions, consider business in potentially perilous parts of Africa, it comes down to a the age old notion of risk versus reward.  There are ways to mitigate risk including clarity of intent and an understanding of legislation and law; ensuring technological networks of proficiency; appropriate salaries and benefit packages for workers; and an understanding of social norms and expectations.  At the end of the day, engaging and operating a business abroad remains a gamble.  Winners will reap the immense benefits of success, while losers face the devastation of failure.  Risky?  Perhaps, but still a chance many Canadian companies appear prepared to take.

Beginning as a small email list by Craig Newmark to friends in 1995 to a 50 countrywide network, Craigslist has rapidly risen to find itself within the top ten highest traffic Internet sites in the United States. With classified ranging from personals and housing to job-postings, Craigslist has situated itself to serve the interests of all people. Acting as a free online classified advertisement site, Craigslist has driven itself to success with the innovative use of relatively inexpensive open-source software, opposed to the expensive hardware and software often used by other large Internet sites.  With the use of paid job ads as the main revenue source, Craigslist has forcefully positioned itself for financial success; demonstrating a speedy creation of wealth, analysts have reported annual revenues ranging from $10 million in 2005 to an estimated $112 million in 2010.  In comparison to its big-time Internet competitors, Craigslist boasts a team of merely 24 – who hold the perks of having no meetings, and a flexible hours in which employees work when they want and where they want.  The innovative well-priced software and simplistic website layout have plunged Craigslist into the arms of success where it will surely stay in future years.

FP Innovators

“Sound Mind Over Money”

Financial Post, Vancouver Sun, October 4, 2011

Recruitment and retention of the best and the brightest is a persistent challenge that perplexes most employers.  Maggie Fox, Chief Executive of Social Media Group Inc., gave a thoughtful examination of staff turnover and the reasons behind it, uncovering some astonishing observations.  Could it be that there is something more important than money to today’s employees?  The implementation of an innovative program offering the incentive of unlimited paid vacation has proven just that.  Based on the tenet that if you treating people with appreciation and respect, it will loyally returned, the program has been a startling success.  While respect is something we all know we should be both giving and receiving in our daily work environment in today’s world of being continually in overdrive, the power of the word “respect” takes on new meaning.  By definition, its meaning is, “The quality or state of being esteemed.”  In actuality, it characterization is much broader.  Employees may describe their definition of respect by an employer in differently – for some it’s a financial reward, for others a promotion or increased autonomy. For most, being respected simply feels good, which is why a seemingly simple word packs a powerful recruitment and retention punch!

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/respect

Small Business

“Waterproofing Company Thrives”

Jenny Lee, Vancouver Sun, Wednesday, October 5^th

Source: google images

The story of Kari Yuers and Kryton International is a tale of dogged determination to succeed by a Prairie born girl!  Yuers’ company, Kryton International has conquered the global market of concrete waterproofing goods.  A great Canadian success story, Yuer’s father and company founder, Ron, developed the produce with the help of a chemist, after becoming frustrated with leaking products purported to be waterproof.  As one of only a handful of companies in this niche market, Yuers continues to enjoy unparalled stability, staying alive through four recessions.  Feisty from a young age, Kari Yuers, a high school drop out was fired by her father, eventually proved her mettle and was rehired by her father, ultimately taking over as the company’s CEO in 2001.  By having the foresight to continue to aggressively pursue the export and international markets and look at creative marketing initiatives, Yuens has assured that Kryton International remains not only competitive, but a leader in the industry.  Led by Kari Yuers, with employees in Vancouver, New Dehli, Asia and the Middle East, Kryton International was recognized as the second best company to work for in 2010 by BC Business Magazine – a small town girl with big city ideas!

“Boom Times for Craft Beer in BC”

Joe Wiebe, BC Business Magazine, September 2011

Source: google images

Beer connoisseurs rejoice!  You have found your place in British Columbia’s burgeoning craft brewery industry.   With delightfully infectious lingo such as firkin and cask conditioned, craft breweries have become an enticement for tourists from the all over Pacific Northwest and as far south as California, eager to sample the rich complexity of cask ale.  This growth industry has stunningly doubled to over $110 million over the past four years, (to March of 2011).  Craft breweries have been around since the early 1980’s in Victoria, but it seems everyone is anxious to jump in with their unique stamp – from brews steeped in spruce tips to ones featuring a hint of root beer or sour cherries.  Limited only imagination, British Columbia’s brew masters have a consumer base eager to go along for the ride.  It seems that beer, long the common man’s drink, has become tantalizingly sophisticated and stylish.  While this may be alarming to some staid and steady traditionalists, the triumphant success of the BC microbrewery industry cannot be denied.  Exotic beer – a contradiction in terms?  Perhaps, but it tastes good, both to the palate and the economy.

http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/profiles-and-spotlights/industries/tourism-and-hospitality/boom-time-for-craft-beer-bc

“Christy Crunch Could Backfire on Liberals”  

Keith Baldrey, North Shore News, Friday, October 7^th, 2011

Source: google images

Keith Baldrey’s observations on Kristy Clark’s coronation as the “most popular girl at school” should send shivers down the spines of British Columbians, particularly for those who were historically left in the outer circle of the playground.  The BC Liberal’s rebranding of Christy Clark from savvy politician to everyone’s best pal, is a risky and daring course of action.  If successful, she‘s every woman’s best friend and perky savior.  Trustworthy to all and seemingly infallible, she is pleasingly perfect in every way.  If failed, she becomes every hypocritical politician, all “smoke & mirrors”, inadvertently representing all that is wrong with politics today.  Even while energetic public relations types are hard at work polishing Christy! signs and encouraging British Columbians to follow her on Twitter and become her friend on Facebook, a subtle campaign to besmirch Adrian Dix, Leader of the BC NDP, is at work, portraying him both as an inept and ineffectual, yet devious and shifty at the same time.  Somehow, all of this reminds me of the girl at school who seems bright, shiny, and nice, yet turns out to be the person who talked behind your back, gossiped, and was unappealingly disingenuous.

Source: google images

             Today is Greenpeace Day in Vancouver.  When one conjures up a picture of the scenario, 40 years ago, when the notion of the Greenpeace movement was first imagined, a picture of peace loving, marijuana-smoking, alternative-thinking hippies sitting around a living room, dreaming of the perfect Utopian world comes to mind.  Greenpeace was envisioned as an ideal forum for discussion and action around a milieu of social, political, and environmental issues.  Ultimately, Greenpeace has been both a victim and champion of its success.  While being acknowledged as the, “largest independent environmental organization on the planet,” (Province Newspaper, September 15/11), it has faced the ultimate in ethical dilemmas.  The very dream and mandate of the initial movement is seemingly at odds with its achievements.  Realizing its goals in the environmental arena and staying true to its simple roots, seems somehow contradictory and inconsistent with the multi-national organization it has become.  With its sometimes controversial tactics and business practices, Greenpeace has had to meet the challenges faced by playing in “big business”.  To survive and flourish in the corporate world seems somehow traitorous to those who first sat in that living room 40 years ago.  Addressing this delicate balance is the ultimate ethical challenge facing Greenpeace.  Business or environmental success – can both coexist peacefully?

Follow link to Greenpeace – Inspiring Action