My colleague, Yiting Zhang, recently wrote about her thoughts on leadership.

“What is leadership? Can I be a leader of a team? Yes, I can.”

Exactly two months ago, Paul asked us to define the term “change-maker”. Similar to Yiting’s idea of how a leader cannot simply work alone, I imagine it is crucial to understand that change-makers and leaders are alike in the sense that, to fulfill their duties, they require support from stakeholders.

This brings me to reminisce the concept, business ethics leadership, and the belief that no matter where you are in an organization, you can make it better than it would be without you.

People, like businesses, will never be perfect; however, we can always usually plan our next course of action.

From engine2diet.com

Accordingly, this brings me to redefine what a “leader” is; an individual supported by stakeholders with the common goal of ethically improving an organization. By practicing value based management and not exploiting the vulnerable one can become a true leader.

Throughout COMM101, Jeff and Paul have guided us through what could be the “renaissance“ of business education; from business ethics, to tech-based activities, to the heavily encouraged class participation, the skills and experiences garnered are invaluable. As the first term of my university career comes to a close, I am now confident that I have what it takes to survive the rest of this multi-year journey.

Best friend, peer, and colleague of mine, Angel Guo recently wrote a post on her takeaways from Class 18: Sauder Alumni.

Her two main ideas revolve around the importance of being open minded and taking note of the organizational structure pertaining to one’s company of choice.

In this post, however, I want to emphasize another key idea I assume is crucial in the life of an entrepreneur: the ability to follow one’s heart.

I took the liberty to ask jovial superstar Ian Crosby, CEO of Bench Accounting, how his charisma had (or had not) guided and supported him in his rather serious career. His response? He deems it a “necessity” formulated over time; both him and Nolan Watson (CEO of Sandstorm Gold) admit to throwing on their sweatpants and ripping out their contacts after work. Crosby also confesses he’s a hardcore gamer, something I admittedly rushed to tell my mother, whoops.

As for my takeaways? Follow your heart: you can be an accountant by day and gamer by night, you can become Canada’s #1 CPA accountant and still dive into the mining industry.

This lovely image, retrieved from a teenage girl’s romance Tumblr (whoops again) effectively recaps the emotion and notions experienced by entrepreneurs worldwide; ultimately, the pursuit of innovation can be defined impossible, risky, or pointless depending on who you ask –

but give it a try or you’ll never know how far you’ll go.

Some Sauderites will pursue investment banking; some (like I) have our hearts set in CPA accounting; some will be brilliant, shiny marketers, however at the end of the day, we are all consumers regardless of stance we take in the business world. This post refers to an entry by business blogger Guy Kawasaki, where he illustrates ten strategies that allows a business to “enchant” customers.

Here are my top three from his list:

1. Hire amiable, well-versed staff. Possibly the most obvious of the ten, this contention nonetheless holds its value. In any given environment, smiles and courtesy goes a long way. Kawasaki drives this point home, however, when he describes how wishing for the best while placing poorly paid, poorly trained associates at the cashier may not fare well with your business’ image.

2. Build trust. Zappos? Free shipping, to and from. Nordstrom? Customer’s word is key, no questions asked. Amazon? 7 days to return a book, regardless of length. Yes, these policies do open up a grey area for mishaps, but if you put your trust on the table, so will the customer.

Trust = Profits

3. Acknowledge all parties at hand. Kawasaki claims that his daughter influences his buying decisions. As for me, I know I can’t buy certain articles of clothing without my mother nagging. Don’t just appeal to the person browsing your store – also appeal to the person who will be swiping their card at the register.

Allow me to introduce Luxy, a spin-off from Tinder… for the 1%. A dating app strictly for the Porsche-driving, Louis Vuitton-carrying populace. The app is free to download on iTunes for Applers and Play Store for Androiders, but membership costs you a sports car, a million dollar mansion, and high social capital.

From Luxy’s mobile cover.

Unethical? Yes.

Supercilious? Indeed.

Innovative? Debatable.

Never before have I encountered a company so open about its low-income prejudice. Sure, Aritzia’s employees stare me down whenever I meekly browse their store, but particularly in the online dating industry, a company with such an elitist background is unheard of.

Nonetheless, the cheeky app probably won’t last long. With the help of Porter’s Five Forces (I’ll only be discussing two), we can intelligently rate their attractiveness among the industry.

At a glance, this company fails to pass the rivalry test. With little competitive advantage in supply chain management and no outstanding channels, the app must fight for itself with product differentiation. Indeed, ostracizing the less wealthy creates distinction. It doesn’t seem to be working that well either, with an outstanding average rating of 2/5 from 30 different users.

Amazing. From the Google Play store.

It’s also fair to assume that the 1% have high enough social capital to… Meet people in real life at Jay Gatsby style parties. Or whatever rich people do these days. Simply put, the substitutes for this mobile app are limitless.

Anonymous CEO proclaims,

“With the rise of high-speed digital dating, it’s about time somebody introduced a filter to weed out low-income prospects by neighborhood.”

Thoughts?

All information comes from hyperlinked sources and this Business Insider article.

A few days ago I wrote about the entrepreneur company, Jack Erwin. 

Brand logo. Simple & sophisticated.

Today, I will be referring to the nine components of the Business Canvas Model to outline their business approach. It all started with one question:

“Where did the simple men’s dress shoe go?”

So without further ado…

1. Key Partners – overseas manufacturers; investors (i.e. Brown Shoe)

2. Key Activities – website maintenance, marketing, customer service

3. Key Resources – inventory, funds from investors, six employees

4. Value Propositions – QUALITY + CURATION + EXPERIENCE + FAIR PRICES

Jack Erwin prides itself on its limited supply. Each shoe is unique and high quality as they are each individually hand crafted. The company seeks to become a brand name with heritage and history. Likewise, the secret to their “honest pricing” is the direct sales strategy.

5. Customer Relationships – “We make buying shoes simple. And fun. No more shopping around to find the right size or style. All of our styles are available only here. Plus, we’re always around to chat. For us, it’s more than just a making great shoes thing – it’s a building great relationships thing.”

Need I say more?

6. Channels – items are sold online exclusively to the 48 contiguous US states with no middlemen

7. Customer Segments – men who desire high quality yet affordable dressy footwear. Generally ages 18-40.

8. Cost Structure – inventory purchase, marketing, administration

9. Revenue Streams – transactions through selling merchandise

Clearly, Jack Erwin is not an unordinary business. Applying clever tactics like the direct sales strategy and marketing shoes towards a grandoise target market surely cultivates a readily booming enterprise.

From Jack Erwin, Facebook

All information used in this post can be found on the official Jack Erwin website, their Facebook page, or this Business Insider article. 

You may have heard of the Enbridge Pipeline debate, numerous boundary disputes, Indian Act… The list goes on. First Nations controversies are limitless.

This article from National Post explains how a First Nation chief was paid close to $1-million, tax-free, according to salary disclosures. $800,000 came from a bonus concerning one land deal. Massive debate ensued, many questioning how and why. Financial statements also uncovered that revenue had soared from $2.8-million to $12.6-million in simply a year.

First Nations people were left outraged. Band member Kathleen Joe demands, “Please tell us why you deserve an $800,000 bonus when the leaders before you put footprints before you to get us here; you did not do this all by yourself”. 

We can evidently see that business ethics come into play once again. Sometimes things that you’re legally entitled to are politically, ethically, and morally wrong.

Ultimately, the lesson learnt is that the decisions and judgments of stakeholders are important; in any business project, concerning parties must be informed. Leaving the band completely unaware of this sum of money was definitely a dishonest practice in this event.

The question I ask is, where do we draw the line? Can the band chief’s million dollar salary be justified?

“I never in my wildest dreams thought I would make that kind of money on [capital] projects like this” (Ron Giesbrecht, 2013)

The life of a busy university student: rewarding, challenging, yet nevertheless exhausting.

Fortunately, driving down this busy path in addition to attending every COMM101 lecture has given me additional insight on what productivity really is.

Stephen Covey’s productivity method

The above chart was featured in one of the required pre-readings several weeks ago. Looking back at it now, Stephen Covey’s productivity method definitely makes many tasks, from planning a schedule to manipulating a business plan,  far more clear-cut; divvying up work and sorting them by importance and urgency is certainly helpful.

I was reminded of this chart while I was browsing the net. I came across this article on Forbes, Nine Ways To Jump-Start Your Life.

Mr. Boss provides a great summary of nine key ideas everyone could practice to be better goal setters and lead more enriching lives. From finding a daily personal challenge, to practicing the art of speech, to maintaining an exercise routine (something I should really work on…), this list combined with Covey’s handy chart act like salt and pepper.

They’re also great tools to uphold a future-forward, goal setting, and above all organized lifestyle; a necessity for any young chap aspiring to make it big in business.

Now it’s your turn – what keeps you organized? Share your stimuli in the comments below!

I adore anything à la mode. When I’m not bundled  up in a cocoon of sweaters studying, I embrace my inner fashionista.

Sometimes I wish I could sport men’s wear. Now, I don’t mean full on suits and ties; I mean legitimately fashionable, minimalist finds – like these really cute loafers.

I swear I’m not the only teenage girl who finds these extremely chic.

Jack Erwin is an online brand that sells classic men’s shoes advertised as “well-crafted” and “honestly priced”.

This is where I begin to discuss the story of two normal men who produced a diamond in the shoe industry. I first discovered the brand when I came across this article from Business Insider.

In a nutshell, the story follows Lane Gerson and Ariel Nelson on their journey to create classy and affordable footwear.

Courtesy of Business Insider/Rebecca Borison: Lane Gerson (left) and Ariel Nelson (right)

Thus, the duo slapped together some funds and after some business magic – their business was born! Jack Erwin, a year ago from today, debuted with its first 3,000 pairs of shoes in stock online.

This brand is phenomenal – their utmost goal is to become the next classic; Gerson says they aspire to become a brand rooted in heritage and tradition, similar to the Hudson’s Bay and other large department stores. They also mention that they are working on these three important factors of business:

1. perfecting the actual products
2. facilitating supply chain & logistics
3. improving customer service

Stay tuned for part 2 where I analyze their business plan! But for now, here’s a question to keep you occupied – would you buy Jack Erwin shoes?

Coming straight out of high school, I had a very extensive range of vocabulary words embedded within my business brain. For one, there was the term “CEO” – defined by me as “a person that makes lots of money.” I also acquainted myself with the term “marketing.” I knew that it had something to do with bright colours and happy people on billboards.

Needless to say, three weeks into the school year, my terminology base has fortunately been broadened and refined.

One week ago, I had anticipated the class on Operations to be a “fun” (note the scare quotes) class about logistics and management. My idea of operations was scandalous; I had this crazy notion that it would be all about numbers and trucks. Thanks to the required prep readings and guest speaker Professor Nahesh Nagarajan, I walked out of class as a new, better informed individual of what operations is actually about: a mélange of numbers and trucks transforming inputs to outputs in the most efficient, effective, and cost-minimizing manner.

From Tempfix Solutions Limited

However, this blog post isn’t simply about my reflections from that operations class. This post is actually inspired by six words that will resonate throughout my four (or more) years at Sauder and well into my adult career:

INCREASE DEMAND

CHARGE MORE

CUT COSTS

And there you have it – the secret of business, as outlined by Prof Nagarajan.

Fundamentally, those six words are the foundation of today’s business, but to really push the gears and start reaping profit requires the brainpower of more than just innovative people and their buddies; it takes the efforts of a team of motivated individuals who strive to fulfill a need in society.

Now, the question I pose: is business simple and straightforward or is there some secret formula to be revealed?

Henry Ford, founder of the once prosperous Ford Motor Company once said, “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business”. Clearly, the majority of corporations have a number of goals in mind but the predominant target that soars above all is profit.

Needless to say, many contemporary companies uphold additional elements that distinguish its reception in today’s society, bringing these to a level comparable to mere profit. For instance, the infamous American retailer “Abercrombie & Fitch” has undergone years of criticism for its brand image – the idea of worshiping exclusively “thin and beautiful” and likewise “cool, good-looking” humans.

From Abercrombie & Fitch Online

Another popular clothing brand is Brandy Melville. Characterized by its California-chic style, this blooming retailer faces a similar affair as Abercrombie. Loved by the petite and thin, loathed by curve-bearing women exceeding size four, Brandy Melville too received backlash for its “one size fits all” craftsmanship.

From Brandy Melville USA, Facebook

Both trendy brands have ostracized a large population of women. Abercrombie has explicitly confined their target market to a slim percentage of Americans while the latter brand has no plans in changing its sizing policy. The questions I pose today stand, is this pair of designers targeting the slim market a mere twist of fate, or are they acting upon business (un)ethics to cleverly evoke a particular image?  And relating to Ford’s quote, are these two brands ‘’successful’’, with their sky-high profits but towering criticism?

I believe Abercrombie and Brandy Melville have pushed their image to be exclusive for marketing purposes and are, in the heart of Friedman theory, ‘’successful’’ – because ultimately, their exclusivity is what makes them so desirable in today’s public.