By Leo Valiquette
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been speaking with a number of entrepreneurs, executives and others with a stake in Ottawa’s economy on topics ranging from international trade and building an export-oriented business to financing. The common theme has been what business owners must do to get out of their own backyards and make things happen.
There are, no doubt, those who take miserable comfort in pining away for the old days of high-volume VC and the glory that was Nortel. They would rather spend more time complaining about what’s lacking in the commercialization ecosystem than engage in a more productive exercise to find a workaround. I really wasn’t interested in getting mired in those perspectives. The world is what it is – deal with it.
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By Denzil Doyle
It was encouraging to see the emphasis that was placed on innovation in the recent budget and in subsequent discussions with the federal finance minister, Jim Flaherty. On the other hand, it was discouraging to read the cover of Maclean’s Magazine that appeared shortly afterward. It read, “Your kids are angrier than you think.” What was equally discouraging was that neither party made the connection between innovation in the Canadian economy (or lack thereof) and youth unrest.
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By Francis Moran
I first became aware of the Stop Kony 2012 campaign late on Wednesday evening and, from my very first viewing of the video, I had a sharp visceral objection to what I was watching.
The marketer in me objected to the video’s manipulative emotional hard sell whilst acknowledging with no small amount of awe the incredibly slick and effective manner in which it was done.
The informed citizen in me objected to the video’s simplistic reductionism of a complex, multi-dimensional and long-standing and intractable issue.
The journalist in me objected to the video’s factual misrepresentation and cheap sensationalism, and cried over the tragic African illiteracy of too many westerners that would allow this sort of intellectual pablum to be swallowed as truth.
The due diligence streak in me objected to the video’s expensive and lavish production values, and further investigation confirmed the charity behind the video has a superb track record at fund-raising and a less-than-superb track record of spending that money on front-line programming.
And, most viscerally, the Africaphile in me objected violently to the video’s deeply offensive subtextual narrative that Africans are helpless savages who must be rescued by some white man.
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We kicked off the second year of our new blog with a strong month of posts that covered a wide range of topics including leadership, content marketing, SEO, Pinterest for B2B businesses, trademarks, free tools for social media and PR, and succession planning.
On that final point, we said a sad farewell to a valued colleague last month. For our Linda Forrest, it was time for a new challenge in a new city. After a successful seven years with us, Linda has taken on the role of Digital Media Communities Manager at the Canadian Digital Media Network based in Kitchener/Waterloo. We welcome you to reach out to her on LinkedIn or Twitter to stay in touch.
Without further ado, here are our posts, in case you missed them, from February.
February 8: Giving your team ownership by Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
February 15: Burning the candle at both ends as the clock ticks down by Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
February 21: What an IP Coordinator should know: Something about trademarks by David French
And on a related note…
In addition to our series, our associates and guest bloggers were also busy writing on a great range of topics. Here are our other posts from February, as ranked by the enthusiasm of our readers:
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By Leo Valiquette
For 12 years I have worked as a business journalist and marketing and public relations professional. In these roles I have engaged with a horde of entrepreneurs, executives, investors and other ink-stained wretches who would rather write about corporate stars than movie stars.
I could write a book or two from what I have learned about what it takes to get a product to market and succeed as an entrepreneur. But attempting to do such a thing without having actually lived that roller coaster ride for myself seems like presumption of the worst kind.
On the other hand, I have been tinkering away for decades on a variety of ideas that I thought could have commercial potential. They’ve kept me up at night. They’ve led me to beg off on Sunday dinners with the in-laws. They have even led me to take a personal health day or two back when I had a J.O.B.
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By Leo Valiquette
