By Leo Valiquette
Ernest Hemmingway once said in an interview, that he rewrote the last page of A Farewell to Arms 39 times because he was having trouble “getting the words right.”
Effective writing is about much more than appropriate comma use, subject-verb agreement, passive versus active voice, or avoiding exclamation marks and adverbs. These details are important. They are the nuts and bolts of writing, the technical stuff that, if diligently policed, gives prose its final polish.
But the essence of great writing is much more subjective. Great writing engages, entertains and educates. It distills ideas, opinions and concepts into provocative new forms that find resonance among audiences they haven’t before.
As Hemmingway’s timeless example illustrates, great writing seldom emerges in the first draft, no matter how skilled the writer. It is an iterative process. Review and revision by wise readers who are representative of the intended audience, as well as eagle-eyed editors, is crucial. Review and revision is the difference between good and great.
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By Francis Moran
In yet another good sign of growing angel investor interest in backing promising startups, the Network of Angel Organizations – Ontario today announced that its members reported a 41-percent increase in direct investment into 77 Ontario companies over a 12-month period in 2012-2013. This comes on the heels of a report two weeks ago from the National Angel Capital Organization that its members injected $40.5-million into 139 young companies in 2012. Although NAO-Ontario did not reveal how much had been invested over the past 12 months, it said its members have put a total of $91.6-million into 169 Ontario companies since 2007.
Angel investors are high-net-worth individuals who are often the first external source of funding for new ventures. Many invest on their own, but increasingly in Canada we’re seeing angels come together in groups to share the due diligence burden and pool their investments.
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By Daylin Mantyka 
Compliments of the folks over at Duct Tape Marketing, Marketo, Social Media Explorer, and Fast Company, this week’s roundup is marketing heavy with a little bit of entrepreneurship.
First up, why a mission statement is critical for content marketing, followed by lessons learned from a seasoned marketing VP. Third, we’ve got some advice on measuring the impact of social media and conclude with two articles on entrepreneurship.
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By Francis Moran
I had an excellent and productive meeting earlier this week with the hard-working folks at Startup Canada who are, among an impressive roster of other activities, preparing for a major lobbying and information session on Parliament Hill in November. I have been a proud advisor to Startup Canada ever since Victoria Lennox contacted me when she was first putting together this grassroots movement to cultivate a more entrepreneurial culture in this country, and have watched, mainly from the sidelines, as the organisation has gone from strength to strength.
Startup Canada, which usually concerns itself with talking to, listening to and championing the critical economic contributions made by startup entrepreneurs, quite rightly understands that policy makers, whether sitting in parliaments or in the senior bureaucracy, need to gain a far greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the role that startups play in advancing Canada’s economic, job-creation, innovation and competitiveness agendas. Accordingly, the group has planned an ambitious day of activities this November when they will bring their message — and a good cross-section of entrepreneurs and community leaders who embody that message — to Parliament Hill. Read More
By David J. French 
In the previous two postings (here and here) on the above topic, we addressed why disclosures relating to inventions, for which patent applications have not yet been filed, should only be made on a confidential basis. The last posting ended with an observation that confidentiality agreements or nondisclosure agreements — NDAs — can be much more extensive than simply prohibiting the disclosure of information. This post explores examples of further restraints that can be included by lawyers who prepare NDA documents.
By Googling “confidentiality agreement 3M,” two useful hits arose at the top of the list. The first was a document entitled, “3M In-House Confidentiality Policy and Guidelines.”
This document is a concise summary of how this large corporation requires its employees to handle confidential information. Two aspects of confidentiality agreements are addressed: 1) protecting the special trade information that is advantageous to 3M in the competitive marketplace and 2) engaging in commitments to maintain the confidentiality of information received from third parties. Every business manager should carefully review this document for what it teaches. It has been professionally prepared. Read More
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A great consultancy should be heard, but not seen
September 17, 2013 by Leo Valiquette
It can sometimes be a thankless job, this eat-what-you-kill world of marketing and PR guns for hire. As I wrote about last week, poorly managed expectations can torpedo any client engagement […]
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Great articles roundup: Failed and winning marketing, lessons from a startup and inbound marketing strategy
September 13, 2013 by Hailley Griffis
This week’s article roundup is all about marketing, courtesy of Huffington Post, CopyBlogger, Forbes and ClickZ. […]
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Canadian angel investments double in quantity but rise only 13 percent in value
September 12, 2013 by Francis Moran
Angel investors, that group of high-net-worth individuals who are often the first source of external funding for new companies, were a great deal more active in Canada in 2012 […]
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How may my technology help you?
September 11, 2013 by Francis Moran
Canada’s national broadcaster, the CBC, is airing a special series on its national radio news programs called, “How may I help you?” I caught the first in-depth piece yesterday evening and I so badly wanted to call in immediately and share my endless stack of customer service horror stories. […]
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The two sides of managing client’s media expectations
September 10, 2013 by Leo Valiquette
A beloved alumnus of our shop, Danny Sullivan, once wrote on the subject of managing client expectations: […]
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Purposeful customer service
September 09, 2013 by Chamber of Commerce
By Shep Hyken I recently posed the following question to a group of business owners at the International Franchise Association convention: “How do you ensure a great customer service experience for your customers?” There were some commonalities among the answers. Even with the diverse collection of businesses, from quick-serve restaurants to online businesses, most of […]
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Great articles roundup: Be an entrepreneur now, startup hiring, online media and marketing that doesn’t sound like sales.
September 06, 2013 by Hailley Griffis
This week’s articles start off with more great pieces about entrepreneurship and startups. First off we have a post from Entrepreneur that talks about why right now is the perfect time to be an entrepreneur, next a post in the Huffington Post’s Small Business section talks about startup hiring and more specifically, the kind of people that you do not want working at a startup. […]
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The eternal struggle to balance process with results
September 04, 2013 by Leo Valiquette
Back in the day when I was a full-time journalist, I would often rouse the ire of hired PR guns by daring to contact their clients directly. I mean, the sheer gall I displayed by responding with such enthusiasm to whatever pitch or media release they had sent my way […]
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