Category: News

By: Hart Hillman

At this point the words “new normal” are beyond cliché.

In recent months I’ve heard those words more times than I can count, and I’m sure you have too. I personally dislike using the term to describe the reality of today because it implies a sense of false comfort, suggesting that whatever comes next will be safe, consistent, and impervious to further disruption. In my opinion that which comes after the current crisis, has no permanence either. Instead I believe it will be characterized by regular cosmic shifts of near Coronavirus proportions.

Practices and policies that began as temporary emergency measures are now being implemented on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. Business units, companies, entire industries, in fact the entire way we conducted business up until February seemed utterly doomed by the end of March. The world is being reshaped by physical distancing necessity; the workplace is being reconfigured by the rise of remote work; and businesses of all shapes and sizes have had to make a sudden pivot in order to stay afloat and relevant. The only thing “normal” about this new business environment is its constant disruption.

There are, however, a number of beneficiaries who are thriving at a time when most are struggling. Video conferencing providers, delivery services, logistics companies, technology enablers, remote service providers and companies that operated on a fully remote basis are among the few that will emerge from this tragedy in better position than where they started.

The question that remains is: how do you as an organization ensure that you’re in a position to thrive during the next major disruption? I believe that in order to seize the opportunities of the future you need someone on your staff that is wholly dedicated to considering what that future will look like, and how your organization can best adapt to seize the opportunities it will provide.

Therefore, the most important position your company needs to fill in order to thrive post COVID is an innovation officer.

That position, in my professional opinion as an executive recruiter, requires two distinct types of expertise, and therefore could be further divided into two distinct positions; one focussed on internal operations, and the other focussed on external opportunities.

In just a matter of weeks the way in which human capital is structured, deployed and managed has been completely disrupted. Companies are scrambling to maintain productivity in a remote setting, build policies and procedures to manage a decentralized workforce, maintain a cohesive culture in dramatically different formats and ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of staff during this period of adaptation.

That’s a lot for companies to build from the ground up on short notice, especially in the midst of a crisis, but those who were already thinking about the future were much better positioned to manage the fallout.

“The difference is the last crisis was owned by the CFO; this crisis is really being owned by your CHRO,” explains Erika Van Noort, the Vice President of Candidate and Employee Experience at Softchoice.

Van Noort adds that the current crisis exemplifies why human resources should play a central role in that strategy conversation, and help their organization reimagine their human capital practices.

“This is that time for the human resources groups within organizations to prove just how well they know the business, how well they can support their people, and how well they can lead through unknown times,” she says.

While companies should use this moment to evolve their human resources practices they also need to react and adapt to a rapidly changing marketplace. The difficult reality is that many businesses won’t survive. I believe, however, that many more will grow from the fertile soil that is left in its wake.

Pivoting towards new and previously unimaginable opportunities often requires the utilization of technologies like big data analytics; in which case organizations should strive to find or internally promote an innovation officer with a strong IT background. For others it will require a careful scan of the marketplace and an exploration of new customer, product and service opportunities; in which case they should strive to find or promote from within an innovation officer with a strong revenue and sales background.

Either way, seizing future opportunities requires an executive team member that can offer a fresh perspective, unbiased by company convention and tradition.

“What you need right now is someone to question everything; question your cost structure, question your sales processes, question your manufacturing, question your sourcing, question it all,” explains Sam Duboc, the Chair & CEO of digital mental health platform MindBeacon. “Someone who doesn’t come in with preconceived notions, someone who is not coming in with biases, someone who is not coming in with, ‘this is how we do things,’ is super important for the future.”

Duboc believes that history’s biggest opportunities often emerge from major disruptions, and the current crisis is no exception. I happen to agree.

As disruption becomes the norm it becomes vital for organizations to designate an executive or team to consider future disruptions, and the opportunities they will provide. I believe that comes in two distinct formats: reimagining internal structures and pivoting towards new market opportunities.

Whether that requires your organization to hire for two new positions, a single executive who can manage both responsibilities, or elevating members of your existing team to the c-suite, I believe it is imperative for every company to designate an innovation officer in order to thrive in the “new normal.”

I’ve seen business leaders incorporate a classic Charles Darwin quote in countless presentations about innovation over the years, but the cliché has never rung truer. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

By: Hart Hillman

As described in my previous post, I don’t care for your gender diversity hiring statistics, because it is only one small part of offering a gender diverse workforce, and the same is true of broader equity inclusion initiatives.

Historically speaking, efforts to improve workplace diversity have failed to make significant change, despite significant investment, and now we know why. Affirmative action and other initiatives focussed wholly on hiring can be effective in getting people in the door, but they’re all for naught without structures in place to support those employees once they arrive. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many diverse hires you add to your roster if the majority end up leaving soon after.

As with gender diversity, equity inclusion has proven to be a strong indicator of company performance, with more diverse teams consistently seeing better results.

According to a study by McKinsey, diverse executive teams are 35% more likely to report higher than average profits, while diverse boards are 43% more likely to see above average profits. According to the study, every 10% increase in racial and ethnic diversity amongst the senior executive team leads to a 0.8% increase in earnings.

Furthermore, the ability to draw from diverse perspectives increases an organization’s propensity for creativity and innovation by 20%, while making it 30% better at spotting and avoiding risks, according to a study by Deloitte. Overall, two thirds of the 10,000 business leaders surveyed by Deloitte cited diversity and inclusion as important or very important to the success of their organizations.

In an effort to reap those benefits companies have sunk untold billions into hiring efforts, and yet the needle rarely moves. In an effort to get to the bottom of their lack of progress, some innovative organizations began publicizing not just their diverse hiring numbers, but retention statistics as well, and pretty soon the problem became clear.

One such company, Intel, made a $300 million dollar commitment in 2015 to have a workforce that was fully representative of the diversity of America within five years. That year the company hired 209 African American employees, but according to retention figures published later that year, 201 left. Intel also hired 11 Native American employees in 2015, but by the following year they were further behind then when they started after 19 left. “All this work to hire doesn’t mean a thing if Intel, or any company, can’t convince its newest employees that they are going to feel like they landed in an inclusive workplace,” reported Fast Company’s Lydia Dishman at the time.

Intel was essentially trying to fill a bucket with holes in it, and once the problem became clear the company made plans to patch the leak. In 2016 Intel put a number of initiatives in place to better support diverse employees, and to rally their colleagues into joining the cause.

One such program called Warmline provides employees with a confidential hotline they can call to get career advancement advice or with suggestions on how to improve the overall employee experience. “It has increasingly gained traction as a resource for employees, and as a result has also become a source of insight into creating a more inclusive environment,” reported VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi in 2018. “Since its inception, the Warmline has received more than 20,000 cases with a retention rate of 82 percent.”

As a result of this program and other policies aimed at creating a more inclusive workplace, Intel was able to reach its diversity goal in 2018, two years ahead of schedule.

What Intel and others have since discovered is that diversity hiring is too focussed on numbers and groups, but doesn’t put enough emphasis on supporting the individual, resulting in widespread retention problems.

According to Trevor Wilson, an author and leading voice in the equity and inclusion space, there are five stages in what he calls the “equity continuum.” The first level of motivation for employers is “compliance,” followed by “beyond compliance,” which begins when an organization recognizes the benefits to their internal and public image. Next is the business case, which has now been well established, but still doesn’t meet what he considers the standard for true inclusivity. That designation is achieved in the next phase, “integrated equity,” which moves beyond a focus on the group and towards an emphasis on the individual.

“They value people because of—not in spite of—their differences and have moved towards an environment that is equitable for all,” he writes. “They have internalized diversity and inclusion as core values and view human equity as an essential element of sustainable competitive advantage or organizational effectiveness.”

The final stage is “inclusive and equitable,” which capitalizes on “individual differences to unleash maximum human potential and self actualization.”

As with gender diversity and inclusion, many organizations like to showcase their diverse hiring numbers, but according to Wilson and other experts they’re only in the early phases of creating a truly diverse and inclusive workplace.

Those who fail to put policies in place designed to support the individual rather than the group are likely to see numbers dwindle quickly. Organizations like Intel that find ways to stop the leaks by supporting their staff and truly internalizing the diversity and inclusion as a core value can truly capitalize on the significant returns that are associated with a diverse workforce.

Until then, companies will continue investing billions into diversity and inclusion initiatives, but won’t have much to show for it.

By: Hart Hillman

Adversity, in business and beyond, is unavoidable; the only power we have over it is in how we choose to manage it.

As someone who has been in the leadership business for over 20 years, I’ve spent my career studying how our best business leaders react and adapt to difficult circumstances. This disease, however, doesn’t discriminate, and will ultimately touch each and every one of us. As a result, there is an opportunity for everyone to demonstrate strong leadership, to take responsibility for his or her actions, to offer assistance to those in need, and to improve our own wellbeing by supporting those around us.

Remaining optimistic in the face of a global pandemic that will kill thousands and impact millions isn’t an easy task, and by no means am I attempting to downplay the seriousness of this situation. However, my experience has demonstrated how, despite having little control over what happens to them, the best leaders are able to remain calm under fire, seek out positive solutions, and demonstrate to others that there is a steady hand at the wheel. This moment in time is absolutely unparalleled, but as we face down this global pandemic many of the same rules apply.

Much will test our resolve in the coming weeks, and while we can only do so much to control the spread of the virus we can make this very difficult situation better by being mindful of our approach, attitude and outlook. After all, reality is informed by one’s perception. Even when things are objectively trying, it’s often just a matter of how we choose to react.

As CS. Lewis wrote in 1948’s “On Living in an Atomic Age,” at a time when humanity was grappling with the possibility of total annihilation:

If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s been difficult to ignore the instinct to retreat, panic shop, hunker down and maybe even give up. Each day has been a wild swing of emotion, ranging from deeply optimistic to deeply fearful as the impact and reality of this global epidemic hits increasingly closer to home.

What I’ve discovered through this experience, however is that what you choose to focus on will ultimately become your reality. Watching hour after hour of alarmist newscasts can strain even the strongest and most optimistic amongst us. Rather than watching the wreckage unfold on live television, hard as it may be to look away, we can instead help improve our own state of mind by dedicating our time and energy to nobler causes. Reach out to friends, family and associates, spend a little extra time on the phone, really listen to what they’re going through and offer a helping hand whenever possible, especially to those most vulnerable. Doing so will go a long way in improving your own wellbeing, the wellbeing of those around you, and by extension strengthen our collective resolve against a very real threat.

In the face of this pandemic many will deny, distance, cower and even profiteer from the challenges ahead. Others, however, are already rising to the occasion, improving their own wellbeing by doing what they can to support others. Neighbours are voluntarily helping at-risk neighbours, distilleries are converting their production lines to create and donate hand sanitizer, musicians are putting on live performances on balconies and rooftops, and our front line healthcare workers are carrying the weight of the world as they wage a daily battle against a deadly virus.

These are trying times for everyone, and all signs suggest things are likely to get worse before they get better. Instead of resigning to the spiral of despair, fuelled by dystopian news stories and uncomfortably close quarters, take a moment to think about the bigger picture, and the small role you can play in improving the overall outcome.

In the not too distant future we’ll all look back in judgement of our own actions during this extraordinary and perilous time. When the dust finally settles the question that remains is whether that change was influenced by the more noble aspects parts of our nature, or if we gave into our more basic instincts. I sincerely hope that we are able to reflect on it as the moment when we came together, allowing our shared adversity to dissolve the superficialities that divide us, and wash away those labels that separate us.

The coronavirus will bring many tragic outcomes, but I hope our shared adversity also brings recognition of our shared humanity. After all, this disease doesn’t discriminate, and in doing so it offers us an opportunity to unite against it. We’re all already fighting the virus in our own way by staying home, washing our hands and being mindful of the risks we could pose to others. We can further our collective cause even more so by demonstrating strong leadership. That means taking responsibility for our own actions, offering assistance to those in need, and improving our own wellbeing by supporting those around us.

By: Hart Hillman

While most modern organizations have made a commitment to equity inclusion, not all gender diversity hiring initiatives are created equal. In fact, I would argue there is a wide spectrum when it comes to the sophistication and maturity of such efforts, and many who claim to be leaders in this space are actually falling behind.

Equity inclusion isn’t just some fluffy corporate social responsibility initiative, despite the fact that some treat it as such. Recent study have proven that organizations who commit themselves to diversity and inclusion in more than their hiring practices and press releases enjoy greater financial returns, higher profits, and experience less volatility.

At the far end of the diversity and inclusion spectrum are those that fail to acknowledge the problem, or acknowledge it but don’t address it. Not too far downstream from them, however, are those who are putting genuine effort into increasing diversity hiring, but believe it sufficient to end their commitment there. Such organizations often tout their inclusive hiring statistics, but I know from experience that such figures only tell one small part of a bigger story.

What these organizations are doing is basically affirmative action, often in response to pressure from the media, the board, the government, their employees or other external factors. When the goal is to silence critics by checking a box the focus tends to be on hiring numbers alone. Organizations that fail to see the bigger picture, however, often also fail to reap the ROI benefits of having a diverse workforce.

We see it all the time; an organization acknowledges a significant gender gap in their workforce, and prioritizes female hires until they feel a better balance has been struck. They make a big announcement about their accomplishment, and

responsibility. In many organizations, there is no recognition of this higher standard for parental responsibilities, nor any effort to support working mothers.

When there are only one or two women in the room it’s also not uncommon for them to experience unconscious bias. One CEO friend of mine who recently attended a meeting with her board was asked to take notes, despite being the highest-ranking executive in the room. Some might applaud the company for being progressive enough to hire a female CEO, but this friend quit her job soon after the incident, as it became clear to her that the board was only checking the gender diversity box.

Another major consideration for those that want to pay more than lip service to equity inclusion is compensation. Women still only make $.79 for every dollar earned by a man, but organizations can’t claim to be addressing equitable hiring if they’re not also tackling the pay equity as well.

In recent years we’ve seen a trend towards pay transparency, which helps employees of all backgrounds ensure they’re receiving the compensation they deserve, but conversations about earnings remain taboo for many, particularly older workers. Recent years have also seen provinces and states prevent organizations from asking candidates about their previous compensation, as it can serve to carry wage discrepancies from one employer to the next.

While these concerns and considerations seem nuanced they are actually very closely tied to the success of diversity and inclusion initiatives. Organizations that are simply checking the box without internalizing a true commitment to inclusivity and extending that commitment throughout their company’s culture will struggle to hire and retain diverse staff, and are unlikely to see much of a return on their diversity and inclusion investments.

That’s why I don’t care about your gender diversity hiring numbers.

If you’re not taking the time to understand nuanced issues like unconscious bias, wage transparency and salary history bans; if you’re not actively developing support systems, mentorship groups and innovative policies that support female employees; and if those initiatives aren’t part of your company’s core values, than such statistics are meaningless.

The same can also be said about other historically marginalized groups, as I will explore in my next post.

The health and welfare of our team, families, clients and candidate community are of the utmost importance to us as we actively monitor and adapt to the news surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In our commitment to provide you with excellent service, we have put the following strategies in place allowing us to operate with as little disruption as possible.

This course of action has been decided following the advice of the appropriate government agencies.

In summary:

• Our team is available to operate and communicate effectively and remotely from their respective residences.
• Our technology and databases are secure and well tested to work appropriately.
• Face-to-face meetings and events are being moved to teleconferencing or rescheduled, as appropriate.
• Our assessment services can be fully conducted remotely.
• We have implemented work-from-home to support the recommended social distancing initiatives.
• We have implemented a policy for our team who become ill or are concerned that they may have been exposed to the virus.
• We have postponed all business travel and are advising against personal travel to prevent increased risk.
• We want to assure you that our team remains committed to being fully accessible and responsive to your business needs.

In these unparalleled and challenging times and in the spirit of partnership, if there is anything we can do to assist you, or your business, please do not hesitate to reach out.

We hope that you and your loved ones remain safe and healthy as we navigate through this challenge.

The Bigwin Group

Believing in the work that the Loran Scholars Foundation does through its exceptional scholars, we at the Bigwin Group started a crowdfunding campaign, called ‘Changing the World with Extraordinary Character’ – Scholarship for young leaders who aspire to make a difference in the world.

We are very happy to announce that with the generous donations of more than 30 individuals we we reached our goal of $5000.00.

Thank you to all those who have generously invested in the the next generation of leaders of character!

We look forward to continuing our work with the Loran Scholars Foundation.

Bigwig Group co-hosts TRANSEARCH’s discussion on relevance of CSR in corporate leadership in New Delhi, India

Checkout Fast Company’s article, ‘How Corporate Responsibility Affects Recruiting and Retention,’ featuring Bigwig Group’s fifth session in our thought-provoking ‘Sharpen Your Axe™’ panel series held at the Soho House in New York.

FAST COMPANY

http://www.fastcompany.com/3052763/lessons-learned/how-corporate-responsibility-affects-recruiting-and-retention

HOW CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AFFECTS RECRUITING AND RETENTION

COMPANIES THAT CHAMPION SOCIAL INITIATIVES ALSO IMPROVE THEIR EMPLOYER BRAND, AND ULTIMATELY THEIR ABILITY TO RECRUIT EMPLOYEES.

BY JARED LINDZON

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer a choice for Indian companies of a certain size: It’s a legal requirement.

In April 2014, the hotly debated Companies Act forced approximately 3,000 organizations to form a CSR committee, and spend 2% of their average net profits over the past three years on social development and environmental projects.

The initiative only affects Indian companies with a market cap over 5 billion INR (about $77 million USD), turnover above 10 billion INR (about $155 million USD), or annual profits greater than 50 million INR (about $770,000 USD).

IT’S COMFORTING TO THINK THAT “TOO BIG TO FAIL” IS, AT LEAST IN ONE COUNTRY, ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH “BIG ENOUGH TO DO THEIR PART.”

In theory, the mandate has its appeal; it’s comforting to think that “too big to fail” is, at least in one country, also associated with “big enough to do their part.” In the highly competitive North American talent market, however, companies that champion social initiatives also improve their employer brand, and ultimately their ability to recruit employees.

HOW CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY ATTRACTS JOB SEEKERS

According to a 2014 survey by Nielsen, 67% of respondents prefer to work for a socially responsible company, and, according to a recent survey by Deloitte, 50% of millennials want to work for a company with ethical practices.

A competitive talent market has proven to be a strong motivating factor behind CSR programs in North America, but measuring their social impact is difficult. While you can quantify financial contributions, you can’t measure the impact those contributions have, or compare one company’s authentic commitment to social change against another’s.

THE CHALLENGE IN MEASURING SOCIAL IMPACT

In the United States, where CSR is voluntary, determining a company’s true level of commitment remains a challenge for job seekers. That was the consensus among a group of human resources and corporate social responsibility experts who gathered in New York City in late October as part of a speaker series hosted by the Bigwin Group, a Toronto-based global executive search and talent strategy firm.

“Right now, there’s no mandated reporting around corporate responsibility, and there’s different global entities that have tried to create standards about what CSR could look like,” said Tara Cardone, the head of employee engagement and volunteerism at JPMorgan Chase, during the event at Soho House New York. “I think transparency is a good thing in the extent that there’s mandated transparency around CSR metrics, but what are the right metrics to measure?”

While there is no universal measurement tool for social impact, pressure from job seekers has forced organizations to recognize the impact they have on the world, which may ultimately prove more effective than any government legislation.

IT HAS TO BE ABOUT HOW THE COMPANY OPERATES, AND PHILANTHROPY AND SOCIAL PROGRAMS ARE AN EXTENSION OF THAT, BUT IT’S MUCH BROADER THAN GIVING AWAY MONEY.

“Everyone has a different definition, and its called different things at different companies, but it’s about more than philanthropy; it’s about how you operate as a corporate citizen,” said Karyn Margolis, the director of CSR and sustainability at Avon Products Inc. “It goes back to authenticity; it has to be about how the company operates, and philanthropy and social programs are an extension of that, but it’s much broader than giving away money.”

SHOULD CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY BE MANDATORY?

While governments in North America often play a role in tackling social issues, mandatory CSR has never been on the radar, and perhaps for good reason.

“The positive of the India example is a broader awareness that there’s challenges here we have to solve; I think that’s a silver lining to what I think is a negative in terms of legislating anything,” said Mike Dallas, senior vice president of human resources and global operations for Hewlett-Packard. “When things get legislated and mandated, you spend a lot of time on accounting and talking a good game, versus letting things happen organically, and we’ve had a much better experience when things are organic.”

Other panelists echoed Dallas’s sentiment, believing that mandatory CSR undermines the objective of socially responsible initiatives.

“It’s an opportunity for rash decisions, which concerns me,” said Margolis. “As an idealist, I think, ‘This is great, force these companies to give back,’ but practically I just wonder if this will end up being one of those check-the-box things, where at the end of the year if they realize they haven’t donated, maybe they don’t properly vet the charity, maybe it’s not a cause that’s even aligned with their business objectives.”

Instead, Margolis believes that the best way to encourage companies to engage in socially conscious business practices is to mandate transparency. Social responsibility, she believes, will follow.

“For example, the conflict minerals legislation here in the U.S. requires companies to report conflict minerals in their supply chain, which is a huge headache for companies, because it’s very difficult if there’s no chain of custody, but it’s mandated, so the companies are focusing on it,” she said. “When that happens, it forces your suppliers to think about it, which forces their suppliers to think about it, so in those situations, government intervention, especially around transparency and reporting, is very beneficial for making change happen.”

While the government has a role to play in getting large organizations to do their part, panelists agreed that there were better approaches than mandating financial contributions.

“I would take the John F. Kennedy, ‘We want to put a man on the moon in 10 years,’ approach,” said Dallas. “If it’s a greenhouse gas emission reduction, if it’s a number of people who have literacy, if it’s an amount of clean water, whatever it is, if the government took on an objective, and everyone partnered to accomplish that, however much you want to commit to it, there could be some universal benefit.”

Read the full article, Employers attracting talent through socially responsible behaviour here.

Many have asked about the Bigwin Group t-shirt with the “I’m not Sven” emblazoned on the front…well, this is its’ genesis:

Once upon a time, there were two lumberjacks, named Sven and Joe. Sven was a 35 year old, 6’3’ strapping Viking of a guy who had wash-board abs (not Photo Shopped), huge biceps and massive, tree trunk legs. Joe on the other hand was slight 5’6”, 58 year old, at the tail end of his lumberjacking career.

Every year, they competed in the local lumberjack contest seeing who could chop and cut logs in the shortest amount of time. As you might imagine, each year, Sven beat Joe hands down. However, strangely enough, during the rest of the year outside the competition, day in and day out, Joe’s production was always higher than Sven. Naturally, it drove Sven crazy!

So one day, Sven saw Joe at the bar and walked over to him and asked if he could buy him a drink. Joe graciously accepted.

“So Joe”, Sven started, “I don’t get it? I beat you every year at the competition, I am younger and obviously stronger than you, but your daily production for the rest of the year is ahead of mine. What’s your secret?” Sven pleaded.

Joe looked at Sven and a gentle smile formed on his weathered face. “Well Sven, I only chop wood for 50 minutes each hour.”

Sven’s brow furrowed and now he was really perplexed. “Wait a second Joe, I chop wood for 60 minutes each hour and you only chop for 50 minutes and yet your output always out strips mine, how is that possible?! What do you do with extra 10 minutes each hour?

Joe replied, “I Sharpen my axe.”

At the Bigwin Group, we love this parable. It reminds us that the best way to get results is not always to “work harder or more”, but rather to step back and take the time to think…to be creative. Taking time out to be strategic and sharpen our tools is the only way to drive the work to the next level and increase creativity, productivity, ideas, results or whatever other metrics make sense. We have institutionalized a daily “Sharpen Your Axe Session” and made it part of our web site and an integral part of the culture at Bigwin Group. Each and every day, we are striving to be more like Joe and keep Sharpening our Axe.

We at Bigwin Group are huge fans of Simon Sinek, his leadership philosophy and his work. Simon’s first book “Begin with Why” inspired some of Bigwin’s founding principles. In his most recent work “Leaders eat Last” he talks about transformative leadership, Hart discusses this topic in an interview with Simon on the C.A.T.A. website.

QUESTION:

What was the biggest shock of your innovation journey? – Gordon Pitts, The Globe and Mail

“A good business is only as good as the people that are in it. If we want to move forward we have to change our entire behavior platform.”
– John Hebden, Fusion Consulting

“The more change that happens the better you get at it.”
– Peter Aceto, Tangerine Bank

“I try to figure out how to keep people motivated by continuing to find ways to help people grow and challenge them.”
– Tony Lacavera, Globallive

“It involves a lot of story telling, that epic journey where you are going to change the world…people buy into that and it becomes emotional.”
– Michael Serbinis, Kobo

“I like the idea of having guiding principles. I would use this set of behaviours as a competitive platform.”
– Michael Serbini, Kobo

“It is challenging to get the commitment and time from the individuals who you need to make it happen.”
– Jonathan Goodman, Monitor Deloitte

“It’s easy to underestimate how hard it is.”
– Jonathan Goodman, Monitor Deloitte

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
– Jonathan Goodman, Monitor Deloitte

“Innovation is an evolution not a revolution.”
– Robert Boulet, Arrow ECS Canada

“Constantly, look for the change that will bring over time and transform the company.”
– Robert Boulet, Arrow ECS Canada

“The most important thing is understanding each of the stakeholders and what fundamentally motivates them.”
– Andreas Antoniou, El Caballito

“You don’t buy a Ferrari to drive it 200 miles per hour, you buy it to drive it 15 miles per hour.”
– Andreas Antoniou, El Caballito

“I am focused on writing down our mission statement, principles and goals and getting everyone to memorize and embody those things.”
– Andreas Antoniou, El Caballito

“When you make that connection they start thinking and feeling a different way. If the axe swings too far one way you kill entrepreneurism.”
– Larry O’Reilly, IMAX

“The biggest challenge is balancing.”
– Larry O’Reilly, IMAX

“The older generation does not like change, whereas the newer generation is more open to different options and new products. At the end of the day it is all about the trust and the way you treat the people.”
– Anna Galoni, Thordon Bearings Inc.

“Change is always different, but more do-able when there is a unified purpose everyone agrees on.”
– Hart Hillman, The Bigwin Group

“As Simon Sinek says, ‘Great leaders eat last’…people will follow leaders who wear their power lightly and put their teams interest ahead of them’.”
– Hart Hillman, The Bigwin Group