Author Archives: Irena Kagansky

Tweet of the Week: Women in Corporate Canada

tweet-of-the-week-logoIt’s important to remind ourselves every so often that women and men face very different realities in many areas of life.  The workplace is no different.  In this week’s tweet Dianne Bevelander reminds us that women in Canada still often feel overworked and underpaid.  

Take a moment to look at the linked article and think about what we can do as employers to value our employees.  Employees who feel valued are more likely to be our excellent employees.

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Toronto: Ranked Fourth Best City For A Tech Startup

Toronto_ON_Toronto_Skyline2_modifiedMore and more startup tech businesses are choosing to set up shop in Toronto, says Toronto Star’s  Business reporter Danna Flavelle (Twitter: @DanaFlavelle) in her article entitled Toronto tech: City is fourth best place in the world for a startup. According to a California based research organization, Startup Genome, Toronto is the fourth best ranked city for startups and tech related businesses, while New York City and London taking the lead.

Canadian serial entrepreneur Christian Lassonde is an excellent example of the growing scene in Toronto.  He has has recently come back home from the USA, to “bring some of that entrepreneurial spirit back to Toronto.” Christian is currently chief venture adviser at The Next 36 a UofT based initiative that chooses a total of 36 undergraduate students each summer to work on 9 tech and mobile apps companies.

I cannot but agree with Lassonde, when he says “It’s hard to start a business anywhere. There’s no question there’s a higher concentration of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, but we have quite a few VCs here and it’s certainly not a barrier to starting a company in Toronto.”

We need to foster the entrepreneurial spirit of our city. It’s crucial to our economy, to continue to encourage startups and young entrepreneurs  to pursue new business ideas through mentorship and innovation. It is up to us, as a city to persuade others to invest in our future and that of young entrepreneurs who are ready to flourish.

For more information on how WizOf.Biz can help your company or startup move forward contact us directly or find us on Twitter @wizof_biz

 

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Five Amazingly Inspiring Business Videos From TED Talks You Should Watch!

ted-talks-e1359603955392TED Talks (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a beloved ideas sharing conference that is now presented worldwide to a viewership of over one billion. The amazing thing about TED in my opinion, is that the guests who share their insight, truly showcase the cultural,visionary and creative depths of people everywhere. The series, fulfills our collective desire to connect and inspire each other. In short, what a brilliant excuse, for innovators,artists and business and technology experts to come together in order to challenge perspectives and offer infinite possibilities for learning.

Here are five of my picks for best TED business videos  that will knock your socks off! Each one of these makes an insightful and compelling argument in support of a more creative and inspired future in business and entrepreneurship.

1) The Puzzle Of Motivation

Professional analyst Dan Pink, takes a close look at the intricacies of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. He brings into question the value and effectiveness of traditional reward systems. Quite simply, based on plenty of scientific evidence,says Pink, the  traditional financial incentives of carrots and sticks used to motivate employers do not work.

So why do most businesses today, continue to employ extrinsic motivators of carrots and sticks as a way to incentivize workers? The answer according to Daniel Pink, is, there continues to be a disconnect between “what scientists know and what businesses do.”

2) How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Simon Sinek, talks about what he calls The Golden Circle of why, how and what. Sinek examines  the idea that people generally don’t buy into what you do but rather why you do it. If those you hire, believe what you believe, they will work tirelessly towards that purpose.

Simon puts forward Apple Computers, Martin Luther King and The Wright Brothers as examples of a company and people, whose primary focus was on the purpose of their idea not necessarily the value. In other words, people want to know what you believe in, not what you’re selling. Great leaders share their stories about their passion, not their need for increased cash flow. Companies need to learn to communicate from the inside out, to make their message purposeful and inspiring.

3) The Era of Open Innovation

Charles Leadbeater is a U.K. based author who works and has published a series of books in areas of Social Entrepreneurship and innovation. His latest book entitled Innovation In Education: Lessons From Pioneers Around The World, looks at the very real movement towards worldwide efforts in education and innovation.

Anyone across the globe, regardless of their socio-economic background or cultural stature, can, and has embraced innovation and Enterpreneurship as a way of learning and moving towards the future of creative thinking. Innovators are no longer defined as the elite, rather we are beginning to see innovation emerge amongs those living in less than favourable conditions and representing an array of previously untapped communities. Take a look at this TEDTalk video for a complete overview of Charles’ Beater’s presentation.

4) Let’s Raise Kids To Be Entrepreneurs

Cameron Harold, discusses how crucial it is that as a society we focus more on teaching our kids exactly how to be entrepreneurial. While in schools, we do make sure that children learn math, numbers and even basic business skills, Cameron says, but do we really prepare them for what it means to have an entrepreneurial mind? Can they grasp the concept of innovation and creative thought? The faster we can show young kids how to become true Entrepreneurs, the faster, we as a society can become smarter.

5) What to Help Someone? Shut Up and Listen! 

Ernesto Sirolli, is an internationally known leader in the area economic development and sustainability. He is also the Founder of the Sirolli Institute,a non profit organization dedicated to teaching business leaders in the community, how to manage and maintain entrepreneurial initiatives.

His TED Talk discusses just how often we in the Western world are compelled to jump in headfirst to “help” others maximize their resources and improve potential for Entrepreneurship.

The problem with this approach, is we do not stop to listen to the specific needs and ideas of communities. Instead we impose our own perspectives and completely ignore the entrepreneurial spirit of others. It is time for us to “Shut up and listen!” says Sirolli, after all, “we can not be successful alone.”

Find out how WizOf.Biz can help you sharpen your entrepreneurial objectives and lead you to fantastic business breakthroughs with practical advice and innovative strategies. We look forward to working with you. If you’re in the mood for more insightful posts, videos and business advice check out our blog or look us up on Twitter @wizof_biz

 

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Pinterest: Content & “Attention Marketing” By James Flint

Maximise-Your-Pinterest-SuccessEveryone is going bonkers over Pinterest; a pinboard style photo sharing website, that lets users browse through images based on themes, interests and hobbies. In his recent Telegraph article Attention Marketing, The Real Social Revolution, British journalist James Flint, further discusses a fresh spin on the traditional lead generating technique that this popular social media tool  uses to maintain their forty-five million a year in projected revenue and keep the attention of its users. What’s more, Pinterest does not rely on ads for cash flow, nor does it charge for service use. So how exactly do they do it?

1) “Pinterest revenue comes entirely from links placed by users on the site”. says Flint. In other words all users have to do is place a link to a product or service directly onto the site. The minute someone else clicks on that link to buy, Pinterest makes money. Currently there are over ten million people using the site-everyone wins.

2) Unlike in the traditional ad displays, in the case of Pinterest, the leads are chosen by the users themselves and are entirely based on their actions and interests. The idea is that you are now automatically marketing to users who are already interested in what you’re selling; no groundwork necessary, which no doubt, is a brilliant marketing strategy.

Relying on affiliates, for lead generation means online content companies like Amazon  and BestBuy have a much more targeted approach, that Flint suggests is about “capturing people’s attention and channeling this attention to the appropriate vendor when it presents itself as a genuine desire to buy.” As a business person, I too, believe that this strategy unlike any other, enables people to make informed decisions about the product or service they are interested in without the added pressure of an unwanted, online ad campaign or third party product pushes. In the case of Pinterest, it offers users a fun, unique and interructive way to choose their content, which implies a hands off approach when it comes to making a purchase; which is all that people ever want when making a choice.

We invite you to browse through our blog for more informative posts like this one. If you want to find out, how WizOf.Biz can help your business make the right choice with professional feedback and advice, visit our website at: wizof.biz You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.

 

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Tweet of the Week: Learn to Say No

tweet-of-the-week-logoWe all struggle with it – time.  Or rather our lack of time.  Our tweet of the week this week reminds us that the key to managing our time and balancing our life, may be in that simple two letter word – no.  Learning to use it more often would save us a LOT of stress, pain and exhaustion.

Thanks Shaun Bala (@ebala) for the advice.

 

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