A friend of mine always developed a post-Christmas “flu” in high school. The holidays would end and suddenly, that first day back to school, he would complain to his mother that he didn’t feel well, and he would end up staying home an extra day or two to recover. Those of us who struggle with…
The federal and provincial government offer a wide variety of support to Canadian businesses who wish to grow or start exporting to new markets. By attending the free Funding to Support Export Expansion webinar, you will learn about various government export funding programs that help businesses grow in export markets by providing business grants of…
Unlike a commercial general liability insurance (CGL) policy that provides coverage for claims arising from property damage and bodily injury, a directors’ and officers’ liability (D&O) policy specifically provides coverage for a “wrongful act,” such as an actual or alleged error, omission, misleading statement, neglect or breach of duty—which can include Fiduciary Duty, Negligence Duty…
Understanding your core processes is critical to managing the growth and development of your company. As you grow, you need to be able to understand how your company can take on additional sales (what’s your capacity, do you manage all aspects of production internally, how does the company interact with customers), develop new products (what…
Managing a new project for your business can be headache-inducing. Whether the project involves installing new equipment, hiring several co-op students, completing research and development for a new process or product, or attending international tradeshows, you need multiple resources—time, people, money—to come together for you to reach your end goals. Often what happens in the…
There is an abundance of research that suggests that helping employees set specific, difficult goals leads to higher performance. In an article in American Psychologist, Edwin Lock and Gary Latham indicate through their investigations on goal setting and motivation that when managers and employers help employees develop clear, challenging goals, the benefits for the organization…
Global Affairs Canada recently released its report Canada’s State of Trade 2019. Authored by the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), the report overviews the major developments in Canada’s imports and exports in 2018. In Part 1 of my blog on this report, I described the report’s most relevant points about domestic and foreign economies…
Over the past several years there has been a big shift in marketing. Businesses used to be able to rely on traditional outbound approaches – cold calling, mass mailers, etc. – to reach existing and prospective clients. These techniques worked in a selling environment where the customer had limited access to information and resources to…
If you were around in the 1990s, you may have watched Gillian Anderson in The X-Files. Anderson played FBI Agent and medical doctor Dana Scully, the skeptical foil to Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). While Mulder was a believer in all things occult and extra-terrestrial, Scully was analytical; she demanded scientific proof before she would…
Just one brief business interruption can be incredibly costly for an organization, often leading to serious reputational damages or long-term closures. Standard business interruption policies are vital in these instances, providing protection against a variety of common interruptions, including natural disasters, equipment damage, and vandalism. But what happens when one of your suppliers or customers…