Canada Is Rebounding While the U.S. Falters

It’s the dog days of summer and I was reviewing the difference in attitudes in between Canada and the U.S. in business. The Canadian market is holding its own. I recently tried to do a joint-venture partnership with a company in the U.S.

I was surprised that the people I was trying to work with were negative and down on the economy in the U.S. and I was also surprised how fragile they were in taking risks. As a business person who has consistently worked throughout North America for the past 30 years I was surprised that Americans were sounding like Canadians in the 70’s and Canadians were sounding like Americans in the 80’s. Canada is on the rebound and there are a number of reasons.

Canada's economy has consistently outperformed that of the United States since the beginning of the financial crisis. And while it's showing signs of slowing down, Canada's pending decline will be far shallower than that of the United States, and its rebound more dynamic.

Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 6.1% in the first quarter of the year - the highest rate of growth among developed nations - and the country is expected to lead Group Seven (G7) nations in economic growth for at least the next two years; why ? Well there are many reasons.

Canada’s banking system is sound, banks stayed out of the mortgage business and while granting credit made it flexible for Canadians to get into the mortgage business but did not get that involved in the sub-prime game. Canadians look at the word market and not just at their own market. This has allowed them to make huge gains in Far East, North and South America and Europe. The country has bountiful resources including: lumber, oil, raw materials, water and land, much of it undeveloped.

Canada’s economy is moving into a service-based economy more that it’s been in the past. Health Care, education, knowledge and a highly educated work force also have an impact. Compared to the U.S. corporate interests have less influence over government policy and we have far less government debt.

The Canadian economy grew at a 2.0% annualized pace in the second quarter of 2010, shy of the 2.5% gain expected by forecasters. The increase was slower than in the previous two quarters in large part due to a 3.0 percentage point (ppt) net export drag. Inventory rebuilding and increasing domestic demand offset the weight from trade. The first-quarter growth rate was revised to show a 5.8% annualized gain from 6.1% previously.

Both consumer spending and business fixed investment rose in the second quarter although consumption slowed to a 2.6% annualized pace from the strong 4.3% rise recorded in the first quarter. Investment spending posted a healthy 9.1% annualized gain with spending on machinery and equipment rising by a solid 29.7% annualized pace. Residential investment slowed in the quarter, rising 1.2% although this followed two quarters of very strong increases. Spending on non-residential structures eked out a mild 1.0% increase, contrary to expectations for another decline.

Gains in these areas contributed to decent growth in the final domestic demand of 3.5% building on three quarters of very strong gains. The contribution from inventories was smaller than expected in the second quarter, adding 1.8 ppt and matching the first-quarter's revised contribution. The rise in domestic demand in recent quarters suggests that this inventory rebuilding in large part was desired.

The strength in domestic spending also contributed to imports rising at a rapid 16.4%annualized pace. Export growth was milder at 6.0% resulting in net exports subtracting 3.0 ppt in the quarter. Our expectation was that this component would cut 3.8 ppt off the quarterly growth rate.
While the overall growth rate disappointed forecasters, this report confirms that domestic conditions in the economy remained strong.
Let’s hope our friends to the south will start spending money, investing in real assets and remember that they are still one of strongest countries and economies in the world.

You just need to get Americans to start thinking like Canadians – for years we had to do it the hard way and with 1/10th of the population of the U.S. it should be easier for the U.S. to rebound. As good neighbours I hope things will improve for our southern cousins soon. We are beside you in Afghanistan, terrorism and we will be behind you as well in helping your economy rebound.
Kensel Tracy is a business coach and Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz in Chelsea, Quebec Canada.

Mike Hughes “Canada’s Networking Guru” – Gives His Personal Opinion on Networking

As a blog writer, you always have your eyes and ears open for interesting networking stories that you can share. One such story comes from the Ottawa Networking Group on LinkedIn where Mike Hughes “Canada’s Official Networking Guru” hangs his hat. I first saw Mike’s networking handle when going through the members of the network to see if I could find a few friends of mine. I contacted Mike to see if he would be interested in giving me a story on who he was and how he became “Canada’s Networking Guru”. The rest was left up to Mike.

After a few emails back and forth about getting together for the story I got bogged down in making a living and then December rolled around, and Mike and I still had not been in contact. Then out of the blue, an email arrives with an important comment on an area that I should consider in regards to a new business concept I was launching in Ottawa and whose name was signed to that email; Mike Hughes “Canada’s Networking Guru”

Mike’s been in the networking game for the past 15 years. He got his impressive title from a newspaper article that ran a story on him and a writer that was so impressed with Mike, his programs and his approach to networking that he called him “Canada’s Networking Guru” and it stuck. He now uses this name to identify everything he does in the area of networking. It only takes a few minutes in conversation with Mike and you know you are talking with a special individual. His rapid delivery of who he is and why he got involved in networking convinces you early in the discussion that he is the real deal. He tells you about his impressive background as Past Chairman of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, his life as a professional speaker at international conferences and his view that “networking is a skill you develop” and “not something you do’ and you are engaged immediately. His social capital is worth receiving and it’s sprinkled with valuable information from the get-go.

“Networking” says Mike “is a business skill that most of us should learn and don’t”. Without catching a breath, he continues “networking should be a corporate required competency that everyone should learn whether they are in management, sales or owning a business” Now Mike’s on a roll. “Networking is about building a relationship on steroids, it’s not about selling yourself or your business but focusing in on building a solid relationship with others and you have about three minutes of conversation to build a meaningful relationship with others so you need to get it right from the start.”

He then goes on to tell me more about his “Networking for Results System” which includes some 40 hours of audio and written work and his ½ day and full day training sessions. Mike says that networking is all about context, communicating effectively and contributing to others. Mike is also a man in demand. He has been training businesses people, associations, government departments, and members of Chambers of Commerce across Canada and has spoken to groups all over North America on his “Networking for Results System’. Mike has me all fired up and I want to learn more. I hope you do too. This column is just the start. To get more information and valuable networking tips from Mike Hughes “Canada’s Networking Guru” check out his website at www.networkingforresults.com.


Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach and is a Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. (www.corporatecoachworkz.com) in Chelsea, Quebec. He is also launching Business over Breakfast Clubs (BoB Clubs) business and breakfast referral networking clubs in all cities across North America.

Make 2008 Your Best Marketing Year Yet

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to a large business networking group on how to make 2008 the best marketing year ever. I had a long speech prepared along with reams of information on how to market, developing a new marketing strategy, cultivating existing clients along with all the usual marketing techniques. I decided at the last minute that being a coach, I should take a different approach and look at how the individual business owner or CFO could make their own personal business life that much better. Leadership starts from within.

I have been coaching small, medium and large business organizations for the better part of 20 years and as a coach I am qualified to discuss personal approaches to helping individuals perfect their personal lives. So here are a few tips from that presentation. I call them " Tips from Your Very Own Personal Owners Manual".

(1) Reflect on all your past experiences from 2007, learn from everything that happened both good and bad. The good should be repeated, the bad should be analysed and changes made and then move on. Don't dwell on the past. Its a new year. As long as your feet hit the ground every morning you have the ability to change for the future.

(2) Know what you want. In this area get clear about what success means to you. It is not always about making money. Success can be defined in a number of ways, so get clear on what you want.

(3) Choose 2 or 3 simple themes for 2008. Use these themes as your guide to goal setting. Keep them simple. My theme for 2008 is " consistent abundance".

(4) Set up for yourself monthly and quarterly goals. Make sure you cover the key areas of your life which include: spiritual, family, health, professional and intellectual.

(5) Keep your to do list in prospective, after all its only a list and not a map. Don't confuse fundamental direction with a mere list of tasks.

(6) Write a gratitude journal. It will transform how you think and behave. Review your journal every week and act upon the lessons that you learn.

(7) Avoid negative thinkers. They won't help make your 2008 great. They keep putting obstacles in the way of thinking. You need to be surrounded by positive thinkers. Don't confuse realism for negativity however. Being realistic is not negative.

(8) Work smarter, not harder, break your work into small chunks, stop multi-taking; it may feel heroic but its grossly inefficient.

(9) House clean, your email box, your desk, your office and make a point of dropping 5 commitments that you find are not helping you in achieving your corporate goals.
This can be really simple. Stop joining committees.

(10) Make a point of knowing who it is that is giving you your business and why? Find out where all your referrals are coming from. Avoid MBWA ( marketing by walking around). If its time to build more relationships with real customers other than potential customers, then that's where the business is coming from.

I hope that these ten small tips will help you in your quest to make 2008 a much better year. As a business owner, CEO, or CFO, its time to get your personal life in order. Once you are clear on what you want personally, you can better understand your staff, your company, your customer base or where it is you want your business to go. Sometimes, we forget that we are the one who is the role or leadership model.

Remember to continue to listen closely to people who think and act positively, give generously, stay flexible and program your mind to stay persistent.

All the best for your best year ever in 2008.

Kensel Tracy is The Marketing Coach and a Senior partner in the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. He is an author of " The Ten Commitments to a Better Life" and helps small, medium and large businesses to grow and prosper.

The Beginning of the Personal Brand

Well over the past few months I have been doing a lot of research on social network marketing and I am finding that things are changing quite fast. For example, a couple articles this week showed that traditional media buys are on the decline while web marketing and personal brand marketing are on the increase. Personal brand marketing is using the Internet to promote your products and build your brand. An example is the " Just Start a Business" campaign promoted by http://www.meetups.com/ which promotes getting a group together to just start talking about starting a business. The sponsor, Quicken Get Started, small business accounting software promotes the events, helps to offset the cost of the Meetups site and offers a free starter accounting software to those attending the event. In the past these dollars would have gone into mainstream media advertising.

Another examples is last year, Johnson & Johnson decided to boycott the so-called upfronts, an annual event when advertisers get together with television executives to negotiate for commercial time. In August, General Motors said that 2008 would be the last year for its longtime sponsorship of the Olympics. In May, A. G. Lafley, the chief executive of Procter & Gamble, told financial analysts that the company would spend less on traditional media and more on its Web site, in-store advertising and promotional events.

Another example is to take Nike's marketing pitch. Today,many Nike ads are shown only on the Internet. Wayne Rooney, the British soccer player, is currently featured in a series of online videos for Nike. In 2005, Nike placed a 2-minute, 46-second clip of the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldinho online, instead of on TV. The video has had more than 17 million views on YouTube and became so well known that some television networks like Sky Sports and the BBC showed it in their news coverage — free. I would like to thank Louise Story for her October 14, 2007 story, The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life. in which she give the details above and a whole lot more interesting reasons why Internet and personal brand marketing will become even bigger in the years to come. I hope to cover this topic more fully in my next up coming blogs. In the meantime think about how you are building your own personal brand. I will give you some tips in the days and weeks to come.

Kensel Tracy is the Marketing Coach and is Senior Partner with the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. located in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. He is currently writing a new book called: Building Your Personal Brand, Finding Your Way in the Real World. see his website as http://www.corporatecoachworkz.com/ or at kenselt@sympatico.ca