—————- With apologies to my grade school teachers, the most consequential lesson I retained from my days at Marden Public School came not in the classroom, but rather on the playground. My friends and I went through a period in which our greatest life goal was to collect a complete set of O-Pee-Chee NHL trading cards. Oh, the wonderful problems of a ten-year-old in 1977! The hot players of the day were Darryl Sittler and Guy Lafleur. I had them... View Article
————— I am pleased to announce that effective today Stephen Foti has assumed the role of Broker of Record for Coldwell Banker Neumann Real Estate. Those who already call Coldwell Banker Neumann Real Estate home know first hand Steve’s commitment to the growth of our salespeople’s business, and by extension the continued growth of our mutual business. For those of you who may not be familiar with Steve, or our company, I can sum up my reasoning best by borrowing... View Article
In an age when so much is made of marketing, and speaking from personal experience, much pressure is placed upon companies to spend marketing dollars. Perhaps it would serve us and our businesses well to pause and consider exactly what we are hoping to achieve when we market ourselves or our company. Are we wanting to create an image for the consumer? Or would we be content to accurately reflect what we really are? All businesses have a brand.... View Article
————- Tim Hortons Roll up the Rim promotion has firmly established itself as Canadas first sign of spring. Move over robin and Wiarton Willie, when I catch the first glimpse of Tims red and yellow emblazoned cup I know the end is near. Aside from being an enormously successful marketing campaign, it also serves as an interesting insight into our sense of character. Consider this: You buy a friend a coffee. He rolls up the rim and wins a donut.... View Article
——— My parents immigrant story is not an uncommon one. Arriving post war with nothing, they worked, saved, worked, and worked some more. Canada provided them with the opportunity to get ahead, which did not exist in Europe at the time. By the time their youngest of five came along – me – much of the heavy lifting had been done (according to my siblings) and my parents had begun to realize what was for them the ultimate accomplishment –... View Article
On a recent Christmas car trip through the heart of the American rust belt, and the tip of the Bible belt, I indulged myself in some syndicated AM talk shows – of the right wing variety. When away from the comfortable surroundings of home, I like to listen in on what folks in other parts of the world are thinking. In Ireland its Hurley. In America, its right wing radio. For the uninitiated, this industry is not your run of... View Article
The Gloucester Rangers Atom AA team must have been an excited group of kids and parents. The Canadian ritual of travelling to attend a hockey tournament, replete with noisy hotel rooms, noisy restaurants, and noisier arenas had finally arrived, and off they embarked on the 5 hour journey to Guelph. The same was no doubt true for their opponent on this Saturday morning, the Kent Cobras, albeit their commute was a mere 2 hours. The venue to host the showdown?... View Article
Whats the Lesson? The 2015 World Cup of Rugby final match was contested by two teams averaging six feet two inches in height, and 250 pounds of fast twitch muscle, playing 80 minutes of what to the uninitiated can best be described as football without the equipment or stoppages in play. If you do not know what you are looking for, it looks very much like extremely aggressive and athletic men repeatedly tackling each other at full speed. If... View Article
Find Your Cardboard Box When our kids were little, like many North American millennial parents, my wife and I had a tendency to over provide our kids with the popular toys of the day. If Fisher Price made it, we bought it, albeit sometimes used. A eureka moment occurred for us when on one particular Christmas morning we noticed that our daughters, having opened all their gifts, lay on the living room floor playing – not with the toys –... View Article
Very very early in my career and many times since, my father, who preceded me in the family real estate brokerage, would say to me: take notes, someday you may want to write a book. Save for these articles, I have yet to heed his advice. Having had the fortunate opportunity to observe the habits of professionals for almost 30 years now, some recurring themes begin to emerge. And while my observations are generally of the real estate industry, they... View Article
