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
As a self diagnosed sufferer of a mild form of attention deficit, I find that I very seldom take the time to sit down quietly with a book and read. Unfortunately, that leaves me on the wrong side of the Mark Twain truism: the man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read. It is not that I dont like to read, I do. Rather, I seem to be easily distracted by virtually anything else.... View Article
Looking for a long-term home? Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before buying. Buying a home can be an overwhelming process. Relax. Yes, buying a home is a huge commitment – but if you ask yourself a few key questions, you can increase your likelihood of ensuring that you buy a fantastic home that you’ll love for decades into the future. If you plan on buying a property that you can call “home” for the rest of... View Article
