When you pick up that hammer...

I should make it very clear up front that a hammer is a very important part of any tool box but it can’t be the only tool — and with that said, I shall continue.

“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

This phrase is affectionately called Maslow’s hammer and is attributed to 20th Century psychologist Abraham Maslow. It finds its way into conversations when action comes about through single mindedness, a lack of capability or a lack of imagination, and usually precedes results that are “less than optimal”.

Recent developments in Toronto have me thinking of good ol’ Maslow, and although will have me skirting around politics, cancel culture and the sins of our past, I wanted to highlight a hammer in action — illustrating how lots of noise will be made but in the end, there is little if any real progress to solving the problem.

Like almost everyone who lives in Toronto (and the surrounding suburbs) I did not know who Dundas Street was named after until recently. It turns out that this 25 kilometer stretch of road through the middle of Toronto (that has been around forever and a day) was named after a Scottish politician named Henry Dundas from the late 1700’s; who although an abolitionist, voted for a four year delay to abolish slavery in Britain — Henry Dundas never came to Canada and as I understand it, had nothing to do with the formation of Canada. Recently a petition was put forth to change the name of the street due to this link with slavery and city council just voted to change the name (I also understand there are a number of other streets being reviewed; some named after actual slave owners). They say the cost will be somewhere in the order of $6 M (which is most likely understated and does not include all the rippling costs that comes with a change of this magnitude). A naming committee will start in 2022 and work would probably start in 2023/2024 with disruption to follow and throughout all of this, the odd press release to explain what is happening (or maybe not).

I can’t help asking myself if this is really the only solution? So for fun, I went into my toolbox and pulled out a knife.

Why not identify a Canadian with the last name Dundas who represents what Canada stands for, and with big fanfare, re-commemorate Dundas Street on their behalf — plaques could be put at each major intersection in honour of the person and her accomplishments, as well as the values of our community. Reframe what Dundas Street stands for, keep it top of mind for anyone who uses it, and give it meaning. As I said, twelve months ago Dundas Street had no meaning to me other than just being a street.

My little exercise with a mental knife was a nice reminder that to be an effective problem solver you have to ask yourself, “Am I using the same old hammer to solve a problem?”

And more importantly, “Is it really working?”

iamgpe

The reflection of a nation...

I was born into a lower middle class family and grew up in what could accurately be called white suburbia just outside of Toronto. At the time my knowledge of our indigenous population consisted of the stereotypes that came from westerns in the movies and on television and that Tecumseh was an Indian Chief who fought along side Sir Issac Brock to help defeat the Americans in the War of 1812 (it was actually more of a conflict we didn’t lose). They also offered great inspiration for professional sports franchises and of course, they lived on reserves far away from the schools I attended. I only bring this up to level set my ignorance.

Recently the psyche of a nation was put on display with the report of a mass grave of 215 indigenous children found on the grounds of a now boarded up Residential School, and soon after, other reports of unmarked graves found on the grounds of other such schools — the whispers of murdered children and cultural genocide were getting louder each day. This Residential School System, unique to Canada’s indigenous population, involved physically removing children from their families for years, stripping the children of their culture and language, and attempting to beat the Christian faith into them (and I say this most literally).

I am the first to say that a person should not pay for the “sins of their father” but since the last Residential School closed in the 1990s it’s impossible not to look in the mirror and question my complicity as a Canadian — even if it’s just for my ignorance. The complexity of the discussion is broad and is a layered compilation that spans over two centuries — European colonialism, religious expansionism, institutional racism, broken and misguided bureaucratic initiatives, cultural genocide, broken agreements, and broken promises. It begs the simple question, ‘“Where do I start”? My daughter asked me the other day what we can do about this and the only answer I could give was we need to shine a very bright light on the situation — we need to understand, we need to listen, and we need to acknowledge our history. We definitely can not let this slip back into the shadows where it’s destined to continue. In all of this, I’ve also come to conclusion Canada is a country that does not protect its children, and for this sin, will never become the country it says it is.

As well as shining that bright light on the situation, my humble suggestion is to better focus on our children; all our children. As a country, we need to ensure they are all safe, healthy and thriving. This will not address the sins of the past but it is a good place to start and will secure a better future.

So this is how I spent my Canada Day — reflecting and simmering with outrage.

It also struck me that Canadians may be (pound for pound) among the most dangerous people in the world… we are smart, have ample resources, and look how ruthlessly we treat our own children. When we say sorry, I wouldn’t assume we actually mean it.

iamgpe

"It's all about revenue..."

This came out of a recent “Think Tank, Brain Trust, Support Group” meeting, or TTBTSG for short — it’s a trusted group where many things get discussed, and sage insights are given (well, at least on the part of the other members).

Somewhere in our discussions I happened to say “It’s all about revenue.” This is interesting for a couple of reasons that I will get to in a moment but first I want to get to the obvious response from the finance people in the group. There was a little light hearted mockery in the response as it was pointed out that in fact it’s always about revenue. I went on to defend myself by pointing out that lately there are a large number of high valuations out there for companies that don’t generate much (if any) revenue. The conversation died quickly as it was off topic and neither of us had the energy to debate it out. As an aside, what I really wanted to say but couldn’t find the words quick enough, was there seems to be much more interest lately in raising money and debt management than good ol’ revenue generation — it’s actually a good thing I didn’t go there because I am ill prepared to have this kind of discussion, particularly with people who have spent a lifetime in the world of high finance.

What really makes what I said interesting is it’s a reflection of what is at my core in terms of how I define business — for me, it is all about the generation of revenue as a result of marketing and sales activity (and I suppose a nice validation that I have good alignment of my skill sets). It was also a reminder that sometimes I can be loose with my language because what I meant to say was “It’s all about the measurement of revenue…”. I was trying to convey that revenue is important and it needs to be measured — like anything that is important to your broader goals and objectives. In the end, it was really more of a comment scratching at the importance of “measurement” :

Measurement identifies what is needed for success and is a proxy for what you should be (and not be) doing

Measurement requires objective data to determine if you are meeting your goals, exceeding them, or falling short

Measurement establishes benchmarks for improvement

Measurement of leading and lagging indicators is key for understanding progress.

I will always think of profitable revenue first because frankly it’s baked into my DNA but I will also say I’m acutely aware of the other functions that make up a healthy business, and the importance of good synergy. And if I can offer up one last thing for my respected members of the TTBTSG, who I know must shake their heads at the the antics of this “sales and marketing guy”… I’d like to simply say, "Find the galoshes”*.

iamgpe

*a classic sales and finance joke… I will tell it to you sometime.