The 60 Second WORKout

Well, if you are like millions of Canadians, you start your day by reading the newspaper and most likely check out the comic section. This week's podcast is with Lynn Johnston, creator of the comic strip "For Better or for Worse." How would you like to get paid to send spend your days doodling? Lynn’s cartoon strip started with 150 newspapers and now appears in over 2,000 newspapers in 23 countries and is translated into eight languages. She is a winner of her professions highest honor, The Reuben Award.

Lynn grew up in Vancouver in a very artistic family. "My parents were wonderful, supportive artists," Lynn shared. "In school, I was a pain in the neck. I couldn't concentrate on work, especially math." One time she could not do the math exam so she doodled. "I was going to cry, but I said no, I am going to look like I am working and doodle over the entire exam". In grade 6, she got an F for math and an A+ for art. Her math teacher worked with her after school, encouraging her talent in art and helping her to do much better in math. "Teachers like that make life worth living as a kid. You never feel smart enough and you take for granted your special skills". This early encouragement got her onto the right track of becoming a cartoonist.

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to be able to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle in their professional life? What is the difference in the actions, and attitudes between the two groups of people? This week's podcast is with Lyman MacInnis author of How to Succeed in Anything by Really Trying. I have to say, this was one of my all-time favorite book titles. I found out about this book through a reference from one of my clients (Thanks Jim). Lyman has been a senior partner for more than 30 years with an international accounting firm and works with a number of highly successful professionals. He has written his book based on his observations on why some professionals get breakthrough success, while others struggle (hint, it isn't about the economy).

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to be able to achieve great success, while others seem to struggle? What is the difference in the actions and attitudes between the two groups? This week's podcast is with Lyman MacInnis author of How to Succeed in Anything by Really Trying. I have to say, this was one of my all time favorite book titles. I found out about this book through a reference from one of my clients (thanks Jim). Lyman has been a senior partner for over 30 years with an international accounting firm and works with a number of highly successful professionals. He has written his book based upon his observations about those who get breakthrough success while others struggle (hint, it isn't about the economy). The more I digested the title of his book, the more this book's title impacted me. As I thought about times when I have been successful personally or professionally, it was the difference between trying and really trying. I hear from many people, "I tried". The real difference between those that achieve their goals and those that don't those that achieve their goals really try!

This week on July 1st, is Canada's annual birthday celebration. When you think Tim Horton's, Hockey Night in Canada, the weather and Tommy Douglas what is the first word that comes to mind? I would guess for most of you this would be "Canada", eh! These are some of the many distinctive elements that make up the unique national identity of Canada. This week's podcast is with Roy MacGregor, one of Canada's most gifted story- tellers, author and Globe & Mail columnist. Roy says "Why is identity so important? A separate national identity is key when you live so closely to a large influential country like the United Sates, much like a teenager expressing their uniqueness and independence from their family. We even speak differently in our little world". Countries and professionals that are successful in the competitive global marketplace have a number of things in common - they have a clear and distinctive identity, they have something to offer that the market needs, and they are proud of who they are.

Good Monday morning,

Where do top HR professionals find their best people? a Growing companies are in constant need of finding the right people for their team, even in this economy. This week's podcast is with Tova White, Executive VP of Human Resources at Chapters/Indigo. I have been in a number of their stores over the years adding to my book collection. I am constantly impressed with the quality of people that they have working with their organization. Books are one of my main passions in life. One of they key places they find their best people is from their customers. "We are looking for people who are passionate about books." A number of clients and book lovers approach the managers directly and network about opportunities. Like Tova's own career journey, she has networked herself into all of her positions.

Have you ever left an interview thinking that you got the job, only later to discover that they chose another candidate? Why do some people do well in interviews, while others who are equally or more qualified don't get the job? I would like to suggest that the person who got the position might have had the benefit of interview coaching.

This week's podcast is with Frances Cole Jones, a leading media training consultant, and best selling author of "How to Wow - Proven Strategies for Selling Your [Brilliant] Self in Any Situation". Frances works with numerous executives and experts, helping them to communicate more effectively in crisis situations. He has been featured on shows such as Oprah.

Who do you turn to when looking for career advice? Do you rely on books, friends or the Internet? All of these are good places; however the best advice comes directly from your mentors. This week's podcast is with Debi Rosati C.A. ICD.D. She is a Corporate Director on a number of boards including, Sears Canada and The Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation. A former Venture Capitalist and CFO, she shares the benefit of getting external, objective and professional mentoring when it comes to managing a company.

I love the saying "don't believe everything you think." We are too close to many of the big decisions in our lives to see them objectively. Most mistakes are made through our biases. A good example of this is the amount of people who have a headache who think they have a brain tumor. Brain tumors are very rare and found in less than one in 50,000 people (a 0.002 % chance). Eric Horvitz and Ryen White, scientists at Microsoft's research division, analyzed the Internet behaviour of 1 million people surfing the web. Horvitz and White's research discovered that 25 per cent of searches for "headache" lead to a brain tumour as a possible cause. "The problem starts with bias," says Dr. Horvitz. "Nobody is excited to write about caffeine withdrawal and its role in headaches, but brain tumours – that's much more interesting. Search engines aren't savvy about this bias – they are programmed to generate results relevant to the question.” In fact, a whole new term has arisen, Cyberchondria.

Who do you turn to when looking for career advice? Do you rely on books, friends or the internet? All of those are good places, however the best advice comes directly from our mentors. This week's podcast is with Debi Rosati C.A. ICD.D. who is a Corporate Director on a number of boards including, Sears Canada and The Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation. A former Venture Capitalist and CFO, she shares the benefit of getting an external, objective and professional mentoring when it comes to managing a company. I love the saying "don't believe everything you think" We are too close to many of the big decisions to see them objectively, that is why most companies have people like Debi on their board.

One of the key questions that I hear today is “where are the new opportunities?” With the amount of negative news it would seem like there are very few areas with needs. Ironically, there has never been more needs. In the world around you, professionals and organizations are always looking for the next iPod, Google, medical miracle or oil project. This week's podcast is with Gad Shaanan. He is one of Canada's most successful industrial designers. His firm recently won the equivalent of an Oscar within his field - a best of 2007 I.D. award for packaging with his work on the new WD-40 can. The big questions we all have are “how do we identify our next opportunity?” and “how to do this before everyone else is on the bandwagon?”

Good Monday morning,

One of the key questions that I hear today is, where are the new opportunities? With the amount of negative news it would seem like there is very little areas in the economy with needs. Ironically, there has never been more questions without answers. In the world around you, professionals and organizations are always looking for the next Ipod, Google, medical miracle or oil project. This week's podcast is with Gad Shaanan. He is one of Canada's most successful industrial designers. His firm just won the equivalent of an Oscar within his field - a best of 2007 I.D. award for packaging with his work on the new WD-40 can. Gad said "every single day, thousands of new products and companies are created in the world by professionals who are not waiting for permission from the market". From reinventing what we have, to coming up with a brand new widget. The world is not a static place, which is what makes this time in our career so exciting. What are you waiting for?