Archive for December, 2007 « Previous Entries

Is Geothermal Energy Ready for Prime Time in Canada?

Monday, December 31st, 2007

A recent Canadian Press article announced that Yellowknife, NWT is getting ready to pilot a geothermal power system by repurposing an abandoned gold mine. The mine, which goes as far as 2.5 km into the Earth’s crust can heat water to a balmy 50 degrees celcius. Some geothermal specialists are planning on running a pilot [...]

The Foundation of your Consulting Business

Friday, December 28th, 2007

I have heard the three pillar approach to growing a successful consulting practice: Professionalism, Marketing and Consistent Quality. I wouldn’t argue that these three pillars are not important but you cannot build the Colloseum on shifting sand. These pillars of your business must be supported by a stable base. Two conversations I had tonight drove [...]

A Green, Green Christmas

Monday, December 24th, 2007

This Christmas Eve, two environmental policy issues related to the holidays haunt my thoughts. First, the looming policy shift around plastic carrier bags. Second, the lack of attention paid to the Christmas tree industry. I believe that many Canadian jurisdictions, like Leaf Rapids, Manitoba are preparing to institute a plastic carrier bag ban. At the [...]

Always Be Charismatic – The Key To Consulting Sales

Friday, December 21st, 2007

ABC usually stands for “always be closing” – a great line from the David Mamet film Glengarry Glen Ross. If you haven’t seen this movie – see it. It’s brilliant. This week, I learned that in a business like consulting where personality and professionalism make every sale, ABC should stand for “always be charismatic”. December [...]

ProTip: Increasing Survey Response Rates with Super Prizing

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

High response rates can be difficult to secure when you run a survey or a customer feedback exercise. I always recommend to my clients that they offer up a prize in a random draw for people who complete the survey. Two reasons:
1. It definitely increases the response rate. I did a consumer survey last year [...]

The US Roadmap for Nanotechnology and Where Canada Stands in Comparison

Monday, December 17th, 2007

The Foresight Nanotechnology Institute in the US gave us nanotech geeks a sneak peek at their Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems – due for public announcement in January, 2008. I am extremely interested in this topic area because of my ongoing work with NanotechBC. I’ve already worked on a nanotechnology asset map for British Columbia [...]

Top Six Ways Volunteering Helps Your Consulting Practice

Friday, December 14th, 2007

Yesterday was a day full of volunteering and volunteerism-related activities. I spent the morning speaking at Canadian Career moves about my CSI Methodology for job seeking. In the afternoon, I had coffee with a friend whom I am trying to help get a new job. In the evening, I was at the Christmas party for [...]

Using Market Intelligence Techniques on your Job Hunt

Thursday, December 13th, 2007

One of my pro bono gigs is giving talks at local non-profits about market intelligence techniques and how you can use these techniques to achieve other things. Today, I’ll be speaking at Canadian Career Moves to a group of job seekers. Last time I gave this talk, they let me go 10 minutes past my [...]

ProTip: Maintaining the Privacy of Your Research Subjects

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

In the intelligence business, we often ask for contact information from the people that we research. In surveys, I quite often ask for a name and an e-mail so that I can do a random draw for a prize. I get very few respondents who refuse to enter their personal information. I also usually give [...]

Proposed Carbon Tax for Families with More Than Two Children Reads like Dystopian Novel Plot

Monday, December 10th, 2007

One of my all-time favourite books – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card – is set in a future where humanity is at war with a remote but deadly race of aliens. In this future, socio-economic factors after two crippling inter-planetary wars lead to the point where Earth’s government imposes population restriction laws. The [...]

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