C-Level Walk About

C-Level Walk About

Two things I did every morning as a Military Officer was ‘morning prayers’ and ‘the circle’.

‘Morning Prayers’ involved the key Officers in the Squadron standing in the Operations Room and taking 15 minutes to highlight the days objectives & identifying and addressing any gaps that impacted the objectives.

‘The Circle’ was simply a military term for Management By Walking Around – simply walk the Hangar floor, talk with staff, ensure communication boards were current, walkways clear, obtain a pulse for the climate, address any morale issues, etc.

I have to admit I’ve struggled in bringing this type of behaviour into civilian / commercial operations.

A colleague recently said to me, ‘it worked there because lives were at stake, lives aren’t at stake at the office’.

Jacoline Loewen, in her book ‘The Money Magnet’ has this quote – “a business earns it’s right to exists each and every day”,

so I guess I have to beg to differ with my colleague, lives are at stake – he obviously hasn't seen the recent jobless rate or it's trend.

I guess I’ll keep pushing.

engineering types (and I'm one) - listen up if you are looking to attract funding

This week I received three proposals for review – entrepreneurs looking for advice, guidance or funding. Our strength (nCompass) is on the engineering / operations side of the equation but we do have the network that supports the funding side (that exceeds our scope).

Two of the three wanted some support in completing applications for some of the government funding that is currently available to organizations looking to implement processes that increase efficiency in either manufacturing output or general business processes. In essence we were asked to review their organization and identify projects that would qualify for the funding / grants.

Most of the people I meet understand and can articulate their project quite well but lack the ability to develop the ‘pitch’ that attracts investors. I find myself repeating the same line over and over, “if you can not pitch your concept in a manner that attracts funding, in essence, you can not pitch your concept”.

To attract the attention your project deserves entrepreneurs have to learn to attract the attention of those individuals that hold the purse strings. A great place to start is http://www.moneymagnetbook.ca Jacoline Loewen has put together a great book that really helps attract investors – The Money Magnet is a great read and a fabulous resource.

The key to getting any project going and keeping it going is funding – pick up a copy of The Money Magnet, you will truly see things differently.

I would pass on my copy but it's been ear-marked, highlighted and tabbed. Most books I read get put on a shelf, this one stays on my desk.