by Miriam Hara | May 3, 2024 | Administration, Business Success, Management
Goodbyes are never easy and breaking up is hard to do no matter if it’s a personal relationship or a business relationship. Scratch that. If you are working in a good organization that caringly fosters culture and growth, chances are you are fortunate to share a personal relationship at some level with your colleagues. So the end result is that all relationships are personal, even the business ones.
It’s a Small World:
If there is truth with the saying that the world is small, the same can be said about the business community. Whatever your profession is; in the business world of marketing, sales, logistics, or finance; or if it’s in the medical arena and you’re a pharmacist, nurse, family doctor, or a medical specialist; that professional community is small.
It is in the interest of all parties to act professionally when saying goodbye because chances are you will run into one another, or yes, may even need the assistance of one another in the future. For instance, when transitioning from one company to another, you might find yourself working with former colleagues or clients in a new setting. You just never know! Working alongside one another every day, for 1year, 5years, or 15years…it is inevitable to have a personal relationship. And sometimes, even if it’s the best working relationship, there needs to be a parting of ways.
The “Be-Kind” Philosophy:
Relationships work both ways. So even when it comes time for a business relationship to end…keep your head high, and your heart kind. That has been my philosophy. In the years I’ve been in business I’ve had to say my fair share of good-byes.
The Reasons for Calling it Quits:
I’ve had to say my fair share of saying goodbye to awesome clients as there was a “change of guards”, or a change in their direction. And of course, I have had to say my goodbyes to fabulous team members that I had built an amazing rapport with. The reasons for their leaving range from a personal change, or to wanting something different, or just needing a change, or quite frankly, it just wasn’t working anymore.
I’ve always been accepting of the choices or the situation and have been professional about it. As a result of this, many of my former clients are my friends, and some clients have come back. Former team members still reach out to me to say hi, or for advice and it’s a beautiful thing. I acknowledge that there are some awful situations that merit being cut off at the pass forever and ever. However, doing it respectfully removes the drama and leaves the situation behind rather than it being part of history.
Time Brings Perspective:
In the interest of transparency, sometimes you need a break after the breakup. However if the breakup was done respectfully, then it’s only a matter of time before the ability to open the door and reach out becomes even remotely possible. When saying goodbye to a client or an employee or employer isn’t done professionally, you not only cut off any more history to be developed between you…but you amputate a part of your career as well. You can no longer reach out or draw in advice from people that can help you in your future endeavours. It’s really being short-sighted and self-sabotaging. It also really cuts into your networking opportunities.
Don’t Burn Bridges:
There is some truth to most sayings… and this one really resonates here. Not burning the bridge that links the 2 parties together is sound advice. When all is said and done, there are always 3 sides to a story… 3 perspectives to the same story…your side, the other side and the truth. By dealing with it professionally, you get the time you need to be able to look back at the situation with maybe a fresh perspective.
Navigating goodbyes in professional relationships is an art that requires kindness, respect, and foresight. Whether bidding farewell to clients, colleagues, or employers, the manner in which we part ways speaks volumes about our professionalism and character. By embracing the “be-kind” philosophy and understanding that relationships transcend transactions, we not only preserve bridges but also pave the way for potential future collaborations.
So, the next time you find yourself at the crossroads of a professional departure, remember to leave with grace, knowing that every goodbye is an opportunity for growth, reflection, and perhaps, a future hello…quicker than you realize.
by Miriam Hara | Aug 26, 2015 | Business Success, Communications, Latest, Problem Solving
Stephen Leacock, Canadian writer and humourist
Canada’s Stephen Leacock had it right way back when. In his typical satirical style, he was saying: we make our own luck. We certainly do in business. Business opportunities and success: what’s luck got to do with it? Everything and nothing …
We often hear people say: “that guy, or that girl, is lucky.” Successful people are often considered lucky. More often than not, they look lucky and they sound lucky! Success is a simple recipe: it’s all about perspective and approach to life. It’s also about readiness. Chances are these so-called lucky people are “lucky” because they do four very important things …
- They seize business opportunities when they present themselves.
- They search out business opportunities, rather than waiting for them to arrive.
- They create business opportunities, in places where others see none.
- They recognize business opportunities, where a less curious, less open mind, might miss them completely.
There is luck in having business opportunities present themselves
You’re on a plane and sitting beside you is a marketing director of a national company (although you don’t know that at the time). If you’re open and curious about the person, you say hello, allowing you to take advantage of the luck of the draw that the guy or gal represents business opportunities. There is luck in having an opportunity present itself.
You’d miss that opportunity if you didn’t say hi and instead, opened your laptop and went to work, played a game on your phone, or stuck your earplugs in to listen to music.
There is luck in living in the moment
The fact that you smile and say hello indicates openness and curiosity; you’re in the moment. Being in the moment allows you to recognize opportunity and sometimes, uncover hidden opportunities. There is luck in living in the moment.
Maybe the person sitting beside you isn’t a marketing guru and doesn’t represent business opportunities. That doesn’t mean there is no opportunity. Maybe he’s a guy who travels around the world fixing military ships … so you learn about that. Human interactions have tails, sometimes the tail takes you places or teaches you unexpected things. Opportunities to learn are never wasted.
Good Luck has nothing to do with it
When people say ‘Good Luck,’ just before you get up to speak in front of 200 people, luck has nothing to do with it. You’ve prepared. You know your subject. You know your audience. Same with pitching for a new client — your ultimate success won’t depend on luck. You listened to what the client needed, you can give them what they need, you and your team covered all the bases, now you’re going to present your best.
When you pick up the phone, or get an email that says: “We’d like to you to come and give us a capabilities presentation for Advertising Agency of Record,” it has nothing to do with luck. It means the company’s heard about your work. Typically, it’s because you do good work. When it comes to good work, word gets around and leads to business opportunities. Hard work pays off. Luck has nothing to do with it.
Do nothing and you miss the opportunity and that’s no luck at all
If the company found your business through your website, you’ve obviously used SEO, adwords and content creation successfully. You put technology to work for you. You got found! That’s not luck, again it’s a reflection of your hard work.
You bump into a friend or acquaintance, nothing to do with your business world. She says that she wants people to meet you, that she’s spoken about you … you strike while the iron’s hot. You follow up immediately and make the next step happen. Do nothing and you miss the opportunity … and that’s no luck at all!
Lots of opportunities in life and in business are wild cards
I remember when I first came to Toronto. I’d been in town less than a month. The agency wasn’t even fully established. One of my designers told me that a large national was looking for an agency, but the selection process was already in the works. We could have said … “oh, that’s too bad,” or we could do what we did. We sent them something that was awesome … and received a fax back (yes, a fax!) inviting us to pitch as their “wild card”. We pitched. We got the business. That’s not luck. That’s creating business opportunities – making things happen!
Lots of opportunities in life and in business are wild cards. The “who knows, but let’s take a chance and go for it because I think there’s a chance,” type of opportunities. Even a small chance is some chance. But you have to act on that chance.
Luck in business is not passive
Webster’s Dictionary defines luck as: “the things that happen to a person because of chance: the accidental way things happen without being planned.” When we talk about success in business what counts is making chance count, making the “accidental way things happen” work in our favour.
Luck in business is not passive. It’s 100% active. Opportunity + Readiness = Business Luck. If you count solely on luck, you’ll most certainly be unlucky.
Think you’re lucky? Tell us why?
Send us your Lucky 7 List: we’re looking for a list of seven personality traits or positive actions that you believe have contributed to your success. We’re also looking for an Unlucky 7 List: seven personality traits or actions you feel can hinder or even prevent success. In a future post, we’ll publish the most motivational Lucky 7 List and the most enlightening Unlucky 7 List.
#3HLuckyList #SharedWisdom
by Miriam Hara | Feb 21, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
Canada the good. Canada the polite. Canada the humble. Well, since the last winter Olympics… a subtle change has occurred in the Canadian persona. Since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Canada has been evolving its persona…still really nice, but a little more edgy. It took the Vancouver Winter Olympics for the world to stop and take notice that Canada does contribute a lot to the world and not only with its steady supply of Canadian comedians! Dare I call it patriotism… that word that has for many Canadians negative associations?
It wasn’t so long ago Canada was the quiet country, the large gentle giant… ever so apologetic and well… nice.
Somehow, somewhere, it has become cool to be a Canadian. It has to become hip to carry the icon Maple Leaf…so perfect for a brand signature. And it all began with hosting the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. That forum gave Canada an opportunity to present itself authentically. What most didn’t realize was that Canada would take world by surprise… and yes that includes Canadians! The only difference between us Canadians and the rest of the world is that we always knew that we didn’t live in igloos!
Canadians were astonished that we could all feel as one. This “showy” display of solidarity – where did this type of patriotism come from? This visible pride of being Canadian? All of a sudden Canadians along with the rest of the world realized that we actually do have a lot to be proud of and not because of our cool fashionable Olympic outfits.
Many Canadians felt that after the Vancouver Olympics ended, we would once again go back to being, well, quiet… That the feeling of pride and solidarity wouldn’t last. But the Vancouver Olympics was just the beginning. In between 2010 and the 2014 Winter Olympics, Canada has increasingly become a strong visual brand. The Canada brand logo is the iconic Maple Leaf (can you get a more single iconic brand visual?), and has become coveted by all.
In Europe and through Asia, a Maple Leaf on backpacks, luggage tags, hats, t-shirts and pins have for the most part guaranteed a friendly smile, a warm reception. Canada now has admittedly a cool factor – something we even acknowledge amongst ourselves… quite unapologetic, I might add.
Today we watch our Olympic Athletes in Sochi and we have awesome brand awareness (oops… country awareness). Canadians more then ever have become vocal… we have become proud without losing our sense of being Canadian. Case in point, Canadian speed skater Gilmore Junio gave up his Winter Olympic spot to his more experienced teammate Denny Morrison in the men’s 1,000-meter race. This was an act of kindness that ended with Morrison winning a silver medal in the event. Listen to the amazing interviews from all of our Canadian athletes. We are winter. Humble. Grateful. Confident. Authentic. We are Canada. Not a bad brand character for a country, when all is said and done.
by Belinda Lui | Jan 26, 2014 | Interactive, Latest
When a business embarks on a site refresh or re-design, one of the key factors to consider is whether search optimization has been implemented in the content that lives on each page. Is the website complicated and busy? Is it intuitive and easy to navigate? While there are many elements to successfully creating a site with search optimization, this post will focus on “busy-ness” and how that may affect your sales:
Using less will give you more when it comes to search optimization.
Consider this as an example:
A recent test was done on MECLABS’ online retail Research Partners and how the team was able to achieve a 10% lift in checkout completion rate by simply removing distracting elements.
The MECLABS team recently ran a test within the checkout pages for an online retailer. The goal of the test was to increase the checkout completion rate. The team identified a number of elements causing friction within the checkout pages and likely distracting visitors from completing the checkout process. The most drastic change was removing the static navigation bars (left and top navigation) from the checkout pages.
This removed visually distracting elements from the pages as well as deleted possible exit points for visitors, keeping visitors focused on proceeding through the checkout process.
The team also took out a page within the checkout process that was simply confirming the visitor had created an account.
This step was unnecessary and forced visitors to make one extra click to proceed through the funnel, giving them an additional opportunity to abandon the funnel, and again, distracted them from the goal of the checkout pages.
By simply removing friction-causing elements from the checkout pages, the team was able to increase the checkout completion rate by 10%, which turned out to be a 19.95% increase in revenue per visit to the checkout process.
When implementing search optimization to your website, you should evaluate each page element and consider whether it is helping the goal of your site or distracting visitors. Any potentially distracting element is an opportunity to test how your pages perform with those elements removed.
Always remember that less is more when it comes to your website. Keep your pages focused and remove any elements that prevent visitors from completing your goals for the site, such as completing a checkout.
by Belinda Lui | Jan 2, 2014 | Business Success, Latest
It’s common at the end of each year to reflect upon what happened, what worked, and what we can learn from. In our personal lives, we make resolutions to improve certain areas that aren’t up to par – so why should it be any different for your business? It isn’t good enough to simply resolve to be better if you can’t measure and quantify this success. Learnings are a crucial aspect to improving but only knowing that something went wrong isn’t quite the same as knowing how it went wrong.
Measure this year’s success with the following tools:
1. Website:
A great measuring tool for your web ranking is Alexa Sparky: it provides a global and national ranking for your website in comparison to other sites on the internet. Knowing where you stand against your competitors is a great way to measure site appeal. Google Analytics is another great way to measure website successes: this tool breaks down the traffic for each page and subpage of your website.
2. Social Media:
Buffer, Instafollow, and Sprout Social are all great ways to measure followers, demographics, and behaviour on your social media accounts. Sprouts Social even allows for you to generate white label reports on your statistics.
3. Blog:
Wordpress Jetpack Site Stats is a great plug-in to add to your blog so that you can measure the likeability of each post and compare the success of them to other posts you’ve written.
4. Internal:
Create a spreadsheet that clearly lists quantifiable goals such as, “50 new clients/month” or “website refresh by February 1, 2014”. It’s great to set goals but if you have no way to measure the successes, then it is impossible to put things into perspective.
There are a plethora of tools available to measure the goals you’ve set out to achieve this year.
What are some of the tools that you use to measure success? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
