Small Business Tips Blog

Leadership: What John Furlong has to say

He asks the question, “How good are you prepared to be? If people want to be you, would you behave the same way that you do?”

As CEO of VANOC, the organizing committee for Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, John Furlong would, among many things, do two key things as a leader: have a vision and stay believing in that vision.

In his story, Patriot Hearts: Inside the Olympics that Changed a Country, Furlong makes his leadership apparent in his belief that the Olympics in Vancouver could not be about “constructing venues and providing jobs and sparking tourism, but about doing something profoundly human for our country and showing the world what could be achieved when the people of a nation come together to do a great thing.”

When the bid to host was won, and he was hired to be CEO, John Furlong began directing his team by first defining the core values by which they would live for the next eight years. Whenever they lost grip on the vision, they returned to their values to ensure they stayed on course and found the answers they needed to continue forward. The values that would lead John and his team to success were: 

Teamwork. No one individual should overpower the vision at any time. Every member of the team must keep their word on what they promised to deliver. John visited construction sights on an ongoing basis to thank employees personally for being part of the team; one minister handed out Olympic jackets to show appreciation for their hard work.

Trust. Create a culture where every job in the organization is important. Trusting that others will do a great job and perform when they are called upon is important to ongoing morale. Delegating jobs to capable people, without vested interest, was key to the success of VANOC.

Excellence. Achieving excellence in Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics meant that the Games would touch everyone. VANOC achieved this by organizing the cross-country carrying of the Olympic torch.

Creativity. The ability to solve your own problems and overcome road blocks in any project requires creativity. The promise to unite the country by bringing the flame to some of Canada’s remotest places posed a challenge. An Olympic torch cannot be burning in more than one place at one time, however, the Olympic committee got creative to be able to be within one hour drive of 95% of Canada’s population. A lantern lit by the Olympic flame was taken to more remote communities while the torch continued on its major cities route.

Sustainability. One of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic board members, **name**, defined “sustainable” as “doing the right thing every time.” One example of this was during construction on the downhill runs at Whistler. Staff had to remove dozens of frogs and tadpoles by hand and relocate them 40 meters upstream before they could continue construction.

Among many characteristics, John Furlong believes a good leader needs to embrace the following to have success: 

1. Have a vision for your life. Wake up every day and go to work excited.
2. When you enter a time of darkness, no one knows you are there. Be courageous and choose to come out of it. Risk looking silly, risk humility.
3. Be the person you would want to be if others wanted to be you.

Furlong’s vision of hosting the Olympics also incorporated giving Canada’s athletes high performance funding. The Own the Podium program did not only help athletes excel without having to worry about monetary boundaries and connecting with world class coaches and sports practitioners, but it sent an important message to all Canadians: you are worth it. Vancouver would turn out to be the most successful Winter Games yet for the Canadian Olympic Team, finishing with 26 medals, and setting a record of most gold medals ever won by one nation at the Winter Olympics.

Before it started, John voiced that Vancouver 2010 would be a success if the Olympic spirit could touch every Canadian family and child. And it did; launched by a cross-country Olympic torch relay, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics would be the biggest event ever to be organized in Canada.

If you treated your business like a winning nation, would you still have the same business vision as you do today? If you “owned your podium” and were dedicated to your team, as John Furlong was to VANOC and the Canadian Olympic Team, what would your business look like?

Entrepreneur vs. Business Owner? Which one are you?

Assigning goals to aspects of our lives is a common practice when the calendar page lands back at January. A renewed sense of hope gets us thinking about initiating change. We will be slimmer, fitter, spend more time with the kids, increase revenue by 10%, volunteer. In a sense, New Years’ resolutions spark an entrepreneurial spirit; we feel confident to innovate, improve, see an idea through to execution. 

 
According to economist, Richard Cantillon, who coined the term, an entrepreneur is a “person who is willing to help launch a new venture or enterprise and accept full responsibility for the outcome.” Jean Baptiste Say’s 19th century version is “one who undertakes an enterprise, especially a contractor, acting as intermediary between capital and labour.” 

Entrepreneurs are thought to craft ideas that will change the future–whether it is a product or service offering that will not only add competition to the market place, but change an industry in some way. In the commonly referred to case of Apple, Steve Jobs was a business owner as well as an entrepreneur. Along with his team, he was always “creating the future” of the digital business. 

There are also what are called Social Entrepreneurs; they build a business that makes profit used to pave the way to social change. For example, John Wood, founder of  HYPERLINK "http://www.roomtoread.org/" Room to Read, is a social entrepreneur, opening libraries and schools in nine developing countries around the world. Lifestyle entrepreneurs are also becoming more common, defined as someone who puts passion before profit, and uses a business model in which their talent can grow in its own niche, not necessarily to be sold to shareholders. This could describe anyone from novelist to creator of mobile phone apps. 

 
Business owners can fall under all of these descriptions, but not all people who own a business are entrepreneurs. And not every entrepreneur is a business owner.

What is the difference?
Where one is working to mitigate risk, the other welcomes it.

Entrepreneurs often find a way to change an industry through a business model, build the business, sell it, and move on to the next endeavor.

Also, entrepreneurs often create something from scratch; business owners may build their business from the ground up, but are also responsible for day-to-day operations, with little time for bringing new ideas, innovations, or technologies to fruition.  

Twist Image President, Mitch Joel says of entrepreneurs and business owners:
“For some, it will involve their ability to embrace a new business model, for others it will involve their ability to respect the business owner that they have become while still embracing their internal Entrepreneur (and letting that mindset roam free). Regardless, the future is not going to be established by the business owners of today. The future is going to be created by the entrepreneurs who have the vision, business mindset and courage to not fall into the business owner's mindset of mitigating risk and minimizing mistakes.”

There is a sense of entrepreneurs being more revered. They appear to pursue without fear, where business owners don’t have that luxury. Like Mr. Cantillon said, they are responsible for outcomes and have to be accountable to the bottom line.

As an owner, if you were to run your business with an entrepreneur’s approach, would you take on a different role in your business? Would you grow? Distill your service offering? Take the lead in your industry?

Perhaps to be both entrepreneur and business owner it takes a slight shift in identity. If you are an acceptor of failure, and willing, to, as my father used to say, “try, try again,” then step outside your business owner role and don’t let your entrepreneurial spirit dim this year. Now that’s a resolution.

Customers will return for your business service, but more likely for your atmosphere

I don’t sit in cafes often, but when I do, I always return to the same one. For the first half of the day, this particular cafe serves as a brunch spot, gathering those in the neighbourhood, as well as those who will drive freeways to get there. Then, at 3:00, the menu switches over, the day light, with our present relationship to the sun, appropriately fades, kegs begin to hiss, and the music changes to an “evening beat.” To be honest the food isn’t good; the coffee mediocre, but, still, when I get the chance, I return. 

It is atmosphere that makes this cafe a city’s staple.   

Though the environment is laid back, the decor casual, and employee attire individualistic, it remains professional. If a customer’s eggs benny hits the kitchen floor, or there are bad feelings between servers, it never shows.  Other details that make this business’ atmosphere unique and inviting is the dedication of employees (the servers are often familiar faces who have been working there for a long period of time), as well as owner presence; he is a part of the culture, always around to mingle with regulars and meet openly with suppliers.  

What are the unique characteristics of your business’ atmosphere? 

Even if your service or product is industry leading, your business atmosphere will not lie. When your customers walk through the door, is their first impression that operations are running smoothly? Are they met with silence? Music? Bickering employees? The smell of brewing coffee? A journal to read? A comfy place to sit? A smile? 

Critique your atmosphere. Assess the following qualities about your business and whether they could use some attention.  

Manners. Business etiquette does not necessarily come naturally. Imagine you go to watch a stage play, and the actors perform with their backs to you; your business’ atmosphere can leave the wrong impression by something as simple as your back staying turned when a customer walks through your door. Observe your employees’ and your own interactions with clients and customers. Can they be improved? Could you be leaving a better impression if you changed a simple detail? 
 

Decor. Visual stimulation, whether it is the colour of your walls or comfortable seating in your boardroom or waiting area, make a difference. Do you need a decor update? Art on the walls and other decor give your business character and personality.   

Energy drainers. If your environment has a defeatist ring, retrain or get rid of the naysayers. When your customers pose a question, your employees’ responses should elicit positivity. The spreading of negative energy can also quickly drain the rest of the team. 

Internal communication. Internal communication is also observed by an external audience. Interaction among employees is part of your brand and can leave a strong impression. When customers or clients see or sense dysfunction in-house, confidence of your ability to deliver a service slides.

The five senses. What are the ways in which you and your business can appeal to your clients’ senses? There are creative ways in which all five can be stimulated by what is available in your business atmosphere, whether it is a tidy office space, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a glossy brochure, or the sound of Christmas carols when the season is right.

 
One way to test your atmosphere is to observe others. The next time you walk into your lawyer’s or insurance provider’s office, into the shop that changes your oil or that sells you a suit, be more observant than normal--what is stimulating your senses? Does the brand resonate with you? Why? Does the smell or sound of the place make you want to stick around or never come back? 

I never question returning to that cafe, with its not-so-great food and mediocre coffee. In this case, atmosphere is everything.

When the baby arrives: Part II Strategies for smooth maternity and parental leave transition

The announcement of an employee’s addition to the family, though a joyous moment, may leave a business owner inclined to tantrum. For a small business to onboard a new employee, and re-familiarize the returning employee with changes in company processes and new clients, is costly. Not to mention, the temporary departure of an employee can incur costs for advertising the position, scouting and interviewing candidates, and reviewing resumes and reference checks. Also, paying CPP and EI for two employees during transition periods adds up. Maternity and parental leaves can be easier on you, your team, and the departing employee, however, with some planning ahead.   

Strategies for smooth leave transitions

• Recruit early: leaving interviews and candidate selection to the last minute can put pressure on you and the rest of your team
• Don’t hire someone new: instead, spread the work out over several employees; however, beware of disgruntled employees carrying extra work load; also, if your company hires people in their child bearing years, you may have more than one mat leave at once
• Plan to keep the new hire: after the return of the maternity or parental leave; if you are a growing company, this may work to your advantage 
• Reassign duties: give the returning employee a change of scenery; offer them different (but equivalent) duties, if they are in agreement
• Suggest a transition position: ask the maternity/parental leave if they are available to deal with clients on an occasional basis to help bridge the change in relationships with clients

Employing young, vibrant talent often means working with professionals in their childbearing years, and increasingly, both women and men are taking time away from work for family. Canadian Business states, “Mothers are not the only ones taking time to stay at home with their new additions to the family. Parental leaves include fathers, and more and more are partaking in the duties of the first year after birth. According to Statistics Canada, last year nearly 30% of fathers took at least some leave to be with their new baby--up from 3% a decade earlier.” Dads can take parental leave at the same time, a different time, or overlap the mother’s parental leave, but leave must be started within 52 weeks of the child’s birth, or the date the child comes into custody.  

The end of parental leave also brings forth another issue. Work-life balance. More and more, balancing professional and personal life takes precedence for women and men, often leading to requests for flex-hours and shorter work weeks. While employee work-life balance might throw your business off kilter, it may require some give and take to keep talent on staff.