Canada

• Economic growth at 4% plus.
  
• Low inflation in the range of 1% - 2%.
  
• Falling unemployment.
  
• Increase in consumer confidence.
  
• Increase in capital investment by corporations and government.
  
• Continued strengthening of Canadian dollar vs. U.S. dollar.

U.S.

• Economic growth at 3% - 4%.
  
• Low inflation in the range of 1% - 2%.
  
• Unemployment rate stable in third quarter, then falling in fourth quarter and beyond.
  
• Increasing consumer confidence.
  
• Some recovery in capital investment both at the corporate and government levels, with increased momentum as the year progresses.
  

Tom Caldwell, Chairman, Caldwell Securities Ltd. - (416) 862-7755

.............................................................................................

Productivity

An efficient workforce is a productive workforce, whether it is producing goods or providing services. Productivity is a crucial element of competitiveness. Here are some ways you can help your organization be more productive:

1. Examine how you are spending your work time. What percentage of it are you using for activities that relate directly to your objectives? If it's less than 95 percent, you may have a problem.
   
2. Set clear goals in consultation with your boss. If you supervise other staff members, share your goals with them. Break your goals down into individual objectives for each staff person.
   
3. Measure your and your staff's progress towards goals, recording and posting them for visual reinforcement.
   
4. Encourage your colleagues to monitor their own productivity so they will gain an increasing sense of responsibility for their performance.
   
5. Keep alert for new ideas that will help you and your colleagues work more efficiently, and then encourage their implementation.
   
6. See that people receive recognition for good ideas. Share any that you come across so that all the members of your team can benefit.
   
7. Do an evaluation of important processes on a regular basis, involving others who are part of the process. Everyone should document all the steps in his or her part of the process on a "map". Evaluate each step with the following questions: Is this step necessary? Does it duplicate other steps? Does the step add value? Does the step cause delays?
   
8. Concentrate on doing a job right, not quickly. Haste causes mistakes, which may make it necessary to do the job all over again. This can lead to poor service and lower productivity.
   
9. After you have found the best way to do a job, document the process and share your findings. If you have responsibility for other staff members, make sure they are trained to do the job correctly. Promote the most efficient procedures.
   
10. Support the idea of cross-training in your organization, and be the first to volunteer for training opportunities. Cross-training creates a more flexible team of workers who can substitute for or help each other when people are overloaded, sick, or on vacation.
    
11. Before you decide you need to replace a manual task with a machine-run one, work to make the process as simple and efficient as possible. Automation for its own sake can sometimes decrease productivity.
    
12. Avoid unnecessary meetings. Try to get business done through informal stand-up sessions in the office or on the shop floor. Keep these to five or ten minutes.
    
13. Reconsider your paperwork. Ask yourself these questions: Is anybody reading it? Does anyone need the information? Are the data it contains useful for making decisions? If you answered no to any of the questions, work to simplify or eliminate the task.
    
14. Organize your workspace and areas shared with other staff members. Make sure things can easily be found, preferably by keeping them in full view. This will help avoid time-wasting searches.
    
15. Benchmark what you do. This will help you compare
    
    • performance indicators that can be measured;
      
    • methods and procedures.
      
16. Compare what you do with similar work areas in your organization; similar work areas in other organizations; different work areas in other organizations.
    
17. Be receptive to new ideas, even if they come from very different workplaces, and you will discover new opportunities. For example, you might discover how to reduce customer line-ups in a bank by comparing how hotels process lines of people at checkout time.
    
18. Adapt new ideas to fit your work situation.

Cy Charney, President of Charney & Associates Inc. (905-886-5606, www.askcharney.com ), is a leading Canadian management consultant focusing on organizational performance improvement. The above is an excerpt from his book, The Portable Mentor, published by Stoddart.

Three Keys to Leading Like a Professional

Judging by the way we elect some of our political leaders, you'd think that the three most important qualities to leadership are: popularity, an outgoing personality, and loyalty to your supporters. Coincidentally, these just happen to be the three most outstanding traits of our overweight 6 year old Corgi, affectionately named "Sadie." Sadie is popular with everyone she meets. She's outgoing to the point of being embarrassingly familiar with strangers. And she's loyal -- to us and anyone else at the park with a milkbone. Perhaps the only reason Sadie hasn't been elected to public office is that she has breath issues.

When you are the "top dog" in an organization, there are indeed three keys to leading others that will create a tuned-in, turned-on workforce. They distinguish you as being a professional -- significantly more effective than amateurs who have a title but nothing beneath the surface.

1. See the Big Picture.

Too often, amateurs get wrapped up in their own egos. They expect their people to support them simply because they are the "boss". Captain Bligh adhered to this management philosophy. 'Nuff said.

Professional leaders also have huge egos. But their pride is centered in their belief in their people. In fact, they go as far as involving their staff in the creation of an organization mission statement. Boring stuff? Only when some marketing person drafts it, gets the boss' endorsement and hangs it on the wall in the lobby; never to be remembered or referred to again.

The real value of a mission statement lies in involving everyone in its creation. People discuss why they do what they do for a living. You discover shared values and an underlying purpose to work beyond taking home a paycheque. You tap into the common bonds that are the true motivators of the human spirit. Sound touchy-feely? Absolutely. Why else would they want to work for you? . . . Job security? That's difficult to provide. People want to work in an environment where they feel like they are a part of a greater good. They can be forced to work for you because you have a title -- just ask Captain Bligh. Professional leaders think of themselves less as a boss and more as an activist rallying support for a worthy cause. People will support a leader who has a strong sense of mission, whose values match their own. Captain Bligh was an amateur. Abraham Lincoln was a professional.

2. Get better information.

Amateur leaders love efficiency. They think the key to increased profits is to simply reduce costs and work harder. The problem with this leadership style is that efficiency is usually not the problem. The problem lies with their products and services not being tuned-in to the needs of the marketplace.

To a professional leader, there's no use in finding a faster way to climb the ladder if the ladder's leaning on the wrong wall. They constantly, systematically, proactively check to make sure they're heading in the right direction.

Tools they use include:

Ask your competition. Professionals learn to innovate by discussing issues with their competitors. Sound absurd? Join your trade association. It's filled with competitors who recognize that none of us is as smart as all of us. Amateur leaders shun the competition. Professionals understand that today's competitor may be tomorrow's business partner.

Ask your customers. Amateurs think they understand their customers' needs because they do business with them. Yet, how many times have you eaten at a restaurant and decided that you wouldn't go back? Statistically only one out of every 27 dissatisfied customers actually complains. Amateurs wonder why business is dropping off. Professionals admit they need to know what their customers really think. So they regularly test and verify client satisfaction.

Consider using local business students to conduct surveys. Students get huge response rates. Think of it - wouldn't you be more likely to answer a few questions to "help a student with their class project?" Bonus: students are a lot cheaper than commercial firms.

Ask your employees. After all, they're closer to the customers than you are.

Educate yourself. Amateurs are know-it-alls. They seem to believe that they are supposed to come up with all the good ideas. Professionals rely on other people's success and apply that to their own practices. So professionals read books, listen to tapes, and attend seminars.

3. Become a pillar of integrity.

Amateur leaders ooze with golden promises and good intentions. They think that the key to being successful is popularity. And they try to deliver on their promises. In other words, they lie a lot.

Example: a customer asks when you can deliver something to them. You think you can get it to them by Wednesday. The amateur's response, "I'll try to get it to you by Wednesday." But something comes up, so delivery is delayed by one day, until Thursday. At least you tried. No big deal, right?
Right. It's only a big deal if you had any aspirations of being respected. Professional leaders know that their most valuable asset is their personal reputation. It's simply not worth jeopardizing that reputation by making a commitment they may not be able to keep. So professionals make a practice of underpromising and overdelivering.

As someone with a title, you are the 'big dog' trotting by the yard where the neighborhood dogs are lounging. Whether you lead like a professional or an amateur will determine whether they are motivated to run with you, or just stay on the porch.

This article is from Influence with Ease™, copyright by syndicated columnist, business owner, and international speaker, Jeff Mowatt, www.jeffmowatt.com, 1.800.JMowatt [566.9288].

............................................................................................

by Doug MacLeod, Lawyer

If properly drafted, an employee whose contract is not renewed at the conclusion of a fixed term is not dismissed or terminated; rather the person's employment simply ceases in accordance with the terms of the contract. In other words, the employer need not provide the employee with additional notice of termination.

The courts, however, require unequivocal and explicit language to establish a fixed term contract and will interpret any ambiguities strictly against the employer's interests.

In Diana Ceccol vs. The Ontario Gymnastic Federation, the Ontario Court of Appeal was called upon to decide whether the parties had entered into a true fixed term contract. Ms. Ceccol was hired as an Administrative Director in a series of 16 one-year contracts. Her last contract - which was not renewed - stated that she was hired for "12 months commencing on July 1, 1996 and terminating on June 30, 1997 unless sooner terminated or extended as hereinafter provided." The contract also provided: "Subject to acceptable performance reviews, this Agreement is subject to renewal, upon the consent of both parties as to terms and conditions."

The court found that this contractual language was ambiguous. Accordingly, the court considered the parties' intentions and the conduct relating to the contract. In particular, the court heard evidence about what was discussed at the initial job interview, and whether the employee would have accepted a one-year position at that time. The court also heard testimony that senior officers and managers regarded Ms. Ceccol as an indefinite hire. After hearing this evidence the trial judge concluded that the parties did not intend to enter into a fixed term contract. The Court of Appeal did not disturb the trial judge's finding of a 16-month reasonable notice period which was reduced by 4 months because the employee failed to properly mitigate her damages.

This case should be a wake up call to employers who routinely enter into fixed term contracts particularly if the main purpose of the contracts is to limit termination costs. To achieve this objective, employers should carefully review existing fixed term contracts to make sure that the language reflects the parties' unequivocal and explicit intent to enter into a fixed term contract. Or employers can start hiring employees for an indefinite period of time and include a termination clause in the employment contract which sets out the parties' agreement on the appropriate notice period. Generally, as long as there is unambiguous language used and the provision complies with employment standards legislation, the courts will enforce such a termination clause.

Doug MacLeod, Barrister & Solicitor. Doug advises employers on the intricacies of Ontario's employment laws. He can be reached at doug@dougmacleod.com (416) 977-9894 or (416) 977-7337 (fax).

.............................................................................................

Fulcrum Search Science Inc.

• Serving the Toronto business community since 1971 with well over 11,000 successful assignments
• Members of ACSESS & NAPC
• We have had continuous representation on the national board of ACSESS for almost 20 years, including two past presidencies and the current presidency.

Fulcrum Search Science Inc.
85 Richmond Street West, Suite 702
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2C9
Tel: 416-847-4990

www.fulcrumsearchscience.com

Subscription Contact:

Cathy Cheng
Career Support Specialist
Fulcrum Search Science Inc.

Unsubscribe | Subscribe

For More Information Visit - www.fulcrumsearchscience.com

Thank you for reading The Fulcrum Quarterly Newsletter.
Copyright 2003 Fulcrum Search Science Inc.
All Rights Reserved.