My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already successfully accomplished what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post was: How to Find Your Passion Like Oprah Winfrey.

Today I’m going to focus on how you can pair up what you're good at with what you love doing to build a successful enterprise like Ron Joyce who built the multi-billion dollar coffee shop franchise business Tim Hortons.

Must Watch Video

“When you find the niche you love, that becomes your passion. For me it was Tim Hortons. It was my world." – Ron Joyce

Ronald Vaughan "Ron" Joyce, CM (born 1930) is a Canadian multi-millionaire businessman. He co-founded the Tim Hortons doughnut chain as Tim Horton's partner and first franchisee.

Joyce grew up in rural Nova Scotia in a house without plumbing and a wood stove for heating.  When he was three years old, his father died, leaving his mother to take care of the family on welfare. When he was 16 years old he left home with his life savings of $35 to try his luck in the real world.

After spending time in the navy he returned home to start a Dairy Queen franchise and also joined the police force where he met Tim Horton. Horton was a Canadian hockey legend who opened up a local coffee shop called Tim Horton's (later changed to Tim Hortons). The little shop was failing when Joyce proposed forging a partnership and bringing his experience from Dairy Queen to save it.

Today Tim Hortons has over 3,500 locations, 100,000 employees, and $2 billion in revenues. Joyce himself owns at least 4 yachts, donates millions to charity, and has so much money he has even offered to fly people on trips anywhere in the world if they can help improve his golf swing. How did Ron Joyce get to where he is today? He did it by building a tiny coffee shop by the name of Tim Horton’s into one of Canada’s most beloved and successful brands.

Action Item #1: Match Your Talents with Your Passion

You can be really good at something but not love it. You can also love doing something else but not be really good at it. To be successful as an entrepreneur you need find the opportunity to combine what you love doing with what you're really good at.

According to Ron Joyce: " I think people who excel in anything are often totally dedicated to it, but are only really good at one thing. I look at the great athletes of all time, like Michael Jordan, who went from basketball to baseball and it didn't work. Or Wayne Gretzky, who probably wouldn't have been great at anything but hockey."

Are you like Michael Jordan trying to play baseball by doing something you love but aren't really that good at? If you're struggling to get your company to the next level try doing some soul searching to see if you've matched up your talents with what you love doing in the best way possible.

Action Item #2: Treat Your Franchisees as Partners

Franchising can be a great way to build a business because you don't need to fund it yourself and you can create an army of hard working managers who have a self-interest in seeing you succeed. However, franchising is not a bulletproof concept and may fail when the franchisors don't provide the right support to their franchisees.

Here's Ron Joyce's advice: "It was my philosophy to treat the franchise owners as partners." He followed through by creating a ‘Donut University’, a central training facility where new franchise owners could go to learn the ropes of running the business and operating in the fast-paced environment. He also established regular meetings, a toll-free phone line, and field evaluations to provide support to his franchisees. He was willing to do whatever it took to get his partners off the ground and running.

The result? Today, only five percent of the company’s stores are corporate, while the rest are locally and operated owned franchises. With average profit margins ranging from 15 to 20 percent, owning a Tim Hortons franchise is a promising venture. In fact, more than half of all franchisees own more than one unit. Treat your franchisees fairly and give them the support they need to flourish and they'll build your business for you.

Action Item #3: Create a Unique Point of  Differentiation

If you want to stand out and win business from your competitors then you need to do things differently from them. If there's nothing different about you, why should customers choose you when there are probably more established companies they could go with?

When Joyce took over Tim Hortons he wanted to stand out from all the other coffee chains. To do that, Joyce implemented a new set of business practices that focused on keeping things “Always Fresh." He began to insist that all Tim Hortons coffee pots be cleaned three times a day and that no coffee be older than twenty minutes from the time the brewer stops dripping. All grounds were also to be thrown out immediately afterwards. But it didn't just stop at coffee. The temperatures of all cheese products and sandwiches were to be checked every other hour, as with soups. Donuts were to have a shelf life of no more than eight hours and could also be made to order. Bagels and other breads were also to be sold for no more than eight hours after they were made, while cookies, danishes, and croissants could go up for twelve hours. Only enough cakes for a given day were to be baked in any one store.

Customers began to come to Tim Hortons because they had the freshest products available and sales soared. What is your unique point of differentiation? Is it really something customers care about and are you very different from your competitors?  If not, it's time to go back to the drawing board and create a value proposition worth betting the company on.

True Story

Despite the fierceness with which he ran his business, in expanding his franchise Ron Joyce strove to always play fair. Once when a man applied for a Tim Horton’s franchise and was turned down, he opened up a competing Robin’s Donuts store nearby and saw his business explode. This time around, management at Tim Hortons became interested in the man, and sought to open their own store nearby. Joyce, who had already left the company by this point, called his friends inside the business and convinced them to cancel their plans. He said it would be unfair to open a store and put out of business someone who had once tried to be part of the Tim Hortons franchise team.

How have you matched up your talents with your passion? What part of Ron Joyce's message resonates the most with you? As always, I’ve love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of Ron Joyce articles  or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.

Welcome to our App of the Week series where we highlight Smartphone and iPad applications for business.

How many different user ID's and passwords do you have?  Start with the basics like email or a Google account and then add in business specific passwords such as alarm codes, wireless routers and bank or purchasing account numbers.  It's not uncommon for a business user to have 20, 30 or more passwords, PIN numbers or secure phrases.  But how do you keep track of them all?

The most common solution is really not a solution at all: use the same password for everything.  Managing your website login for movie tickets with the same password as accessing your business banking records isn't a balanced approach.  Another solution is to write down all of the passwords in a notebook, attach sticky notes to your computer or use the virtual notes feature on a program such as Microsoft Outlook.  Not only do these options put your data at risk, they aren't the most mobile friendly (just imagine losing your notebook and a thief finding your password list – jackpot!). 

1Password Pro ($14.99 from the iTunes store) is an iPhone based solution that securely manages all of your passwords, logins and other important codes on the go.  When you think about it, managing passwords using a Smartphone app makes really good business sense – you always have the phone with you so management is convenient and in real-time.  The same goes for an iPad as more business users work on the go with a tablet style device (the Pro version works on both an iPad and iPhone).

When it comes to passwords, security is the number one concern.  1Password Pro uses 128 bit AES encryption to store passwords and control program access.  This level of security is similar to what financial organizations use to secure Internet banking data.  For those who are interested, a full description is available on the Agile Web Solutions website.

Using the App

Accessing the program is done through two layers of security – a 4 digit pin code to access most passwords and a master password (anything you choose it to be) to access restricted areas or to make program changes.  If you already use a password to secure your iPhone, it's a good idea to make these passwords different in order to take advantage of the second layer of security.

The app itself is very clean looking and friendly to use.  A new user can get up to speed and add their password data within seconds.

Once in the program, 1Password has four main category icons to sort existing data:

• Logins –  Simple website login/password combinations. This is where you would keep items like your Gmail, Aeroplan and TELUS Talks      Business logins. 
• Accounts – Stores more complex account information. For example, databases where a server, port, user ID, password, etc, are all required. 
• Wallet – Secure personal items including credit card numbers, memberships and licences.
• Passwords – Generates and stores a complex password.  Probably the most useful section as it helps you create unique and highly secure passwords that you would be unlikely to remember without assistance.
• Notes – Once you add your first note, Notes will replace Passwords as one of the main category icons. Consider this feature a      secure version of your sticky notes and add whatever text you desire.

When you want to add new passwords, you can go directly through the main category icons, however I have found it much better to select the last category – More – and then selecting Add.  From the Add screen, options are easily available to add everything from Software activation codes to generating a new password.  Very easy to use.

Backing up the items in 1Password Pro has both an automatic and a manual side.  First, like all iPhone/iPad applications, 1Password Pro is backed up during every iTunes sync.  Second, 1Password Pro offers the ability to both save an encrypted copy of the password database to a computer or wirelessly sync (over Wi-Fi) to a computer running the full desktop version of 1Password (which costs extra but does make all of your data easily sharable between business computers).

Conclusion

Passwords and security is often brushed to the side in favour of convenience.  1Password Pro provides an easy to use method of securing password data and managing its access all from the convenience of an iPhone.  Although its asking price may cause some to shy away, it's a small price in comparison to the value of your business data.

Today is the 5th post in the "Work Shift, Work Styles, Work Anywhere – Flexible Work across Canada" summer blog series

As a Calgary Social Media Professional being connected and ready to serve the needs of Calgary business when called upon is not a luxury but a must for our small Calgary business.

I truly value my time out of the office and I truly love being a road warrior. I spend a lot of my time traveling and seeing new parts of the city, province or country and when we combine this with the opportunity to serve Calgary small business plus business across Canada and United States is what truly gets me up every morning. This is what our team at Ulistic is all about, service and making sure our clients get the right social media advice, search engine optimization and online marketing consulting, education and result their business craves.

Being based in Calgary but being able to cover the needs of North America helping small business (managed service providers, real estate professionals and general small business) is a job that starts early in the morning and finishes late in the day.  This is why mobile Internet, mobility and the right tools to round out our mobile office is essential.

Who said the Internet would cut down on travel? I would like to meet this person. You know you travel a lot when the staff at the Edmonton International Airport - Maple Leaf Lounge know you by first name. Business in North America still requires the "human element" and this sometimes requires travel from time to time.  If it is a quick trip across town or a flight across the country, we still need to meet people and thoroughly understand their needs and embedded our services into their organizations without any hiccups. What does my portable office look like?

Mobile Phone - My mobile smart phone is an essential part of my portable office. Having the correct plan is also essential.  Having freedom to work from anywhere is crucial in my business where clients can call on us at anytime with any need.  A great mobile phone with a flexible plan is essential.

The Right Laptop - I  use a MacBook simply because it works without a hitch and if I have an issue with it, well I can take it to any Apple Certified repair shop and get it fixed. Having the right equipment is very important whether it is a MacBook or DELL Latitude laptop running Windows 7, you need to have something that work and works for you.

Cloud Technologies - Ulistic is a firm that teaches people to leverage the Internet therefore we need to have access to technologies no matter where we are.  The right cloud solution is just as important as your mobile phone or laptop.  There are many great solutions out there, do your homework and get one that works for you.

Mobile Internet - Last but definitely not least is having the right mobile Internet solution for our business needs.  Hotels, Airports and Coffee shops offer Wi-Fi however for me, I need something fast and reliable. I often turn to my Mobile Internet device.  Having mobile Internet provides the reliability that this road warrior requires every single time.  I may forget my phone or my server maybe down, but without my mobile Internet, I would be disabled.

No matter where you work you need to right tools to do your job. For this Alberta-based road warrior without my tools...well I would be lost and lose my competitive advantage. What would hurt the most...I wouldn't be able to serve my clients and take care of them.

Leave a comment for your chance to win a Bluetooth speaker set from @TELUSBusiness and @Ulistic.

About the Author: Stuart Crawford, ULISTIC Inc. Senior Advisor/Partner and Guest Contributor

Stuart Crawford is a member of the Ulistic team as senior advisor and partner bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience as it relates to IT and how business today can use the Internet is safe, secure manner to grow their overall business. Since retiring from active service in the Canadian military in 1997, Stuart has served the Calgary business community by providing information technology consulting services as part of the Microsoft, DELL and SonicWALL partner . In 2001, Stuart founded IT Matters, a Microsoft award winning computer and technology partner he served as the Vice President of Business Development for 8 years.  In 2009, Stuart played a vital role in the merger of Bulletproof InfoTech and CompuConsult.com and helped this new upstart IT firm can a competitive edge in the Alberta small business community.Over the years, Stuart has worked with leading junior Oil and Gas firms, Accounting and Legal offices and regular small businesses all across Alberta, throughout Canada and across the globe.

What is Mobile Internet?

Mobile carriers continue to expand and grow their service offerings.  The demand for these services is undeniable, as Canadians further adopt 3G+ and head towards the next wave of technology. Data only devices, like the iPad are becoming more prevalent, as is the term Mobile Internet.  Mobile Internet can mean a number of different things but mainly it’s the combination of 2 technologies or services, broadband and cellular (or wireless).

Broadband (you may also know it as DSL, Cable or T1 connections) is a common term for wired Internet service that offers high speed data transfer rates. As technology advances, these connections provide more bandwidth. In other words, you get faster connections that can more easily manage the transfer of larger packets of data (e.g. larger file sizes) that we’ve come to take for granted in today’s networked world. This connectivity is crucial to businesses that need to operate efficiently outside the confines of their office walls.

Adding the word 'mobile' means taking your connectivity with you through portable devices.  Mobile Internet for most people means Internet access on a smartphone.  However, wireless modems have been around for well over a decade and in the last few years new types of devices have begun to emerge, making Internet access for mobile users even easier.

The first wireless modem that really made a big splash about five years ago was the Aircard. This device plugged into a laptop (or desktop) to access the Internet wirelessly across a cellular network.

Two years ago theAircard was replaced by the Mobile Internet Key, a USB key which plugs into the laptop’s USB port.

Now more and more laptops carry a built in module that allows users to put a SIM card under the battery (just like in a cell phone).  The common example of this is the new tablet computing device from Apple, the iPad.

For users who want to share a connection there are ‘mobile Wi-Fi’ devices coming out that act as a portable modem/router combo, such as the TELUS Mobile Wi-Fi, soon to be released, which allows five users to share a wireless high speed connection.  This type of connectivity is really just like wired broadband service, only coming in from a wireless (cell) network – hence Mobile Internet.

Now you may be thinking, how can a mobile device or network offer the same level of service as a wired Internet connection like DSL?  As technology continues advancing, networks are also evolving to support these new devices and provide faster connections for clients. Take TELUS for example.  In just 3 short years TELUS will have evolved from wireless data speeds of up to 700 Kbps down on EVDO (CDMA) to up to 42 Mbps on HSPA+ Dual Cell (coming soon).    These enhancements become increasing important to businesses as more ‘shared’ data devices hit the market.   A Dual Cell network is  the difference between 5 people sharing what was essentially dial-up Internet (700 Kbps of bandwidth), versus sharing 30 or 40 Mbps of bandwidth (broadband speeds).   The dual cell network allows for increased mobility without having to be close to a modem, providing internet access in places such as a taxi cab or airport.

A great example of Mobile Internet in action is with event marketing. Experiential marketing or event companies now have access to the Internet quickly and effectively, providing new and exciting marketing opportunities that they may not have had before.  For instance, outdoor sporting events are now showcasing gaming consoles to event attendees, with the ability to go online for new content, game demos or to allow users to interact socially with other gamers.  These marketing activities are made possible by a device that creates WiFi or by a Mobile Internet Key via USB.  Additionally, devices like the TELUS Smart Hub and Mobile Wi-Fi are cost effective substitutes for temporary Internet connections at trade shows and conferences where venue Internet rental fees can run hundreds of dollars a day.  Just the install cost of a landline and Internet service on a construction site could equal the cost of a being able to use a Smart Hub for months or even a year!

How to leverage Mobile Internet for your business

The devices and tools hitting the market are evolving with the demand of the ever growing mobile workforce.  Mobile Internet Keys and Mobile Wi-Fi devices keep getting faster and smaller.  Mobile workers from sales to insurance claims adjustors to engineers can work at offsite client locations easily connecting to their email and back-office systems.  This means they can update purchase orders, resolve client issues or download the latest project documentation on the go, from virtually anywhere.

“IDC predicts the number of worldwide mobile workers will reach 1 billion - including nearly 75% of the U.S. workforce - by the end of 2011.” This also means more of the top talent will be looking for employers who offer flexible or mobile work styles. My colleague Allison Vale elaborated more on this in her post: Canada’s mobile workers take the job where they are.

New Mobile Internet devices, like the Apple tablet iPad are also becoming more common in the business community.   Laptop computers let business users carry just one computing device with them, loaded with apps, files, and embedded with Mobile Internet access.   The iPad is the newer, faster, smaller version.  Companies are arming their sales teams with the iPad to walk clients through presentations and browse company websites with in-depth product and online ordering info.

Deciding what the best option for your business is as simple as asking yourself, “how do I enable my employees to do more outside the office, whether at a client site or working remotely?”

My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already successfully accomplished what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post was: How to Find Your Next Big Business Opportunity Like Ray Kroc (McDonald's).

Today I’m going to focus on how you can find your passion like Oprah Winfrey, the billionaire entrepreneur who some consider to be the most influential woman in the world.

Must Watch Video

“Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself." – Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is an American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century and beyond, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and was once the world's only black billionaire.

While Oprah had begun her media career working at her high school radio show, it was in her freshman year when she got her first true opportunity to work in local media. She became both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville’s WTVF-TV. In 1976, Oprah relocated to Baltimore to co-anchor WJZ-TV’s local evening news. Her popularity led to her being recruited as co-host of WJZ’s local talk show, People are Talking.

Oprah’s warmth and big smile were quickly gaining appeal across a wider audience. In 1984, she relocated to her current home of Chicago, Illinois to host WLS-TV’s AM Chicago. Following a massive jump in ratings with Oprah’s takeover, the show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and extended to a full hour. With her powerful screen presence and friendly demeanour, the show went national just two years later. It became the highest-rated talk show in television history and would retain its leading position for the next twenty years.

Today Oprah's company, Harpo, has 410 full-time employees, a modest turnover (10% to 15% a year) and earns over $275 million in revenues. It is a media powerhouse that competes with giants like Lifetime and AOL Time Warner. And, Oprah remains as committed as ever: "I believe I'm just getting started.”

Action Item #1: Find Your Passion

If you study any famous entrepreneur and why they started their business you'll almost always find that it wasn't for the money - it was to make a difference in something they felt passionate about. When you create a business around what you're passionate about you're more likely to be the best at it, overcome hurdles put in your path, and ultimately achieve success.

In Oprah's own words: “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you... What I know is, is that if you do work that you love, and work that fulfills you, the rest will come. And, I truly believe, that the reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is because my focus has never, ever for one minute been money.”

In order to find your passion, Oprah says you need to “pay attention to your feelings. The path to discovering why you are here is through your feelings.” The most important thing, she cautions, is to not let others prescribe your path for you. “You can be pursuing a profession because your parents say it’s the best thing. You can be pursuing a profession because you think you will make a lot of money. You can be pursuing a profession because you think you are going to get a lot of attention.” But, she warns, “None of that will do you any good if you are not being honest with yourself.”

Action Item #2: Rise Above Your Obstacles

Entrepreneurship isn't an easy road and you'll probably have moments of doubt where you're not sure if you should continue running your business or just go get a job. Stay strong - if you can make it through those early moments of crisis you'll end up with a business that you can be proud of, provides an income, and makes a difference.

Born as a poor, black, and out of wedlock child, Oprah already had the odds stacked against her. Raped at the age of nine and sexually harassed by family members for the next four years, Oprah turned to a life of rebellion and drugs. It was not until she went to live with her father, who imposed strict discipline on the young Oprah and encouraged her education that she began to turn her life around. With a renewed focus on school and the encouragement of her father, she overcame the mental trauma of harassment and went on to win a scholarship at a reputable university.

Reflecting on her youth, Oprah says, “You can take from every experience what it has to offer you. And you cannot be defeated if you just keep taking one breath followed by another... We are each responsible for our own life – no other person is or even can be. That is why it is crucial not to let challenges, be they your own characteristics, events, people, or other uncontrollable factors, act as barriers between you and your goals."

Action Item #3: Set Big Goals

When you have a big goal that you're aiming to accomplish it can help keep you motivated and get you through the day to day problems that you'll face with your business. Make sure the goal is something that gets your blood pumping when you look at it - it has to be a goal that truly excites you if you want it to motivate you through the tough times.

“I always knew I’d be a millionaire by age thirty-two,” said Oprah in 1987. “In fact, I am going to be the richest black woman in America.” 23 years later, with a net worth of $2.4 billion, Oprah has become not only the richest black woman in America, but also one of the richest people in the world. She ranks 141 on the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list and millions of homes tune in to her show daily to hear her talk about everything from relationship problems to business investments to human rights abuses around the world.

Gut instinct has been one of the largest driving factors behind Oprah’s success. “Be quiet,” she says. “Part of your responsibility is to honour the quiet inside yourself so you can hear the call.” Her prescription for doing so is to “take five minutes to centre yourself in the morning…set your intention every day…if you don’t have five minutes, you don’t deserve to have the life of your dreams.”

True Story

While Oprah's company, Harpo (Oprah spelled backwards) is known for paying its employees well, they must sign a lifelong confidentiality agreement, barring them from talking or writing about Oprah’s personal or business affairs and those of her company for the rest of their lives. This has resulted in some disgruntled workers, but no legal challenge against Harpo to date has been successful.

What is your passion? Why did you start your business? As always, I’ve love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of Oprah Winfrey articles  or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.

Welcome to our App of the Week series where we highlight Smartphone and iPad applications for business.

Does this sound familiar?  You’re about to take a business trip and have great intentions of pulling out your laptop and working for part of the flight.  After the plane takes off and reaches cruising altitude, the person in front of you lowers their seat back and starts snoozing.   Fine for them, but your table tray suddenly forces a laptop screen angle only visible by a child.   To top it all off, you’ve seen all of the in-flight movies!

If you have an iPhone in your pocket, there are a number of apps that can make that flight productive and, dare it be said, fun.   Here are five favourite in-flight use apps.

1 - Read It Later

Read It Later (free version and $4.99 Pro version available from the iTunes store) lets you save Internet web pages in order to read them later, even when you don’t have a wireless connection.  Web pages can be saved either from your iPhone or desktop computer and then viewed later from the Read It Later iPhone App.

Once the downloaded copy of the webpage is stored on your iPhone, the Read It Later app allows you to read all of the content on the page.  Images come through at a basic quality, but it's high enough to see them clearly.  Just don’t forget to open the app and sync all of the web pages you have stored prior to leaving the gate.  If you forget this step, the app will not work properly.

2 - Evernote

Evernote (free from the iTunes store) continues to be a favourite app.  It’s great for organizing thoughts, creating lists and then searching what you entered.  Evernote also works well offline, with one important caveat:  If you want to see existing notes while offline you must select each note as a Favourite, or if you are a premium subscriber, set your notebook to be available offline from the sync tab.  New notes can be created at anytime no matter what settings you select.

Here’s our Business App of the week: Evernote of Evernote from earlier this year.

3 - iBooks

Are you an avid book reader?  If so, you may have strong feelings about reading a book on an iPhone.  While it is different from reading a paper book, a flight is a great place to give it a try (which you can do for free).

iBooks (free from the iTunes store) is Apple’s way to download and read books.  It includes a bookshelf to store your purchased book titles and easy access to a bookstore to purchase and download more.  If you haven’t tried iBooks before, it’s important to know that there are a number of free books available for download.  For example, a tour through the iBooks store this week found classic titles such as Treasure Island and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  The number of books for sale continues to grow each week and includes many popular titles.

Also consider Kindle for iPhone – the electronic book format supported by Amazon.ca.

4 - Flight Control

Business and iPhone games don’t usually mix, but on a long flight even top CEO’s can use a distraction.  Flight Control ($0.99 from the iTunes store) is a straight forward, but very addictive game.  In fact, it’s so addictive that I spent 4 hours playing it on an international flight earlier this year!

The objective of Flight Control is simple:  direct planes to land on a runway.  The challenge is that planes don’t always use the same runway, fly at the same speed or arrive in a standard order.  Controlling the chaos is fun and gets your mind off work.

5 - Glass Tower 2

Almost every BlackBerry user is familiar with the game Brick Breaker.  I wouldn’t be surprised that if someone was tracking usage they would find it’s the most played Smartphone game in the air.  Although the game play is different, I consider Glass Tower 2 (free from the iTunes store, however additional levels are likely purchased within the app) a worthy iPhone alternative.

Instead of focusing on speed, Glass Tower 2 is based on strategically removing coloured blocks in a way that keeps the “tower” from crashing.  Levels get progressively harder and a good amount of thought is often needed before taking any action (sounds a lot like business doesn’t it?).  Use caution though – solving the next level can become an obsession!

Bonus tip: check your Mail settings before you leave

Many business travelers consider Mail to be the “Captain Obvious” of in-flight apps.  Even short flights are great for reading email and queuing replies, deletes and new messages for processing after arrival.  But before you go, ensure you check your email setting for “Mail Days to Sync”.

If you want to go back and work through 30 days of old messages, make sure they are in your iPhone before you leave.  When you are done, keep the new setting or change it back if you are short on device memory.

Do you have a favourite in-flight app?  Post a comment and share it with the community!

Today is the 3rd post in the "Work Shift, Work Styles, Work Anywhere – Flexible Work across Canada" summer blog series.

Telecommuting takes on a whole new meaning, thanks to my Mobile Internet Stick and my iPhone.

A quick trip west of Calgary and you immediately escape into one of Canada's havens of creativity and relaxation.  Who would have thought that deep inside this Alberta Provincial Park would you find one of the best spots to set up a mobile office.  Taking the quick trip to Kananaskis Country is the perfect escape from the rat race of city life and recharge the creative batteries. Some people come to the mountains for hiking, mountain biking, rafting and other outdoor activities.  My perfect escape is chilling in the lounge of my favourite mountain park hotels and coffee shops.  It doesn't matter what you enjoy, just the thought I escaping is perfect on an August summer day in Alberta. Some folks ideas of a mountain getaway includes their RV, Camping equipment or hiking boots. My Mountain escape equipment includes my hotel rewards card, MacBook and iPhone.  Having the freedom and the flexibility to escape the city is something I cherish as a Calgary Social Media Consultant and Search Engine Optimization professional.  Whenever the opportunity presents itself I pack up my MacBook, iPhone, Creative Juices and my mobile Internet and off to the Mountain Parks or Alberta badlands I go.

The mountain air is the perfect seed for creativity. Having the tools to escape and remain connected provides this opportunity to get out of the city for the day.  I can enjoy time in the Mountains to plan and really strategize about the direction of our business and at the same time, keep in touch with my clients and continue to serve their needs when the need arises without them even knowing where I am.

What does it take to escape from the office on the perfect Canadian summer day?

Be open to an endless flow of ideas - Getting away from the rat race provides the perfect opportunity for you to escape the distractions of office life.  Leaving you completely free to focus on whatever you need to work on.  Need to tighten up your business plan, review last quarter's sales figures or complete a project...getting away from the office facilitates the flow of great ideas and provides clarity.

Stop every once in while - Just stop and look out the window.  Be observant of everything going on around you.  Listen to the tourists speaking, the music playing in the background or the sounds of kids enjoying their family vacation.  You never know where your next great idea will come from.  Some times you need to get up and find a new spot or even just go for a walk.

Pack your own Internet and Power - This is a must because you never know where you are going to set up camp.  Without your Internet  and your own power you may struggle to enjoy true freedom of working wherever you decide.  My mobile Internet stick and vehicle AC adapter provides the freedom to work from a picnic table, coffee shop or even the lobby of the hotel.  Whatever fits into your lifestyle. Don't forget your power adapter and a spare battery as well. What do I enjoy the most by having the ability to escape - FREEDOM! Where is you freedom?

About the Author: Stuart Crawford, ULISTIC Inc. Senior Advisor/Partner and Guest Contributor

Stuart Crawford joins the Ulistic team as our senior advisor and partner bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience as it relates to IT and how business today can use the Internet is safe, secure manner to grow their overall business. Since retiring from active service in the Canadian military in 1997, Stuart has served the Calgary business community by providing information technology consulting services as part of the Microsoft, DELL and SonicWALL partner . In 2001, Stuart founded IT Matters, a Microsoft award winning computer and technology partner he served as the Vice President of Business Development for 8 years.  In 2009, Stuart played a vital role in the merger of Bulletproof InfoTech and CompuConsult.com and helped this new upstart IT firm can a competitive edge in the Alberta small business community.Over the years, Stuart has worked with leading junior Oil and Gas firms, Accounting and Legal offices and regular small businesses all across Alberta, throughout Canada and across the globe.

I read a good article in Social Media B2B (http://socialmediab2b.com/), one of the blogs I follow, entitled “28 awesome B2B social media statistics”.  The article highlights a number of B2B (Business-to-Business) social media statistics on a wide range of topics, collected from various sources.  The stats are interesting and worth a read.  The author grouped the stats into categories including:

• Usage
• Forecasts
• Executive interest
• Focus
• Channels
• Measurement
• Resource allocation
• Budgets

I’d like to highlight 7 stats that I found interesting to initiate discussion:

1. 86% of B2B firms are using social (media), compared to 82% of B2C.
2. B2B firms aren’t as active in their social media activity with only 32% engaging on a daily basis compared with 52% of B2C firms.
3. More than half (53.5%) of marketers surveyed said they currently use social media as part of their marketing strategy. This is up from 2009, when 45.0% of marketers said they used social media for marketing
4. B2B advertising spend on social media and lead generation sites is forecast to grow at an annualized rate of 21% and 17% respectively to 2013.
5. B2B marketing spending on social networking sites is predicted to rise 43.3%.
6. Forrester predicts B2B interactive marketing spending to reach $4.8 billion by 2014 – almost double that estimated for 2009 ($2.3 billion).
7. B2B social media marketing spending will grow from just $11 million in 2009 to $54 million in 2014.

The stats highlighted above demonstrate that interest and usage of social media is on the rise in all companies, including B2B.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to create some of our own statistics based on your feedback. Whether you are a B2B or a B2C company, let us know your social media usage by completing a short survey (3 questions).  Or, if you like, please comment on your use of social media below.

In coming weeks, we will discuss the results of this survey and delve further into the stats from the article, specifically, what social media channels you use.

Click here to complete social media survey

.

There are many types of vehicles on the road. At one end of the spectrum, exotic sports and luxury cars; at the other, reliable and fuel-efficient compacts. But in the middle is an unsung hero that consistently delivers: the van. From commercial cargo carriers for trades to suburban people movers, the van gets the job done and doesn’t always get the credit it deserves.

The Nokia E72 might be the metaphorical van of smartphones. Beautiful in its own right (physically, more an SUV perhaps), it has an ideal mix of ease of use and business-ready features for workers on the move, and adds to the smartphone options availlable to businesses that are ready to take better advantage of the efficiencies mobility affords.

The E72 runs on the 3G+ network and is built for business with features including a QWERTY keyboard, a 3.5G HSDPA modem that can push up to 10.2Mbps, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, voice-command and a 5.0-megapixel camera with flash.

For companies that use social media as a means of communicating with customers, the E72 lets users sign-in on up to four instant messaging communities at once, or mobilize up to 10 different personal email accounts simultaneously. You won’t miss a beat in responding to customers, no matter which online vehicle they’re using to reach your company.

“It’s a fantastic messaging device first with a deep integration into the Exchange platform that businesses use daily for internal and external communications,” says our product director, Hilen Wong. “For enterprise-sized companies, it provides excellent core email and phone capability, as well as browsing capability if it’s something they want to utilize. It’s an ‘everything’ phone for business.”

For sales teams or for businesses that travel to multiple locations as part of their mission, the E72 comes with Ovi Maps, providing users with guided navigation throughout North America - without using data - free of charge. (Ovi is Nokia’s internet services brand.)

Wong adds that it can be a good fit for small and medium businesses with high mobility as well. For example, a landscaping company that has teams working in various locations throughout the day as well as customer primes who are managing sales leads. The mapping function becomes a fundamental resource; the customer contact facility is equally so, for obviously different reasons.

Finally, for the dedicated multi-tasker (who isn’t anymore?), the E72 allows for two separate homescreens for work and play. This is no small thing. How many of us are managing separate work and personal sites and accessing them on separate computers, one at work and another at home? To complicated and cumbersome. The E72 makes it easier to manage putting career first, and at the same time actively participating in the social networks that keep us close to friends and family.

Is your business considering a move from pure mobile into smartphones? If so, how is it mapping the company’s needs against the devices in market? Join the conversation.

Welcome to a new series of posts in our leadership collection. Over the next few weeks, we’ll highlight examples of business leadership - some best practice and some with room for improvement. The “bulls” will guide and perhaps even inspire us; the “bears” will remind us that leading can be an unforgiving task, and almost anyone can find themselves under the bus, figuratively speaking.

Leadership Bull – Carman Lapointe-Young
We love it when a renowned international organization with high profile problems looks to a Canadian to sort things out. But Manitoba native, Carman Lapointe-Young has no small task ahead of her.

At the United Nations General Assembly, its newly-appointed leader of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) will be tasked with cleaning up an organization that her predecessor characterized as “in disarray” and still reeling from some monumental debacles, like the infamous oil-for-food program.

Lapointe ­-Young was brought aboard to head the OIOS after her predecessor Inga-Britt Monica Stigsdotter Ahlenius crossed swords with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, accusing him of incompetence and a lack of leadership.

In an internal memo the outgoing Ms. Inga-Britt Monica Stigsdotter Ahlenius accused her soon to be ex-boss of being aloof, backstabbing and undermining the functioning of the various United Nations bodies. Clearly, Lapointe-Young has her work cut out for her, navigating the politics and smoothing relationships within a unwieldy, bureaucratic organization.

No stranger to large mandates, since 2004 Lapointe-Young has acted as the Auditor General at the World Bank, and has held various Chief Audit Executive positions at Canadian Crown Corporations like Canada Post, The Bank of Canada and others. With a resume like this, she comes to the table well-armed.

Like the UN body politic Lapointe-Young has been tasked with overseeing, corporate denizens of all stripes have found themselves in similar situations - an outsider is brought into the corporate fold whose mandate is ‘change’ or to clean up the otherwise dysfunctional aspects of the organization.

This outsider is immediately looked upon by established employees as intrusive and is treated as such. For business leaders in this kind of situation successfully implementing change depends in large part on communication skills and a communications plan: Once the mandate is established it’s imperative to make it public at all levels of the organization. Finding the means by which employees can provide input into affecting the changes required will solidify their commitment to the organization’s mission. Last but not least, set tangible, measurable goals that track the progress of the changes in play so people have a real sense of accomplishment and the momentum continues.

Granted this is easier said than done with an organization as large and complex as the United Nations General Assembly. We’ll watch with interest as Lapointe-Young heads into the first 30 days of her tenure.

Leadership Bear – Stats Can data crunches Minister’s assertion
There’s an embarrassment of riches in terms of ‘lessons learned’ when it comes to the recent brouhaha over the Canadian government’s decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census. This among them: put the facts through an internal meat grinder before the public does it for you.

Industry Minister Tony Clement defended the government’s proposal to an Industry committee hearing, arguing that Canadians were disturbed and annoyed by the intrusive nature of the survey. The government is resolved “to protect Canadians from the coercive and intrusive methods that had been used” to collect census data, Clement told the committee. Unfortunately for Clement however, the perspective wasn’t supported by the facts.

The National Statistics Council asked Statistics Canada (the agency that distributes the census) to provide data on all the complaints concerning the last census in 2006. Statistics Canada revealed that the total number of questions, complaints and concerns from the 2006 census was 166...from a census that was sent to 12 million households.

As leaders in business, you are often left to deliver unpopular news. If we learn anything from this leadership “bear”, it’s that the facts supporting potentially unpopular decisions are going to be run under the microscope, whether you are a small business owner or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

It goes without saying that it’s best practice to research the accuracy of proposed speaking points upside down and sideways. Any successful politician will tell you that it is crucial to hire someone - or a team of someones - with a critical point of view whose job it is to challenge your facts and perspective a) so that your organization never ends up with egg on its proverbial face and b) because you want to be prepared with the answers to all potential hard questions long before you hit the podium.

The pragmatic politician’s handbook says think like your adversaries and poke holes in your own story before going public. Good call. Better that than creating a bigger mess than the one being tackled in the first place.

(Photos courtesy of James & Vilija and unforth.)