strategic planning: innovation: management:success

SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR YOUR PLANNING MODEL

Technology and alternate ways of doing things are always in a state of flux. Whether it’s outsourcing some of your operations or looking at techniques that aid your decision process, it’s important to keep emerging tools and practices on your radar screen.

One example is the evolving nature of financial planning and analysis software that transcends beyond traditional spreadsheet tools. Do you ever wish you had a crystal ball to aid your business decision process? Would you use such a tool if it was available? With operations becoming more and more complex, having the ability to anticipate, analyze and assess alternate strategies BEFORE committing valuable time and resources is becoming vital.

“Anyone who says businessmen deal in facts, not fiction, has never read old five-year projections.“-Malcolm Forbes

Does your current financial forecasting model provide answers to these  SEVEN TYPICAL INQUIRIES?

1) What will happen to profitability, cash flow and our line of credit if the new product launch takes nine months rather than three? (How will we deal with such a delay?)

2) What are the principle activities that drive our business model, how do they impact our operations and how well do we know the inter-relationships involved? (Can activity based costing, planning and management put us back in control?)

3) What is our contribution margin percentage, how does it affect our break-even point and would we be better off with more automation that reduces our variable costs? (Do we really understand our product and service cost relationships, how they behave and how sensitive they are?)

4) What if we acquire the market leader in our southern territory, what synergies can we anticipate from the deal and how would that impact the EBITDA valuation of the combined entity? (Does the deal make sense given the current asking price?)

5) What if new technology and specific training can increase the productivity of our sales team by 35% what will that do for our staffing levels, our travel budget, and most importantly our bottom line? (Can we evaluate this alternate scenario with a few simple clicks?)

6) What if we drop the sales price of our flagship product by 20% how many additional units will we have to sell to increase our profits by $500,000? (Can we dramatically expand our market share by passing on manufacturing efficiencies to our customers?)

7) What are our key performance measures and can we view them as an interactive dashboard and test the validity of our assumptions? (Can we do the “smell tests” so important to effective financial planning?)

These are just a few examples of decision alternatives that confront today’s managers. The old analysis tools were good but the newer tools enable more strategic decision making. Financial tools that were only available to very large organizations are now becoming economically affordable to mid-size and smaller operations.

Your job is to pay attention to the emerging tools that leverage your ability to understand, manage and control your operation. Listen to your peers, read general and trade magazines, have a technology mentor and keep your pulse on what is developing. Your future will be the better for it.

“In baiting a mouse trap with cheese, always leave room for the mouse.”  Saki (Scottish Writer)

Greg Pashke , CMC is  President of Pashke Consulting and provides business mentoring, strategic and tactical planning, and financial modeling services. Greg is a big proponent of The One Page Plan approach to managing the day to day performance of an organization. It’s simplicity in action. He is committed to continuous learning and skill development. Greg’s mantra is “to get a lot done & have a lot of fun”.
Website: http://www.pashkeconsulting.com/

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

A CAMERA DOESN’T MAKE YOU A PHOTOGRAPHER

I hear the same comment over and over…”I can take the product shot. I’ve got a digital camera”.

A few years ago, I was walking through “Ace Bargain Center”. Ace was a combination of connecting buildings that went for an entire city block. This store had every kind of used merchandise you could possible imagine. It was like an indoor junk yard (but clean and safe). As I was walking by one of the rooms I noticed that it contained all the materials for a complete operating suite; gurney, cabinets, lights, autoclave and even some surgical utensils. I realized that for the paltry sum of a couple of thousand dollars, I could set up my own operating room. I would have the equipment. The problem was, equipment doesn’t make you a surgeon, talent does. The same thing goes for photography.

A GOOD PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER IS MORE ARTIST THAN PHOTOGRAPHER.

A pro realizes the effect of lighting, positioning, backgrounds and even the image your product conveys. Lots of people can take “good” photos with a digital camera and they can be the hit of the picnic, but the professional photographer takes it the extra mile to make your product shine.

You’ve put a lot of time into developing your product and you’re proud of it. Put your best foot forward and show it in the best possible way. I think you’ll find that most photographers can work wonders and are a lot less expensive than you’d think.

Another tip: Don’t dictate to the photographer, let him ask questions and give you his best possible recommendations. If you let an artist use his vision, chances are you’ll get something much better than you had hoped for. In my 35+ years of experience, it’s worked every time.

Next week: The Car Dealer and TV.

Always let the artist make the suggestions!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

network marketing: global trends

THE LURE OF A BEACH LIFESTYLE

A lifestyle of the rich and famous is a common image projected by many network marketing leaders. It is extolled in video presentations. It is acted out at “major events” held in exotic resorts. It is seductive…a heady experience. We attend in droves, in hopes of an epiphany on the road to riches. We listen to the dream, with hopes the dream now includes us.

These sessions do inspire and encourage…but, if what follows is financial and relationship stress arising out of unreasonable business expectations and overextended  expenditures, the inspiration backfires. A promise of vast, easily-acquired wealth, is seductive and destructive; both for the new person, and for the leaders who are under pressure to uphold the persona.

OH – NO – ANOTHER NETWORK MARKETING BANKRUPTCY

If there is an elephant in the network marketing boardroom, this certainly is it!

MATERIALISM AS A MEASURE OF SUCCESS

Network marketing grew up in the United States in a pervasive culture of materialism.

Top performers are held up on pedestals. They may arrive in white limos and be-jeweled gowns, march across stages with photos of their multimillion dollar homes, their multiple cars, beach vacations, beautiful children, flashing on screens behind them, as they sit  lounging at home, while the cheques roll in.

IS THIS TRUTH?

Not a bad picture, you may say…who wouldn’t aspire to it? It has been truth for a small number – less that .5% actually.

The problem comes when the story being told is that everyone can easily have this, in a short period of time. It is true, there is nothing standing in the way of that level of success – but, no different than success in traditional business, only a few become heads of huge corporations. Many more in traditional business make a good living and manage their money carefully…so it is, and should be, in network marketing.

THE DREAM IS IMPORTANT – BUT SO IS KEEPING YOUR FINANCIAL FEET ON THE GROUND

Chasing the possibility of riches, or maintaining the illusion of a wealthy lifestyle, has taken all too many into bankruptcy, or to the brink of bankruptcy. Relationships have been strained, if  not totally destroyed, and not just at the entry levels.

I have seen people, who were making six figure incomes per month, head into divorce and bankruptcy because of that insatiable hunger in the belly of the beast of greed that keeps driving them to spend more and more. They keep buying ever bigger homes, more vacations, wanting to generate an even more opulent lifestyle to attract others to the dream.

Let’s be truthful about what we can realistically expect in this business, and reasonable in setting our financial goals. It will be to our advantage and earn us credibility in the business world.

LET’S GET TO THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MONEY

New recruits are all too often approached with the lure of riches, status, and an opulence, easily attained.  This wealthy lifestyle  is promoted as the norm, promising to be within the grasp of all who sign on the dotted line.

It is a culture of untruth (not really ‘out and out’ lies) about how much money the leaders and the majority of people are making. The mystique tempts one to fill up credit cards, borrow from family, or anyone who will lend money, so they, too, can prematurely flaunt wealth.

Most companies also have levels of achievement based on volume. The rush to hold the crown (often the levels are named after precious gems) and gain status by being part of the stage parade at these higher leadership levels, propels many to overspend, thus losing sight of the need to build a business that will generate sustainable income.

I once heard a top distributor speaking  to a large crowd in a training session suggesting that when you are asked, “How much money are YOU making?”…you should simply reply, “You wouldn’t believe it.” The crowd laughed… knowingly.

WE ARE IN CRISIS NOW

The timing to make a consciousness shift in network marketing  is critical and addressing this issue is part of the shift. This industry provides a legitimate option to survive and thrive in the current economic crisis. In case you are still buying into the “song and dance routine” that we are just experiencing a little market blip and will soon hit bottom and rebound, you need to look at the numbers.

THE NUMBERS SUGGEST A LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY

Here are some interesting global facts. Credit default swaps now total 683 trillion while real global production is 63 trillion of global GDP -  (The New Financiers by Hazel Henderson) . A complete financial system redesign is necessary to find our way out of this crisis. Network marketing could be a player in that redesign, if we are ready to revolutionalize this outdated six decade-old model and be honest about what you can expect from doing business in this way.

IS THERE MONEY TO BE MADE?

The network marketing model is one way to  financial security. Unfortunately, security is not achieved when one is living the lifestyle before the money is earned. And that is the culture the industry has perpetuated, believing that flaunting the outer trappings of success will attract more participants. Some people do make very serious money in network marketing. Many make very good incomes and manage that money well. And many more, find great satisfaction aside from the money…through relationships and association with like-minded people.

WHAT IS THE REALITY?

• What if you could replace your current income and gain the freedom of owning your own business…would that be worthy of your time?

• What if you could pay down your debt with a few additional hundred dollars per month...would that be worthy of your time?

• What if you had an additional $1,000.00 per month from your part-time network marketing business? And what if you invested it in other sources of residual income, diversifying and creating sustainable personal wealth …or perhaps even took a vacation?…would that be worthy of your time?

• What if you were part of a company that connected you with like-minded people from around the world…would that be worthy of your time?

It’s about impact and global contribution. It’s about transparency, honesty, sustainability and contribution…the money will follow truth and passion for service.

Let’s give the facts about money, be fiscally responsible, focus on building customer-based residual incomes and promote the intrinsic values being in this business holds for everyone.

Let’s be honest.

Let’s be transparent.

Let’s use an approach to marketing that is about real abundance.

Let’s use Social, Relationship and Environmental Marketing to attract people to the industry using personalized, reasonable expectations of success.

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG

contact: attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com
Organizational Behaviour Consultant
Network Marketing Consultant and Trainer
author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.wellnaturallyinternational.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

network marketing: global trends

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!

This should be the shortest post I have ever written…of course you have to sell…end of story!

Sadly, I have heard this “pitch” all too often. “Join our company. It is great. You don’t have to sell anything. Because we know how much people hate selling, we have set it up so you won’t have to sell a thing.”

First of all…anyone making this statement is rather foolish if they haven’t figured out that what they are doing is trying to SELL you on the idea that you can make money by just sitting around…and uh… watching the grass grow… I guess.

If you did sign up, it is unfortunate they did not realize what great sales people they are!

YOU ARE ALREADY SELLING EVERY DAY…

If you are employed, you sold yourself to an employer.

If you are married or dating, you have sold yourself to another person.

If you want your children to clean their rooms or to do their homework, you are selling your values.

If you  have an idea for a new system at work, you are selling your colleagues or bosses on your creativity.

If you are avoiding network marketing because you do not like to sell, you need to realize we are all selling something each and every day.

BUT IT DIDN’T FEEL LIKE SELLING WHEN I MET MY SPOUSE…ETC

Therein lies the key point. There are different kinds of selling. A very outdated mode of sales is what most commonly comes to mind when people think about sales. It was a form of selling (badgering) someone to purchase something they really did not want and they only bought to get rid of you. It was about making your friends and family feel sorry for you… so they bought…but they wished they didn’t have to.

That is not what true selling is about.

It is about meeting a need….creating a relationship…respecting the customer…so that the customer chooses to buy. Truly great sales people are the ones who tell you, if they cannot provide what you need,and then they suggest where you can go to perhaps find what you are looking for.

Does helping people meet their needs appeal to you?

Does sharing a great idea appeal to you?

Does seeing someone improve an area of their life appeal to you?

Does making someone happy, appeal to you?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you ought to consider selling!

IT SHOULD BE CALLED RELATIONSHIP MARKETING.

If someone in a network marketing company is telling you all you have to do is sign up and get other people to sign up and use their products… and that no one ever has to sell anything, you can be guaranteed that company will soon be receiving letters from the government regulatory agents asking them to provide proof that their distributors have met the legislative requirements to have at least 5 customers per month.
Sadly, the list of companies who have bit the dust because they tried to create a company without customers is very long…and they are very closely aligned with Ponzi schemes.

The sooner we understand there is not a quick and easy route to riches, the happier and more successful we will be!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a Mindshift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultantauthor: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.theconsciouscorporation.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

enlightened orgs: inspiration

VANCOUVER CLUCKS!

Chickens in your back yard?…what do you think?

This “Monday” blog is written to honor what we believe are enlightened organizations and communities, and is normally posted on Monday, but our Monday posting has been delayed in hopes of results on a great story coming out of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Unfortunately, the  City Council will not vote until tonight on a resolution that will determine what you, if you live in Vancouver, can have clucking in your back yard. So I felt I could be late no longer. Lets talk about it and on Wednesday, I will give you the results of their vote.

IN A NATION OF FOOD BANKS – WE ARE JUST BEGINNING TO GET IT…

When you take away the ability of a people to feed themselves, you have total control over their lives.

How many young people today could last for a few weeks or even days, without money or the availability of a supermarket or a fast food chain to feed themselves? Do they even know where chickens come from? My mother did. As a young girl, she recalls having unexpected company arrive which meant the older children (aged 8 and up) were sent out to the back yard to chase down a chicken, chop its head off, pluck it, and bring it in to add to the soup which could then feed whoever showed up. My mother also remembers never being hungry during the “dirty 30’s” or the depression.

Today, the City Council in Vancouver will be vote to determine whether you have the right to have a few chickens in your back yard.
HAVE YOU EVER EATEN RANGE-FED CHICKENS?

Most urban dwellers, unless they buy organic, do not even know what a chicken really tastes like. But I recall the incredible aroma from my grandmothers kitchen as a plump chicken roasted in the oven or simmered in a pot with fresh dill to be ladled over home-made noodles. What she was embarrassed to serve as peasant food, is now a gourmet delight after huge multinational food companies have  deadened our taste buds, training us to expect instead, the taste of chemicals and processed foods. The crowning achievement of that lowly chicken was the soup made with chickens feet, now thought to have medicinal properties. But that was something my grandmother already knew from folklore and experience, without a double -blind study, and she served it to each and every ill child, grandchild or great grandchild.

AROUND THE WORLD

In most countries, feeding yourself with whatever you can raise to survive is considered common sense. My nephew, born and raised in Egypt, talks of how his family raised pigeons for food on the rooftop of their home…he cannot understand why we would have these huge lots in the city of Calgary, Alberta, and not be using them to raise food to feed yourself.

MANICURED LAWNS

So when did the idea of beautiful, manicured lawns overtake the sensibility of using your land to generate food? Whatever purpose do these lawns serve? In our current, and lets face it  future economy,will we be able to let go of the Hollywood notion of an artificial life where someone else takes care of us? Will we get closer to the land and do that which is necessary to sustain ourselves?

It is not the evenly cut lawn, or the garage with 3 cars that will fill our bellies.

VOTE WITH YOUR COMMON SENSE, VANCOUVER!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a Mindshift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant

author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about:  www.theconsciouscorporation.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

enlightened orgs: inspiration

IS THE WORD -VALUES-AN OXYMORON IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY?

VANCITY IS PROOF POSITIVE -IT IS NOT

VanCity, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is in its sixth decade of operation, offering a form of social and spiritual capitalism that proves doing business in alignment with high values and integrity can also be profitable.

This unique blend of more than-a-credit-union and more than-a-bank, is a breath of fresh air in the midst of the tornadeo of devastation wrecked by banking institutions whose operating philosophies are more of a testament to the capitalistic prophecies born out of the ancient Greek myth of Erisychthon.

NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE MYTH?…

THE ERISYCHTHON EFFECT

OVID tells a tale of a wealthy timber merchant, Erischython, who lusts after a majestic sacred oak tree in the forest. He sees in the revered tree, only the dollars he can make by the sale of its timber. When he fells the tree, he is cursed by the gods of the tree with an insatiable hunger causing him to consume and destroy everything around him, including his wife, children …and ultimately, himself.

IN A FINANCIAL WORLD OF ‘ERISCHTHONS’ – VANCITY IS THE EXCEPTION

VanCity’s values are clearly stated on the Who Are We page of their website:

What we believe

We believe in the essential goodness of people.
We believe that dreamers are as unique as their dreams.
We believe that to rise higher, you must dig deeper.
We believe that balance in all things is the true measure of prosperity.
Wherever you are,
Whatever it is,
We believe you can.
Things grow here

THINGS GROW HERE…
When ‘who we are’ meets ‘what we believe’, things grow here. It’s the result when a rooted and reaching organization believes that all things are possible. And it is the central purpose across all our departments, branches and levels. To grow things — people, ideas, hope, finances, neighbourhoods and, of course, the dreams of our members.
– VanCity -  Who We Are

2004 VOTED BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR IN CANADA

VanCity embraces customers who have been marginalized by traditional banks and make profits doing it. Here is just a short list of some of their accomplishments as “Firsts” in the nation. First financial institution to…

• Provide loans to women without the need for a male co-signer

• Include the lesbian and gay community through mainstream media advertisements

• Offer daily interest savings accounts and open mortgages

•Offer interactive home banking, wireless terminals, centralized banking by phone, an international ATM network and the first 24/7 branchless bank (Citizens Bank)

• Provide a socially responsible mutual fund – An EnviroFund VISA and low-interest loans for hybrid cars

• A three-year commitment to reduce vehicle trips to UBC (University of British Columbia)and SFU(Simon Fraser University) by sponsoring the student U-Pass program for transit access on buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus

• The highest employee participation rate (our fifth year in a row) in the Commuter Challenge, an annual transportation event to raise awareness of reducing car emissions

• Clean air loans and financing for energy-efficient home renovations

• Achievements in energy efficiency certified by BC Hydro’s Power Smart program

• A focus on building “extreme green” branches that maximize energy efficiency and minimize their environmental footprint

“we are reaching
As the trunk of the tree
stands firm, individual
branches and leaves
stretch beyond their
immediate place, upwards,
outwards, into territory
infinite and unknown.”

I think this VanCity tree has rewritten the Erischython myth!

In 2004, employees actually wrote the VanCity Story…read more…

The VanCity Story – Things Grow Here

VanCitys Goals:

1. To be Beyond a Bank, Beyond a Credit Union

2.To Value the Exceptions

3.To Be There at the Intersections

4. To Be Both a Neighbour and a Damn Good Banker

5. To Lead a Language Revolution

6.To Always Believe You Can

At VanCity they coined the phrase …Yes, You Can! We are thrilled to include this company in our directory of Enlightened Orgs!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a Mindshift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant

author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about:  www.theconsciouscorporation.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

strategic planning: innovation: management:success

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: SOME GOOD & SOME NOT SO GOOD

It is the nature of human decision making that no matter what course of considered action, there generally are some resulting unintended (and generally unforeseen) consequences. You don’t have to search to far for many examples that permeate our society.

For instance who could have foreseen the chain of events a few years ago from Don Imus making his insensitive remarks on the air…………. to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine being badly injured in a car crash while on the way to hear Mr. Imus apologize to the Rutgers Women’s basketball team?

“You cannot always predict the results of purposeful action. Life is frequently too complicated and unpredictable, the universe too random, to bend to the will of any individual or group of individuals.”- Steven Gillion

EXAMPLES OF NEGATIVE & POSITIVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

The discussion of unintended consequences (UC) generally falls into two major categories:

• Negative or perverse effect: This result gets the most attention since it is sometimes the most painful and dramatic. Examples include:

• The introduction of rabbits to Australia for hunting and which lead to a virtual epidemic of uncontrolled population growth for the frisky fur balls.

• Another example is the 1980’s luxury tax on expensive yacht’s that was intended to garner additional tax revenues from the wealthy. Instead the act almost decimated the US boating industry. Apparently no one in congress imagined that the rich could simply buy and keep their boats abroad.

• Positive unexpected benefit: Not all unintended consequences are bad. In his book, That’s Not What We Meant To Do,  Steven Gillion gives two UC’s that changed the world for the better:

• In the 1920’s Sir Alexander Fleming grew bacteria in a culture dish near an open window. This allowed mold spores to interfere with his experiment by killing the bacteria and launched the miracle of antibiotics.

• The GI Bill after WWII was intended to ease the transition of soldiers into a peacetime economy avoiding the difficulties that occurred after WWI. However, the Bill provisions for educational subsidies along with mortgage assistance enabled a whole generation to become the educated and skilled workforce that launched decades of prosperity. We are still reaping the rewards from this historic social policy.

The specter of unintended consequences is not meant to scare one from making a decision but to keep us all humble and remind us that UC’s will almost certainly occur. That is part of the decision making process. Live with it!

However, we should strive to explore and think through some possible UC’s before we decide. This way we might be better prepared to anticipate and to deal with them. We can also monitor more closely the impact of our decisions to spot UC’s as they begin to develop to enhance the positive UC’s and to mitigate the negative ones.

“Unintended consequences outnumber intended consequences ………… Certainty is a illusion.” – Tom Peters

Greg Pashke , CMC is  President of Pashke Consulting and provides business mentoring, strategic and tactical planning, and financial modeling services. Greg is a big proponent of The One Page Plan approach to managing the day to day performance of an organization. He is committed to continuous learning and skill development. Greg’s mantra is “to get a lot done & have a lot of fun”.
Website: http://www.pashkeconsulting.com/

enlightened orgs: inspiration

ALBERTA’S WINDIEST CITY

That seemingly constant, gusting wind I cursed when I lived in Grande Prairie, Alberta, had a different look and feel for Drennen and Jamie Hallett. It was the whiff of opportunity.

The Hallett’s, owners of Golden Sheep Power, officially opened their doors for business in Grande Prairie on February 1, 2009. They will be the first company in Alberta to offer home-owners a chance to get off the grid by using home-based wind turbines and solar panels.

A NEW WIND IS BLOWING

Their timing could not be better. The provincial government just passed regulations to allow for micro-generation in Alberta. And the City of Grande Prairie, a city that has seen explosive growth in the past 5 years due to oil and gas exploration, has shown its openness to explore other sources of energy by allowing the Halletts to set up a pilot project to demonstrate and test the home-based units.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE PILOT IS SUCCESSFUL?

The main concern with wind turbines is noise, or the perception of noise.

The City of Grande Prairie have agreed to test a home-based unit and, if it is not too noisy, the City will change its bylaws to allow individual home-owners a choice for energy production – stay on the grid, or employ a home-based wind or solar unit to fully meet or supplement your requirements.

The pilot turbine is being erected in the centre of the city at the Fire Hall. It will not be set up to generate energy, but to gauge public reaction. The Hallet’s say the noise level of 15 to 30 decibels when it is running at its peak is equivalent to a whisper. Following the six month pilot, a survey will be conducted to get public reaction.

AN ALBERTA FIRST

If all goes well, that would make Grande Prairie the first city in Alberta to change its bylaws to allow for home-based generation. Only the tiny southern Alberta town of Cardston currently has bylaws to allow for wind turbines for residential use.

The Halletts have previous experience with micro-generation in Ontario where it has been approved by government for a few years. They believe homeowners will recover their installation costs (between $11,000 – $30,000.00 CDN) within 3-5 years. Most households, they say, will be able to produce enough energy for their needs. If a household uses more energy, they will just draw the additional from the grid.

The purpose of the Monday Enlightened Orgs Best Practices post is to draw attention to companies that are doing the right things – and doing them well. They become listed in our directory as Enlightened Orgs.

Today we recognize, not only Golden Sheep Power for taking the initiative and risk to become the first company in Alberta to offer residential micro-generation options, but we also take our hats off to the Mayor and Council of the City of Grande Prairie for their willingness to be…the FIRST!

We will keep you posted on the outcomes of this pilot project.

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a MindShift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant
author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.CorporateMindShift.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

enlightened orgs: inspiration

A NEW BLACK GOLD

In the debt-free province of Alberta, where the black gold that first gushed from the ground in the 1950’s, has resulted in a Heritage Trust fund worth of billions of dollars being set aside for a “rainy day” – getting anyone to think about alternative energy sources is not an easy sell. But two framers from the tiny farming community of Vegreville have risen to the challenge.

Their innovation to create Biogas from cattle manure seems a perfect fit for a province that has ranching as it second largest industry. It is also timely for a province aware of the implications of the depleting sources of non-renewable oil and gas, and the challenges of a reliance on an industry with a Boom/Bust economic cycle.

“Inventing a new technology is a pure Alberta story… a great example that building a knowledge economy can happen on the farm, not just in ivory towers” – Evan Chapko, CEO, Highmark Renewables (Edmonton Journal, 02/08/09)

FROM POOP TO PROFIT…Alberta’s new Black Gold…

ALBERTA’S FIRST GREEN ENERGY MEGA-PROJECT

Shane and Evan Chrapko are taking the cattle manure from a 30,000 cow feedlot, owned by partners Mike and Bert Kotelko, and turning it into Biogas, something their company Highmark Renewables, markets as “renewable natural gas.”

They have just tapped into what is probably Alberta’s most abundant and renewable resource…cattle poop.

The greenist electrical generating plant in the province is now producing one megawatt of power which is enough to meet the electrical demand of the feedlot and 700 homes in the tiny communities of Vegreville and Two Hills. When the construction on this plant is completed, it will also produce ethanol to be added to gasoline without the current problem of having to take away from farmland to produce ethanol from crops like corn. Together, with the help of Xiaomei Li, a scientist from China, they have developed more than 40 recipes for turning waste, including slaughter house waste and municipal sewage, into biogas. Patents are pending.

Their motto: “Where there is waste…there is opportunity.”
Chrapko calls it a “virtuous loop – producing power, cattle feed, fuel and fertilizer .”

The goal is to have a string of plants across the prairies at sites where manure is plentiful. When you consider each cow produces the manure equivalent of six humans, the idea of continuing to spread this volume of waste and its resultant methane gas, over the land forever, without negative consequences, is to ignore a looming environmental problem.

Travis Nickel who heads up the company, Growing Power, responsible for the electrical side of this innovation, sees a time when every feedlot in the country will have such a plant to provide fuel for nearby towns and will deliver ethanol to the big refineries for production of gasoline.

Shane and Evan Chrapko are no strangers to successful ventures. They launched, built and sold The DocSpace Company for 811 Million (538 Million USD) in just 30 months from inception to final sale. Both are graduates of the University of Alberta. Shane is the recipient of the rare Early Career Achievement award awarded to one graduate from a pool of 100,00, who has achieved remarkable success in business within ten years of graduation.

ANOTHER LOCAL, HOME-GROWN SOLUTION…a company to watch in the future!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a Mindshift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant
author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

enlightened orgs: kiva

NOT JUST CONTRIBUTING, BUT CONNECTING

Introducing Kiva.org, a Web 2.0 company focused on connecting generous contribution with the creative potential of those living in poverty. Kiva’s mission is simple: “to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” I had the pleasure of listening to Co-Founder Jessica Flannery speak this past weekend at Jubilee in Pittsburgh. Her speech offered two valuable insights:

1) A glimpse of hope - the poor of the world have the talent and creativity to become self sustaining…all they need is a boost in the form of capital
2) Advice – on how to realize the dream of any company, Kiva’s Story has something to offer to all of us.

FROM $14,000 TO OVER $60,000,000 IN LOANS

Kiva has its roots in the same soil as many other non-profit and charitable organizations…a person or people have a dream to make a difference.  Basically, one small loan to a Ugandan start up blossomed into this immense global network of micro-financers.  Read more about how Kiva works here.

SUCCESS IN ANY BUSINESS

Co-Founder Jessica Flannery is a very passionate person whose enthusiasm has aided in the growth of Kiva over the past few years. But enthusiasm was not the only way Kiva has come to be where it is.  Check out this Poptech interview with Jessica Flannery and you will see what I mean.

Can’t see it? Get FlashPlayer, or view at Poptech.

ENLIGHTENED ORGS BUSINESS PRACTICES

• JUST START – You may never have perfect information, just start! When you make mistakes, look to Jessica’s next piece of advice
• ITERATE – Learn as you go and be prepared to do another version…another iteration. Don’t view mistakes as failures, view them as opportunities to create the next iteration.  Every step is an iteration rather than a failure and retry.
• “CO – CREATION” of content – Kiva.org is filled entrepreneurs stories, loaner stories, and new logos created by the kiva.org loaner groups.  The site is not just owned by organization but by everyone.
• BRAND OPENNESS – People have created Kivapedia’s, Kiva Video Channels, even an office on Second Life. Kiva lets anyone to re-create the brand in a new way. By allowing everyone to have creative control over the brand, so much more has been created than originally concieved.
  
  
  The power of creativity isn’t necessarily within the organization, but through the new and fresh eyes of others.
• KNOW YOUR MISSION – Jessica mentioned in her speech at Jubilee, Kiva had an offer of $10 million dollars from a large company, but they didn’t want to follow through with the connection. Kiva is not only about the financing, it is about bringing people all over the world together and gain vested interest in each other….Kiva turned down the $10 million.

KIVA.ORG – “THE WORLD’S FIRST PEER TO PEER MICROLENDING WEBSITE” - CHECK IT OUT!

Along with a receiving a BS in Marketing at the University of Pittsburgh, Nick enjoys spending time with service and Christian organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, an organization focused on themes of learning, creating, building and serving. Does anyone want to start a community on kiva?

Work Hard, Take it Easy

Nick Corsi