Bringing Creativity and Intelligence Together

There is a tasty bit of rumor going around concerning the unrest in the Middle East.

According to the Febraury 23 broadcast of the CBC radio program   ’As It Happens’, online copies of Gene Sharp’s online book, From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation ( in Arabic translation ), has been floating around the Middle East for the past few years.

Some people would say that the tactics used by demonstrators across the region bear similar resemblances to similar uprisings in Eastern Europe: they occupy symbolic locations of their respective cities; they establish tent villages; and they refuse to leave until they achieved their principal goal — toppling the dictator. And, perhaps most importantly, they avoid violence, even when provoked.

This idea  that these demonstrations are, in fact, the result of an organized plan following a concrete and proven strategy is a perspective that has not been front and center in the news media.  Perhaps this is a case of the image being taken as truth.  Chaos is taken to be spontaneous disorganization when what we are seeing is, in fact, it is the intentioned result of a specific strategy planned over the space of years.

From Dictatorship to Democracy: a Conceptual Framework for Liberation was initally published  in 1993 in the Khit Pyaning (The New Age Journal) the request of exiled Burmese dissient U Ting Maung Win, but because Sharp didn’t have a background on the political situaton in Burma, he wrote a general prescription that identified weaknesses of dictatorships in general.  Since that time, that essay has been revised and simplified into a  final work that is less than 100 pages.  It condenses the collective experiences of 40 years of struggle against dictatorship into a practical manual of action.  The brevity and simplicity of this book has enabled it to be translated into over 25 languages and distributed widely via the Internet.

The thesis of this book itself is quite simple: how does one overthrow a dictatorship?

After exploring and rejecting the options of armed opposition, guerilla warfare and intervention by foreign powers, Sharp goes on to explain a dictatorship in terms of the Chinese parable of the Monkey Master:

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Just finished working with members of the Provincial (Alberta) Health Ethics Network to promote the importance of their organization to the delivery of quality health care in Alberta.  At the beginning of March, the Alberta Government was set to pull its funding and close its doors effective April 1, 2010.

Due to the work that I and others did to promote PHEN,  the Ministry of Health and Wellness has agreed to provide PHEN with funding to continue operations for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

The Provincial Health Ethic Network (PHEN) is a group of trained ethicists who provide advice on ethical issues to health professionals, government and the general public.  Given that science is giving us increasing powers over the health, quality of life and the longevity of an individual, while at the same time challenging us with an aging population, the question of ethics has never been more important.

In late February 2010, I was approached by a PHEN member who was determined not to let this organization, of which he was one of the founders, go down without a fight.  We met and mapped out a strategy to get PHEN membership engaged in saving their beloved organization.

There were two thrusts to this strategy: a communication strategy pointing out to Alberta Health decision makers the value of PHEN to Alberta’s health professionals, and an emotional appeal to PHEN members, all of whom have contributed, to a greater or lesser degree, to PHEN’s reputation as an internationally recognized ethical resource.

Running a political campaign is one of the most challenging and exhausting activities possible.  Running a typical campaign will mean 12+ hour long work days for several months.

While nothing can eliminate the stress of the countdown to Election Day, the proper organization of a political campaign can avoid some unnecessary challenges.

Politics and elections have entered other aspects of our lives, from corporate governance to promoting issues at our local school boards

I have run as a candidate in 2 Canadian Federal Elections and 3 provincial elctions which has given me an intimate understanding of how to put together a strong campaign team and plan for success.

As a civic, provincial and federal organizer for one of Canada’s newest political parties, I have a strong grasp of election guidelines for candidates and experience in planning and executing regional political campaigns.

Need some advice?  Ask me here!

Part of any business plan and vision is how a company or an individual presents itself on the web.  While the tools for doing so have changed over time, the need for clear, concise and attention-getting presentation has not.

Whether you are considering building your very first website or looking to have your existing website re-designed, I have the expertise to create your online presence effectively and affordably.

Contact me here!

Embracing Change is about Managing Change.

The world is changing so quickly that it is often difficult for organizations to succeed without a business plan that is reviewed on a regular basis and a strategic plan that acts as a roadmap to attaining your goals.

Despite the great diversity of businesses I have worked with over the last 5 years, the fundamentals of business planning have always remained constant.  They are the key to your success.

I offer my expertise to help you succeed in business in three steps:

Step 1: Write or update your current business plan.

Step 2: Create a strategic plan to meet the goals of your business plan.

Step 3: Present your plan to raise capital from financial institutions (loans) or venture capitalists (equity).

A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. They lay out, in broad terms, the vision for the organization and what it is they want to accomplish.

Through a process of active listening and discussion, we will develop a business plan that is best suited to your industry and developed into the format best suited to your purpose:

The Elevator Pitch: a three minute oral or written summary of the business plan. This is often used as a teaser to awaken the interest of potential funders, customers, or strategic partners.

The Formal Presentation: a slide show and oral narrative that will trigger discussion and interest potential investors in reading the written presentation. The content of the presentation is usually limited to the executive summary and a few key graphs showing financial trends and key decision making benchmarks. If a new product is being proposed and time permits, a demonstration of the product may also be included.

The Written Business Plan: a detailed, well written, and pleasingly formatted plan targeted at external stakeholders for the purpose of securing financing, raising venture capital or convincing potential customers to utilize your products and services.

Go to Step 2

A business plan identifies the opportunity and goal for the venture, a strategic plan lays out the specific path: time, money, and actions that need to happen to make the goals of your business plan a reality.

Set SMART Objectives: by creating specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound objectives, you will take the largest goals and break them down into quarterly, weekly and even daily activities. Ideal objectives will give you a regular ‘to-do’ list that will inevitably move you toward success.

Prioritize Your Objectives: once your objectives have been set, you need to identify which objectives will take priority to give you the maximum return on your investment of time. Make no mistake: bringing an enterprise to a profitable position is, by necessity, a time-limited proposition.

Create Your Plan: place your objectives into quarterly, monthly and weekly plans that involve regular reports and feedback from the key members of your management team. By following your plan, you gain an immediate reality check on your plan, goals and objectives.

Go to Step 3

Very few start-ups are profitable in their first two years. A well written business plan and a clear strategic plan are the machine that will make you successful. Money is the fuel to get things moving.

Calculate Burn Rate: by calculating how quickly a start-up business will use up its cash reserves, you can determine how much financing you need to get to a profitable financial position.

Develop a Financing Strategy: once you determine your requirements for financing your business to the point of profitability, you need to determine the mix of finacing: self-sourced, loans and venture capital. This mix is dependent upon the kind of business you are doing.

Develop an Equity Offer: Venture capitalists want to know what they are buying into and what percentage of return they will receive on their investment. Knowing how to make this offer attractive to venture capitalists is the key to financing success.