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Talking Technology Thanks to a last minute change in my schedule and for the graciousness of Sheila Troiano, executive assistant to Kelowna Chamber of Commerce CEO Bonnie Bates Gibbs, I managed to obtain a ticket to the Business Excellence Awards last Thursday night. I wanted to share with you a key highlight. Before doing so, thank you to the Business Development Bank of Canada , the Kelowna Chamber and Petraroia Langford Edwards & Rush, co-sponsors of this event, as well as to the category sponsors. This event would not have been possible without your sponsorship and willingness to showcase excellence in our business community. As a business owner, attending the business excellence awards ensures that you will come away with a renewed commitment to make your own business even better. As the nominees and recipients were announced, I was thinking all night of the hidden benefits to showcasing entrepreneurial excellence in our community. One of these key benefits is inspiration. If you are involved in a business of any type, whether owner or team member, you should be inspired by these entrepreneurs and their drive for innovation and excellence. I was thinking of what an honour it must be for all of the nominees, finalists and recipients to be included in a group of their outstanding peers. I am thankful that I am not a judge as I really cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to make choices between these top notch businesses. I readily admit that I am an evaluation junkie. I think it is because I am usually never asked to find what is right in a company but rather to help them fix what requires improvement. I am always evaluating and reevaluating everything, looking for ways to improve upon what is in place, striving for that next step that will make a business better. I must admit, as I listened intently to the businesses being showcased at the excellence awards, I couldn't help myself. I was listening for that one thing that sets their business apart, that helps them differentiate themselves in their marketplace. Frankly, there is nothing more humbling than comparing your business to someone else's to provide you with a strong dose of entrepreneurial reality—we all have room for improvement! Maybe it was because of this comparison that I was impressed with my conversation with Tammy Moore, CEO of Madhouse Creative Inc. I asked Tammy what made being the award recipient in the one to five employees category so special to her. “I think that being nominated by one of our clients, Pacific Safety Products Inc., is such an honour,” she replied. “We have partnered with Pacific Safety to help them deliver a number of creative programs with very tight timelines. “Being nominated by a key client of ours, not just because of our creativity, but because we deliver on our promises is very rewarding.” I could sense how proud Tammy Moore and Scott Davis are of their Madhouse team. As I spoke with Tammy, I wondered about how many of businesses out there have experienced such accolades from their customers/clients. Shouldn't we all strive for such excellence in our business? In fact, if you were to read all of the books out there on delivering professional services, they all have a recurring theme. They clearly say that in delivering services of any kind that the greatest honour that you could receive is the referral of your business to another business by one of your customers/clients. However, after speaking with Tammy and attending these awards, I beg to differ. I think that the absolute highest honour, the pinnacle of professionalism, is for your customers/clients to step out in front of the entire business community and publicly declare that your business deserves the highest possible award for business excellence. No matter what your business, I am sure that we all would love it if our customers/clients spoke so highly of us. Well, here is a quick place to start. Why not simply take the time to ask your top three customers/clients what they really think of your business? I have found that there are two very simple questions that if you start asking your customers/clients could help you uncover what you are doing well and what you need to immediately change: 1.What do we really do well that you wouldn't want us to change? 2. If you were the CEO of my company and you could only change one thing that would help us deliver more value to you/your business, what would it be? Do you know what your customers/clients think? The success of your business begins and ends with them. Take the time to find out what they really think. Steve Burns is the president and CEO of Burns Innovation Group Inc. and Steve Burns Inc. Chartered Accountant, which provides consulting and accounting services to entrepreneurs. You can reach Steve at 763-4716 or via e-mail at : |
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