Is success simply a matter of money and talent? Or is there another reason why some people and organizations always land on their feet, while others, equally talented, stumble again and again?

There’s a fundamental principal at work – confidence – that makes the difference between winning and losing in any competition, be it a high school football game or a high-stakes business situation.

What causes us to rise or to fall is often a matter of confidence

Personally, my confidence grows from knowing my strengths (and weaknesses) and working relentlessly to improve them, investing time in other people, and achieving small victories by tackling challenges with a positive outlook.

David Brinkley noted that: “A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.” I’ve always viewed both anger and blame as extremely unproductive emotions likely to make any bad situation worse. When things are up, it feels as if they will always be up.  People come to believe they can succeed at anything they try; companies propose grand visions of innovation and investments are easier to attract. When things are down, it seems as if they will always be down. That’s how depressed people feel; that’s why recession-dominated economies find recovery elusive; that’s why teams or businesses stay in slumps. It’s a vicious and erosive cycle.  What causes us to rise or to fall is often a matter of confidence.

People rise to the occasion when they have the confidence to do it!

When supported by a firm foundation, people can indeed keep moving on a positive path, heading from victory to victory. When people can rely on themselves and one another to be accountable, to collaborate, and to take initiative, they can perform extraordinary feats. These lessons are relevant for leading teams, businesses, countries, and life.

Success is neither magic nor dumb luck; it stems from a great deal of consistent hard work to perfect each detail.

From something as simple as playing recreational sports to the most complicated business and life situations, the common element is a basic truth about people: People rise to the occasion when they have the confidence to do it! Confidence is a source of resilience to overcome adversity, to choose to work hard to solve problems. Confidence encourages the hard work that makes victory possible. When you achieve your next small win, go back to work, and win again! Next time you doubt yourself, be confident, and realize that life can only go in one direction, forward.

This story is about the little things an individual can do to create an everlasting impression on someone.  As I grow older, and look back, I realize more and more, that those “little things” were indeed big things.

When I was young..

He told me, life isn’t easy. You have to work hard if you want to make an impact. He worked steady midnights, 7 days a week for over 20 years. Never heard him complain. He taught me integrity and what it takes to be a good man. How to put the needs of others before your own. Even if it was cold & rainy outside, the stadium empty, he never missed any of my games. Every morning before I went to school, he would make breakfast for the both of us.

Those were some of the thoughts flashing through my head when my dad was about to go under the knife.  My sister and I had spent almost the entire month prior on WebMD, exhaustively studying, researching and learning everything we could about his pancreatic condition. I’m sure many others would, or have done the same.  He had been in the hospital for almost 8 months now (admitted 1 month after he had retired).  I remember vividly sitting in the pre-op unit with him, my mom and the surgeon (Dr. Liu), talking about the uncertainty of the procedure. Having no medical background whatsoever, I remember asking Dr. Liu if we could try removing the infected abscess percutaneously? I knew it was much less invasive, but with a lower success rate. He agreed to try the procedure.  After another 3 months went by, for the first time in almost a year, his condition actually started improving.

After being told by two separate surgeons on two different occasions that it’s unlikely that he’ll make it, over 20 blood transfusions, 50 PICC insertions, 4 different hospitals .. thankfully, he recovered.

The point of this story is not about what he endured, but rather what I learned from him during his ordeal. It isn’t the big pleasures that count the most in life; it’s making a great deal out of the little ones.

I think we have to appreciate that we’re alive for only a limited period of time, and we’ll spend most of our lives working. That being the case, I believe one of the most important priorities is to do whatever we do as well as we possibly can. We should take pride in that.  Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that in my opinion, is true strength.

So, as I sit here fired up with enthusiasm, working toward my passions and trying to build something great, regardless how the chips may fall or the problems I may face down the road, I will always remember what I learned from my dad, and enjoy the little things in life.

If Paul Revere was still alive today, he would ride up on his horse and yell, “The Boomers are leaving, the Boomers are leaving.” Is anyone really listening? Is there any real need to?  Absolutely!
The statistics are clear. As reported by Natasha Tiku in Inc. magazine, “Over the next two decades, in the US alone, close to 80 million Baby Boomers will turn 65, the traditional retirement age.” Wait, just in case you missed my last point, let me repeat that number, 80 MILLION. That’s going to create a talent shortage, particularly in industries such as healthcare, education, engineering, and financial services. “In 2005, workers over 55 represented 16 percent of the workforce; by 2020 that number will rise to almost 28 percent.”

Seriously, Why Should We Care?

The slowdown in the supply of labor that employers have begun to encounter has led them to worry.  It will become significantly harder to hire replacements for baby-boomers as more of them reach the retirement phase of their lives during the coming decade. The ebbing of labor force growth could present more of a difficulty for some firms than others, depending on the age composition of their current workforces. Mature industries (e.g., steelmakers, utilities) in contrast with emerging industries (e.g., biotechnology, eCommerce) did much of their hiring many years ago; hence, baby-boomers probably comprise a larger share of the workforces of mature than emerging industries.

Some 24 of the 51 baby-boom dependent industries employed a significantly above-average share of baby-boomers since 2005.  Although half of the 24 industries are in manufacturing, baby-boom dependent industries span the economy from several industries including the goods-producing sector (i.e. mining, forestry, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, etc.) to the service producing sector (i.e. utilities, transportation, insurance, real estate, educational and health care services, etc.).

What About The Leadership Gap?

Most companies do not have large staffs dedicated to developing their companies’ next leaders. So for them, best practice is irrelevant, but developing their next generation of leaders is not.

Has your company identified high potentials to groom as the next generation of leaders? What are the key leadership competencies that future leaders will need to succeed?  Companies are struggling with the pending retirement of many of their leaders during the next five to 10 years and trying to determine from where their next generation of leaders will come. As an example, at one mid-sized utility company, the general manager of power generation (the largest group within the company) said that nine of the 11 top people in his business unit were eligible to retire in the next five years, and he had no idea where to find their replacements. When asked what the company had done to develop replacements for these key people, he replied: “I sent one guy to a week-long program at [a well-known training vendor]. It cost a small fortune, and it didn’t change a thing!”

The basic question is not, “Should the company invest in a leadership development program?” but rather, “Can the company afford not to invest in developing the next generation of its leaders?”

Back to The Midnight Ride

So, let’s go back to Paul Revere.  What would have happened on the night of April 18, 1775 during his “midnight ride” if no one listened? Only time will truly tell just what impact baby boomers’ retirements will have on this country’s workforce and economy. Steps can, and should, be taken now to soften whatever workplace blow is likely to fall.

According to this Techvibes article, “Companies need more people than are graduating and enrolling. Trends indiciate demand will rise while supply remains stagnant. And this sort of problem isn’t just about a lagging sector; it could signal damage to our entire country’s productivity and innovation.”  My passion, mission and business, WhyHire.me is dedicated to working at the grassroots level with college/universities and employers to prepare the next generation of future leaders.  Every profession has a responsibility to grow the next generation.

If you’re interested in sharing your thoughts on this topic or connecting, leave a comment below or join my discussions on twitter: @robert_saric

“Whatever it took to succeed .. I was willing to do it” ~Arnold Schwarzenegger

Throughout his life, Arnold Schwarzenegger had built his career by reinventing himself – from bodybuilder, to Hollywood superstar, to entrepreneur, to running the state of California. Arnold has shown the world that there is no height of success out of his reach. Arnold became a “prolific goal setter” and approached every objective in his life the same way – with relentless determination.  From the very outset, failure had never been an option for Arnold.

I have always loved walking into a room and meeting a person who has that defining “winning mentality” about them. It’s contagious. They are the ones who put 100% of their energy on seeing a goal towards completion, regardless of the pain they might have to endure to get there.

During a keynote presentation that Arnold made at the Speakers Forum in Toronto last month, he shared 12 rules that made up his personal blueprint to success.  I thought it would be worth sharing.

12 Rules to Success from Arnold Schwarzenegger

1. Trust yourself.  (go with your gut and believe in yourself)
2. Have intensity and hunger for what you do.
3. Have a clear vision. (consistency with purpose)
4. Break the “Rules.” (people may say to you – this is the way it was done for years)
5. Hard work.
6. Turn your liabilities into assets. (he mentioned his accent, strange name and body size at a time when Pacino and Woody Allen were the big stars)
7. Never be Afraid to Fail. (he failed many times to win Mr. Universe before winning)
8. Work like Hell. (he worked 2 or 3 jobs, went to school, took acting lessons and voice lessons-18 hours and slept 6 hours a day, repeat of rule #5)
9. Grow with a giving/sharing heart.
10. Use our talents to help others. (Give back to your community).
11. Never try to change another’s life (Live one’s own to the fullest).
12. Have a rainy day fund.

History shows that Arnold is definitely not a man to bet against, having time and time again reinvented himself and his public persona.  Arnold had tremendous belief in himself and refused to give in or waiver from his goals. He knew what he wanted, then went and got it, no matter what. According to Arnold, “the meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” Powerful stuff.

Arnold is now planning on returning to the silver screen. Exactly when, and playing who, no one knows yet, but one thing is for certain, he wins.

The video below is called ‘Still Pumping’, where Arnold candidly discusses what it took for him to be a champion, it’s worth a look.

“People have fundamental needs and desires – for reward, status, achievement, self-expression, competition, and altruism among others. These needs are universal, and cross generations, demographics, cultures and genders.” – via Bunchball

A large part of my research over the past few months on game mechanics has been around the psychology of achievements, appealing to one’s competitive ego and understanding two distinct personalities: incrementalists and completionists. I am in the process of building a gaming engine for the WhyHire.me community, that will ultimately serve as a framework for motivation without encouraging nonconstructive community behaviours (i.e. just getting the most points).   My goal is to educate our users with relevant advice based on their chosen career path, congratulate completion of learning modules and tasks, and ultimately, make “fun” a consequence of a successful learning experience where the outcome can fundamentally benefit their career.  Based on my research, and the fact that everyone is talking about gaming mechanics, I thought it would be worth while to share some of my thoughts on this topic.

Getting in the Game

Game mechanics is a reputable field of study that leverages the basic human desires for feedback, reward, and validation by engaging us in flow. The crux behind any effective gaming experience is the feeling that you’ve accomplished something or a sense of completion. With that being said, adding elements of gaming may considerably improve your customers’ overall brand experience and is also a great way to map and stimulate specific emotional behaviours.

It Starts with Interaction Design

Effective interaction designers strive to “create meaningful relationships between people and the products and services that they use, from computers to mobile devices to appliances and beyond”. Great interaction design (IxD), is about finding the core of what motivates us, rewards us, and drives our passions. We instinctively feel compelled to do things that our friends are doing. We feel rewarded by approval. We are motivated by our own vanity.  No gaming application will ever have anywhere near as much power over our behaviour and outlook on the world as the software in our brains.  However, if applied correctly, game mechanics can make almost any interactive experience more compelling – but it’s ultimately up to the individual to choose to participate in that experience, or not.

Yes, Gaming is Mainstream

Ten percent of U.S/Canada Internet time is now spent on online games, according to Nielson NetView.  While social networking still reigns supreme at 43 percent, gaming leapfrogged to the number two spot {overtaking personal emailing} in online engagement.  Email dropped from 11.5 percent to 8.3 percent of user’s online time, while gaming showed an upward trend that is likely to continue.  The exponential growth of the gaming industry, as a powerful form of entertainment will continue to influence us, and
brands that use game mechanics wisely offer more than monetary entertainment – they can inspire, inform, enlighten and delight customers over the long haul.  They can turn average customers into loyal fans and transform loyal customers into brand evangelists.

Conclusion, Design an Experience

Right now, too many companies are building a bridge to nowhere with their games, or gaming elements (gamification APIs) simply because that’s the trendy thing to do.  Design an experience that will delight your users and use game mechanics to show them something useful that will add value and make their lives better – NOW THAT IMHO is how companies should consider getting into the game.

Want to learn more about Game Mechanics?

Check out these videos:

• Rajat Paharia talks about Gamification at Stanford: Description, Slides, Video
• Amy Jo Kim talks about Gamification at Google: Video, Slides, 2010 Slides
• Buster Benson (thought-leader in this space): http://enjoymentland.com
• Profession Henry Jenkin’s (Games-based learning): http://theory.wikispaces.com/Game+Mechanics <- Great resources!

And these books:

• Total Engagement by Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Reed
• Building Web Reputation Systems by Randy Farmer and Bryce Glass
• Changing the Game by David Edery and Ethan Mollick
• The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell
• The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater & Every Business a Stage by Pine & Gillmore  (not entirely related to gaming mechanics, but great for understanding customer purchase logic)
• The Theory of Fun by Raph Koster (consequence of a successful learning experience)
• Game-Based Marketing by Gabe Zichermann and Joselin Linder
• Games People Play by Eric Berne
• The Psychology of Games – Jamie Madigan (blog)

And this great TechCrunch post:

SCVNGR’s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck (click here to print your own flash cards based on SCVNGR’s model)

“In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” ~ C. Karrass

In a sense, all of life is a negotiation.

Negotiation does not just occur in used car lots, investor boardrooms, or lawyers’ offices. You negotiate every day, I know I do. You are always negotiating in some way. When you drive from one place to another, you negotiate through traffic, letting other people get in front of you and vice-versa. When you go to a restaurant you negotiate, first of all, to get a table and then to get the kind of table you most like. You negotiate all the elements of your professional life and all the things you do or don’t do. You negotiate prices, terms, schedules and many other details all day long. The process is never ending.

Any time meeting your goals requires the cooperation of others, you must negotiate.

My most successful negotiations were largely in part due to my genuine indifference to the outcome at that particular point in time.  For instance, when I was a motivated buyer looking for my first car, I gave myself a realistic purchase deadline of two months. I knew my budget, the type of car I was interested in and the dealerships in my region.  I’ve always preferred buying cars off the lot that were 1-2 years old, relatively low in mileage and typically, showroom cars.  There’s a great line from the movie, Heat (1995), “Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.” Even with the plot being about a complex criminal heist, the underlying point is still valid. When trying to make a deal, never put yourself in a position where you care about the outcome so much that you simply can’t walk away.

Care about the outcome, but not that much.

Herb Cohen, America’s great negotiator and author of “You Can Negotiate Anything”, says, “Negotiation is just a game. You care about the outcome, but not that much.” That’s one reason it’s often hard for entrepreneurs to remain neutral when they negotiate–they’re too emotionally attached and sensitive when it comes to representing themselves and their company. It’s much easier to take an unbiased position when representing somebody else’s money, time, family, product, service or even career, but when it hits close to home, it is no longer a game.

The more emotionally attached we become to an outcome, the harder we try to get our way. Pretty soon we begin to lose our perspective. It’s important to stay indifferent.

So, the next time you’re sitting across the table from a sales agent, investor, boss, significant other or whomever you’re negotiating with, care about the outcome, but not that much.

My five (5) personal negotiating rules:

1. Prepare. Always get to know the other party. Never negotiate with a stranger.

2.  Try to be genuinely indifferent to the outcome at that point in time.  It’s OK to walk away.

3.  Leave both your emotions and ego at the door.

4. Always listen more than you talk.  Take notes.

5.  Know what outcome “you need vs. what you want”, then ask for it.  Be patient.

Negotiating is a normal and natural part of life. You owe it to yourself to become very skilled at it. As in anything else, the key to excellence is for you to practice at every opportunity.

Make it a game. But remember, don’t be naïve, the pen will always be mightier than any handshake or promise (I learned this the hard way).

I’m an entrepreneur, innovation wreaks through my pores, and I remember sitting at my desk last December frustrated by the serious lack of Canadian VC talent to help the widely available Canadian entrepreneurial talent.  As we approach the holiday’s I wanted to express my excitement for what is slowly becoming “the re-birth of the Canadian venture capital industry”.  After several years that saw the implosion of many major venture funds, the industry is experiencing a bit of a renaissance — the creation of new entrepreneur lead investment funds.

The support and enthusiasm for startups in Canada has never been greater. From coast-to-coast there are events and meetups every day, and the access to resources and advice is enormous compared with just a few years ago. Newer investors such as Vanedge, Bridgescale, iNovia, Xtreme VP, and now Real Ventures are out in the Canadian tech community working to strengthen the new venture ecosystem and build a vibrant, viable startup community. “Entrepreneurial investors” or what I like to call real value-added investors, like Boris Wertz, Kevin Swan, Chris Arsenault, Mark MacLeod, JS Cournoyer, Danny Robinson, Ben Yoskovitz and many others, are truly nurturing the grassroots growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem.

As an entrepreneur who operated through the traditional VC regime and is now readying for another successful startup, I am more encouraged than ever about the prospects for Canadian entrepreneurs. Finding excellent funding partners is very much like marriage; it’s a long-term commitment, communication needs to be open, and both sides must have an alignment of interests.  IMHO good investors will also often critique business strategy and tactics such as establishing sensible operating milestones, providing input on the financial projections and costs of scaling, and other key business building topics. If an investor is not doing this, then an entrepreneur should strongly consider finding another partner, valuation aside. This expectation by entrepreneurs, is a drammatic shift from the old model where a lot of money was raised by general partners who had neither knowledge nor domain expertise in their investments.

These new funds are accelerating the pace of learning for new entrepreneurs so quickly that many are becoming high-quality second-timers within a few years and a very small amount of capital.  These new entrpreneurial investors can take the lessons they’ve learned over the years, team up with lots of smart people, and ultimately, can help build some great companies in a cash efficient way.

Canadian entrepreneurs should be optimistic in 2011.  Together, we will challenge our assumptions, build great businesses, nurture a growing ecosystem and continue to showcase what Canadian talent and innovation can bring to the world.