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COMMUNITY QUESTION:
UPCOMING:
What does innovation look like 19 in your company? Capital Ideas members share how they keep their businesses moving forward
NOV
How Do You Hire Well?
NOV
The Enlightened Fall
A panel discussion hosted by Capital Ideas Edmonton Where: The Edmonton Journal (10006 101st St.) When: 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission: Free. Register at capitalideas33.eventbrite.com
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A creative showcase of an eclectic mix of organizations hosted by Guru Digital Arts College Where: The Jubilee Auditorium (11455 87th Ave.) When: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Admission: Free. Details at gurudigitalarts.com/EnlightenedFall
CAPITAL IDEAS
NOV
26-27
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28-30 PHOTO BY SAM BROOKS/CAPITAL IDEAS
Sunny Sooch, co-founder of Nimbus Creative (nimbuscreative.ca), says that innovation is change for the better. “At Nimbus, we’re innovating on a daily basis to continue growing … Our processes are evolving and so is our work. We’re only as good as our last project, so implementing change is a big part of what we do.” “Engineering can be intimidating; there are many paths to get to a solution and helping our clients pick the right one requires innovation. We take the time to meet with our clients on-site and explain how to engineer a solution that will work for them. We make sure to truly understand our clients’ needs and work in collaboration with them. We go the extra mile — literally.” — Chantal Beaulieu, director of marketing at ICS Engineering Inc. — icsenggroup.com “Innovation is extremely important to keep your company top-of-mind for your target market … It’s your job to keep the client coming back for more. The competition is fierce in all areas of business. In the past four years, I have developed an annual mentorship program, an annual award program, two annual women’s business conferences, an annual charity conference and six monthly networking groups for women, in addition to publishing two annual magazines.” — Dorothy Briggs, owner and publisher of Womanition Magazine — womanition.com “Innovation in our firm is about breaking down silos of expertise, and engagement of clients, consultants and contractors in truly collaborative processes. We are working together in an integrated project-delivery method that is helping us build awesome architecture below budgets and ahead of schedule.” — Shafraaz Kaba, architect at Manasc Isaac — manascisaac.com “Innovation begins with healthy leadership that is open to the ideas of the team. I don’t think the two can survive without one another. Combine that with trust and you’re set. Synergy is developed when you have a team that has trust amongst its members. Ideas flow from all members, all paddling in the same direction — that’s what gets your company moving in the right direction.” — Jennifer Kennedy, owner of KENNEDY Real Estate — kennedyrealestate.ca “Innovation is not always about technology; changing the way your fellow co-workers and employees think in regards to their position can be the most innovative.” — Nadine Litwin, insurance agent at Allstate Insurance — ca.linkedin.com/in/nadinelitwin “Some of our best ideas came from our customers. We set up a user focus group that would meet quarterly and provide us with their wish list, and we would work with them to identify in detail how the new innovation could help them, and if it was applicable across industries and others. Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for help.” — Ashif Mawji, CEO of NPO Zero — npozero.com
“We always look at what we can do to improve the customer experience; we can never rest and think we have it figured out. Our clients expect the best in products and services. We are always looking at what we can add that would provide better value. There is a law in nature that says if you are not growing you are dying. If we aren’t improving your client experience, our competition is, and the minute we take our eye off of innovation, we are falling behind.” — Laurie McNaughton, owner of Action Coach — actioncoach.com/lauriemcnaughton “Executrade innovation is not defined as something new; to us, it’s something disruptive to how things are done. Innovation is built into our core values as abhorrence of complacency, and it all starts with understanding what our clients need, opposed to innovating and trying to find someone who values it. Our innovation applies to all areas of the business, not just client-facing touch points.” — Darryl Moore, vice-president of marketing and communication at Executrade — executrade.com “For the companies that I work with, innovation is not pretty; it may very likely be the result of direct conflict between what is and what could be. A good leader recognizes that innovators, by their nature, are disruptive of the status quo; innovation is recognizable by the discomfort it introduces to the current way the business operates.” — Laura M. Schuler, general counsel at Schuler Law Group “I believe innovation means discovering what our customers’ evolving needs and desires are, and responding to them. Often it means anticipating their needs before they do, and surprising them with unexpected services or special touches. It also means you never stop learning and discovering the innovations that others come up with. I get inspiration from all kinds of people and industries, and apply it to my own business. It also means you don’t get a lot of sleep!” — Katie Pearse, owner of Green Clean Squad — greencleansquad.ca “Innovation in my company means constantly providing consumers with a fun yet cultural style of working out, thus staying active and fit. The fitness industry is a recession-free industry, and people are always looking for cost-effective and less mundane ways to stay fit … In Bolly-D dance fitness, our innovation is to provide one hour of fun-filled, stress-free, active-dance interaction.” — Deepti Sami, founder of Bolly-D Dance Fitness — bolly-d.com
This question was posed by Jason Collins, president of Collins Industries (collins-industries-ltd.com), as part of our Community Question series. Jason is one of the speakers at the 2014 Productivity Summit: It Begins With Why, which takes place at the Northlands Expo Centre on Nov. 26-27. For more information and to get your tickets, visit productivityalberta.ca/events.
2014 Productivity Summit: It Begins at Why Information and inspiration to help organizations continue building on productivity Where: Northlands Expo Centre (7515 118th Ave.) When: 5 p.m. Wednesday to 5:30 p.m. Thursday Admission: $350. Details at productivityalberta.ca
Shock and Awe: Speech and Short Presentation Intensive A 16-hour course by Lauren Sergy to craft, hone and rehearse your speech or short presentation Where: Stanley A. Milner Library (7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq.) When: 6 p.m. Friday to 5 p.m. Sunday Admission: $347. Details at laurensergy.com/ workwithme/workshops
Have an event that Capital Ideas should know about? Contact us at hello@capitalideasedmonton.com
“With web development in mind, we consistently implement new tools, methods and frameworks that allow us to add greater functionality in a shorter amount of time. By combining tools in synergistic ways, we have been able to stay innovative in our process. Perhaps the greatest challenge with this is getting stuck in old ways, or changing so often that more time is wasted in the process than can ever be saved.” — Nate Schick, founder of Boost2Business “At Rhynopack, innovation is adopting and adapting products from other industries or regions to our local market. For example, mobile chargers existed for a decade in Asia before we adopted them and brought them to Edmonton. By identifying and focusing on our market’s needs, we adapted the product by incorporating a travel case and charge cable … Not all innovation need be big; sometimes little problems make the biggest impact.” — Jared Zamzow, founder of Rhynopack — rhynopack.com
CAPITAL QUESTION: What question do you always ask in a job interview? Asking the right questions can go a long way toward finding the best employees for your business, which is why Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business, is curious: W h at que st ion do you always ask in a job interview? You can answer the question in two ways: • Open today’s Capital Ideas email if you’re a member, or • Visit capitalideasedmonton.com We’ll publish the best answers, along with your business name and website address, on Nov. 19. For great information on businesses in Alberta, visit atb.com/businessbeat.
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