JUN/JUL 2020
REBOOT ISSUE The Wake-Up Call
Business owners share BIG lessons learned during the pandemic
Tourism’s Uncharted Territory
Navigating a world remade by COVID-19
How Authentic Leadership Shines During a Crisis INSIDER INTEL
How do we reshape our economy and plan for a future we can’t predict?
John Wilson, CEO The Wilson’s Group of Companies
PM41295544
INTO THE UNKNOWN After a year of extreme challenge, The Wilson’s Group faces the future with resilience and hope
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1 - 3933 South Valley Dr., Victoria
403 - 104 Dallas Rd., Victoria
402-1395 Bear Mountain Pkwy, Langford
BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 1,725 SQ. FT.
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CONDOS & TOWNHOMES»
«
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105 - 21 Erie St., Victoria
$4,800,000 3127 Northwood Rd., Nanaimo
607 Beach Dr., Victoria
2290 Kedge Anchor Rd., North Saanich
BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 1,484 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 5 BATHS: 7 7,500 SQ.FT. 6 ACRES
BEDS: 6 BATHS: 3 4,367 SQ. FT.
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This modern & stylish 2-level townhome is just steps from Fisherman’s Wharf. Boasting 2 parking spaces, pets allowed.
Fantastic opportunity to own Nanaimo’s most prestigious home. Perched high atop Mount Benson with spectacular views.
Quintessential South Oak Bay waterfront with south west exposure.
Christine Ryan
Nico Grauer
Andy Stephenson
Oceanfront parcel with a 1-bed, 1-bath guest house. Foreshore lease and dock included. Boat charter business available. 250.857.0609 Logan Wilson PREC
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4591 Cordova Bay Rd., Victoria
2290 Estevan Ave, Oak Bay
2509 Mill Bay Rd., Mill Bay
1675 Brousson Dr., Victoria
BEDS: 3 BATHS: 2 2,951 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 3 BATHS: 4 1,988 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 3,230 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 2,281 SQ. FT.
You will fall in love with the views from this classic oceanfront home located in beautiful Cordova Bay.
Brand new in Oak Bay. A coveted location in the Estevan Village area, just a short stroll to the ocean and beautiful Willows Beach.
Twinkling water, gorgeous sunsets, huge windows with open floor plan and suite.
Meticulous Gordon Head home. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac. Rejuvenated and updated to a sophisticated family home.
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We are in this together.
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VICTORIA 250.380.3933
Andrew Maxwell
OAK BAY 250.592.1042
Beth Hayhurst
SALT SPRING 250.537.1778
Brad Maclaren
Brayden Klein
VANCOUVER 604.632.3300
Brett Cooper
WEST VANCOUVER 604.922.6995
Christine Ryan
NORTH VANCOUVER 604.998.1623
Dean Innes
Don St. Germain
WHISTLER 604.932.3388
Glynis MacLeod
SUN PEAKS 250.578.7773
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KELOWNA 250.469.9547
402-1395 Bear Mountain Pkwy, Langford « CONDOS & TOWNHOMES
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104 - 3048 Washington Ave, Victoria
108 - 946 Jenkins Ave, Victoria
401 - 1400 Lynburne Pl., Victoria
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BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 1,441 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 1,784 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 2 BATHS: 2 1,061 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 2 BATHS: 1 868 SQ. FT.
Remarkable upgrades to this quiet townhome in friendly, well run complex. New kitchen, renovated baths and more.
Welcome to Grey Goose Landing, beautiful brand new 15 unit urban townhouse complex offering contemporary comfort and design.
Immaculate, modern executive condo offers the perfect balance of entertaining and outdoors.
Stunning 868 sq. ft. 2 bed/1 bath corner suite. Picturesque sunrises/sunsets with South facing ocean views from all main rooms.
Andrew Maxwell
Brad Maclaren PREC
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3865 Amroth Pl., Saanich
818 Delamere Rd., Victoria
7318 Mark Lane, Victoria
10915 Deep Cove Rd., North Saanich
BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 5,906 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 4 BATHS: 5 4,838 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 3 BATHS: 3 4,106 SQ. FT.
BEDS: 3 BATHS: 5 3,452 SQ. FT.
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Custom built 6 bedroom Cordova Bay family home on a large corner lot with lots of parking. A must see.
Steps from the ocean and Deep Cove Marina, this 1.14-acre estate with one-bed guesthouse offers plenty of privacy and space.
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Victoria Cao PREC
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789 Lily Ave, Saanich
2872 Austin Ave, Victoria
BEDS: 4 BATHS: 4 3,246 SQ. FT. 2.49 ACRES
7,178 SQ. FT. LOT
BUILD: 5 BEDS, 4 BATHS, 10,463 SQ.FT.
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Idyllic, 4 bed / 4 bath custom home with fully self contained 1 bed suite is the ultimate option for a large and growing family.
Level Building lot in the Character Gorge neighbourhood. Big Saving for a buyer as all services are underground to the building site.
Andrew Maxwell
Tom de Cosson
Don’t miss this opportunity to create your dream home on this large 7,178 sq. ft. freehold lot. Centrally located off of high Quadra. Natalie Zachary 250.882.2966
250.213.2104
Lisa Williams
Logan Wilson
TORONTO
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NEW YORK
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TOKYO
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HONG KONG
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MONTRÉAL
Canadian Owned and Operated. E.&O.E.: This information is from sources which we deem reliable, but must be verified by prospective Purchasers and may be subject to change or withdrawal. PREC is Personal Real Estate Corporation.
Robyn Wildman
Sophia Briggs
Tom de Cosson
250.818.8522
Victoria Cao
SOTHEBYSREALTY.CA
JUN/JUL 2020 THE REBOOT ISSUE
FOLLOW US
CONTENTS FEATURES
20 Into the Unknown
Just last year, The Wilson’s Group was considered the rising star of B.C.’s transportation sector. Then came the toughest time in the company’s 40-year-history. BY JEFF DAVIES
20 40
26 The Wake-Up Call
As we move into the reboot phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Douglas asked local businesses to share lessons learned. The one thing everyone can agree on? Be prepared for anything. BY KERRY SLAVENS
34 Tourism’s Uncharted Territory
The local 2.3-billion-dollar tourism industry was hit hard by COVID-19. In order to recover, its stakeholders and operators must navigate a world remade by the pandemic. BY ATHENA MCKENZIE
34
DEPARTMENTS 8 FROM THE EDITOR 13 IN THE KNOW
The City’s vision for the future, the Chamber’s new CEO, workplace inclusion, COVID pivot stories and the new business etiquette.
46 LAST PAGE
What’s over and what’s next.
INTEL (BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE) 40 ENTREPRENEUR
How authentic leadership shines during a crisis. BY JIM HAYHURST
41 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
How COVID-19 is reshaping our region’s economy. BY DALLAS GISLASON
43 GROWTH
Dancing in the dark: How can you plan for a future you can’t predict? BY CLEMENS RETTICH 6 DOUGLAS
Rhodo NOW SELLING Rhodo
JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE
FROM THE EDITOR
Enriched Thinking™ for your family, business and future.
I KEEP HEARING PEOPLE TALK about a return to business as usual as our province gradually opens up again after what was hopefully the worst of COVID-19. Who can blame anyone for wanting that? After all, this pandemic has taken both lives and livelihoods. While I’m as anxious as anyone to return to some kind of normality, I’m actually not hoping for a return to business as usual. Based on many of the lessons learned during this pandemic — some of which I write about in “The Wake-Up Call” on page 26 — I think we can do better than usual. COVID-19 has made both our vulnerabilities and strengths abundantly clear. One of the most important of these strengths is our ability to come together as a community to help and support each other. During the worst of COVID-19, Douglas and CHEK TV partnered on the “Coping with COVID” series to help business owners connect with each other and community. Many owners told us they had received support not only from friends, but from competitors too. Sometimes that meant sharing knowledge or resources. Sometimes, that connection between competitors led to a shared solution to a common problem. These owners also expressed great gratitude to customers for their patience and flexibility as businesses rushed to adapt, and for their generosity as they purchased gift cards and tipped more than usual in recognition of people on the frontline. This kind of cooperation and connection gives me hope that when the chips are down, we’re a community first. Here are a few other things on my wish list as we move into Phase 3 of the lifting of COVID restrictions: I want to see that sense of compassion and community continue to grow.
So yes, let’s get back to business, but let’s ensure there’s nothing usual about it.
A team-based approach for a total wealth strategy that addresses the entirety of your life.
I want our governments at all levels to continue to conduct themselves as they have done throughout COVID, with swift responses to pressing issues, regular face-to-face connection with leaders and more constructive cooperation between political parties.
C.P. (Chuck) McNaughton, PFP Senior Wealth Advisor
I want to see the end of an entitled culture where frontline workers are treated as less important than those who manage from behind desks.
250.654.3342 charles.mcnaughton@scotiawealth.com
themcnaughtongroup.ca
I want us to continue checking in with each other and really listening when we ask, “How are you?” So yes, let’s get back to business, but let’s ensure there’s nothing usual about it. Let’s reenvision what the future of business and our communities should be, then set out to create it. That’s how we will thrive. .............
Scotia Capital Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. For more information visit www.scotiawealthmanagement.com
8 DOUGLAS
LOG040-Jul-AD-McNaughton-2x9.indd 1
Business As Unusual
2016-08-04 12:33 PM
I’ve been the editor of Douglas magazine for eight years — and 48 issues — and it has been an honour (and a heck of a lot of fun) to work for such a truly innovative, values-based company. In a few days, I’ll be leaving Douglas and Page One to become Director of Public Relations and Engagement for the South Island Prosperity Partnership. It’s a move that allows me to continue to work with our amazing business community during the important reboot of our economy and into a future I know will be very successful for our region. I will miss the team here, but I look forward to sitting back and reading the next issue of Douglas, knowing another editor has put their (red pen) mark on it. I’ll always count myself among Douglas magazine’s biggest fans. — Kerry Slavens kslavens@pageonepublishing.ca
Taking Care of Business, the Langford Way
r P
LANGFORD’S REPUTATION AS A DESIRABLE PLACE TO LIVE, WORK AND OWN A BUSINESS KEEPS GROWING. SO DOES ITS REPUTATION AS A CITY THAT GOES THE EXTRA MILE TO BACK ITS BUSINESS COMMUNITY. When provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced on March 20 that B.C. restaurants must close due to COVID-19, except for takeout and delivery, Doug Stewart, owner of Poncho’s Coffee House in Langford, took a deep breath and pivoted the popular Goldstream Avenue coffee house to takeout only. And loyal customers and the City of Langford stepped up to support him in a big way, he says. Not only did Langford staff regularly check in with businesses like Poncho’s, they created a free weekly business resource guide and
“WHEN WE SAY ‘WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER’ IT’S MORE THAN JUST WORDS,” SAYS MAYOR STEWART YOUNG. “WE HAVE EACH OTHER’S BACKS IN THE TRUE LANGFORD WAY. delivered directional and physical distancing signage and floor decals to businesses at no cost. They also set up the Langford COVID hotline with access to nurses and
doctors and immediately ordered non-medical grade masks and face shields to be delivered to businesses at cost. “When we say ‘We’re all in this together’ it’s more than just words,” says Mayor Stewart Young. “We have each other’s backs in the true Langford Way. Not only did Young grow up in Langford, he’s been its mayor and champion for 28 years, and he believes in the grit, loyalty, pride and resilience of his community to recover from the pandemic.
d u ro “As we fire up the economy again, we want to continue to support our businesses, and make sure that both customers and workers are safe while offering a positive experience” he says.
A big part of that is Langford’s Business Recovery Marketing Campaign — “I AM Langford” — created to celebrate all things Langford and remind people of the importance and impact of shopping locally. The campaign is more than encouraging residents to shop local, it is positioned to be more deeply rooted than that. The campaign uses a storytelling approach to connect the entire community together like never before. “Whether you live, work or own a business in Langford, we are all connected and need to support each other even in little ways like never before,” says Young. “There was never a time when I called the City that my calls weren’t returned the same day,” says Stewart. And with his community’s support, Poncho’s thrived during the crisis,
#Iamlangford
cityoflangford
turning a profit while avoiding the need for financial aid.
our community. Any time they need us, we’re there for them.”
Meanwhile, for local eateries without extra indoor space or patios, the City of Langford quickly passed a Sidewalk Use Bylaw on May 21 to enable restaurants and
“I feel confident that the City of Langford is truly committed to engaging with the business community and being proactive in how to support us,” says Tara Black, co-owner of Origin
“WHETHER YOU LIVE, WORK OR OWN A BUSINESS IN LANGFORD, WE ARE ALL CONNECTED AND NEED TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER” MAYOR STEWART YOUNG
retail businesses to safely expand onto sidewalks, boulevards and other common areas. Council has designated authority to staff to work directly with businesses and approve applications within 24 hours. “Every day counts for businesses during this recovery period,” says Young, “so our staff are proactively visiting them to see how we can support their reopening plans. Businesses work hard and add vibrancy and jobs and services to
Get an up-to-date business directory, read behind-the-scenes stories and learn about contests and promotions.
Gluten-Free Bakery, which expanded into Langford in early 2020, launching a new café model in Belmont Market. Be sure to keep an eye out for the Langford Acts of Kindness van traveling throughout the community spreading good vibes and rewarding shoppers for their loyalty to Langford. This initiative is sponsored by Langford developers. Once again demonstrating that Langford is truly in this together.
iamlangford.com
r e.
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I N N O VAT I O N | D E S I G N | BU S I N E S S | ST Y L E | P E O P L E
[IN THE KNOW]
Ocean Networks Canada leader Adrian Round (left) and ocean operations staff member Jonathan Miller monitor remotely operated vehicle operations on the sea floor more than two kilometres from the vessel.
ED MCNICHOL
REINVENTION AND RESILIENCE
RECOVERY AND BEYOND
TAKING THE LONG VIEW
The City’s economic action plan, Victoria 3.0, sets its sights on 2041
W
hen the City of Victoria hosted roundtable discussions last fall, to create their ambitious Victoria 3.0 plan, COVID-19 wasn’t on its — or anyone’s — radar. While the draft economic plan was meant to go to Council for consideration in March, the City took the time to repurpose it to address the impacts of the pandemic on the local economy. “Victoria 3.0 is a long-term plan for a prosperous, sustainable city,” says Mayor Lisa Helps of the proposal, which was presented and adopted by Council on May 14. “The plan focuses on supporting small businesses — the lifeblood of our communities — in the recovery and re-opening phase and well into the future.” This economic plan accompanies the City’s Official Community Plan to 2041. Its three main goals are: to support businesses to become more resilient in light of the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic; to create a city and an economy for everyone; and to build the economy over the next two decades in earth-friendly and sustainable ways. Helps believes the future-focused agenda
will help small local businesses on many different fronts. “It’s focused on growing our innovation ecosystem, creating more high-value jobs, increasing exports, and building the economy of the future,” she says. “Over the next two decades, they’ll have more customers with more money in their pockets to spend locally, even during economic downturns.” Victoria 3.0 is meant to be complementary to the South Island Prosperity Partnership’s Rising Economy Taskforce, which is composed of 13 subcommittees that cover all aspects of the regional economy. “It’s the largest non-government response to the pandemic in B.C.” says Dallas Gislason, director of economic development of SIPP, who was on the mayor’s advisory committee for Victoria 3.0. “This also brings an opportunity to bring in an optimistic outlook on what sort of economy we want to recover into. What do we want to evolve into? What do we want more of? It’s also an opportunity to look at supply chains and food security. We’re already seeing this shift toward local consumption — how do we maintain that?”
Even before COVID-19 hit, Victoria 3.0 looked to reinvent Victoria’s economy and focus on the future. These are the action items outlined in the City’s plan to build a “strong and resilient local economy.” CREATE AN ARTS AND INNOVATION DISTRICT (2020– 2022) The Arts and Innovation District is proposed for the north end of downtown adjacent to the harbour. CREATE AN OCEAN FUTURES CLUSTER (2020-2025) To develop the Ocean Futures Cluster and the Ocean and Marine Innovation Hub, the City will build on major assets, including the University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada, the Victoria Shipyards (operated by Seaspan), the Esquimalt Graving Dock, the Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Camosun Coastal Centre. TECH IS #1 — TELL AND SELL VICTORIA’S TECH STORY (2020– 2041) Support, develop and promote Victoria’s flourishing tech industry so that it continues to grow. LEARN FROM OTHER CITIES (2020–2041) Learn from the successes and challenges of other cities, and build on the national and global networks that Victoria is starting to participate in. REDO VICTORIA’S BRAND AND STORY (2023 –2026) Create a strong brand and tell a compelling story of the city. DOUGLAS 13
Read Moussa Magassa’s insights on workplace inclusivity at douglasmagazine.com
TAKING MEANINGFUL ACTION AGAINST RACISM In light of the issues brought to life by Black Lives Matter — both around the world and here in Victoria — Douglas asked Moussa Magassa, a specialist in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Human Rights and Partnerships at the University of Victoria, for his thoughts about racism and inclusivity in Canadian culture and workplaces. Both at the university and in the community, Magassa works to educate people about these issues. To do this, he is part of several groups, including the Greater Victoria Police Diversity Committee, Resilience BC, the provincial program Organizing Against Racism and Hate, and the Victoria Multifaith Society, among others. In Canada, many people pride themselves on multiculturalism, but are we not as prone to systemic racism and discrimination on the basis of race as other countries? Yes — it is interesting that many people pride themselves on multiculturalism in Canada. Sadly, the first of these people are those who also espouse multiculturalism because it places their culture at the centre and other cultures as an addition. Multiculturalism for many Canadians is white culture and its tolerance of other cultures, with the condition that the latter play by its rules and so-called Canadian values. Racism and discrimination is, however, embedded in this kind of multiculturalism mindset — and it’s systemic, cultural and societal. It justifies white supremacy, continuous colonization of Indigenous land and Canadian political correctness. Binna Kandola, a British business psychologist and author of Racism at Work: The Danger of Indifference compares racism to a virus that lingers in organizations because people have internalized racist stereotypes. What are your thoughts on this? I totally agree with her. I am even surprised why racism has never been recognized as a crime against humanity and a social pathology. I really think we need to start dealing with racism clinically because it is worse than a virus. We usually develop treatment for a virus, but the racist often hides behind the status quo provided by the system, the culture and the society. It 14 DOUGLAS
JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE
A Q&A WITH MOUSSA MAGASSA
“The Canadian workplace is fraught with racism, nepotism, paternalism and many intersecting discriminations. For Black folks like us, we know it day in, day out, through the way we are being hired, promoted and recognized. We see it every day by the ways we are passed on for advancement, recruitment and recognition. What is really needed in the Canadian workplace, is a complete systemic overhaul.”
is also emboldened by privilege, power and other intersections. The excuse of the racist is ignorance and fear. Unfortunately, as I have said in other situations, the racist is not ignorant or fearful of the Black man in me, he/she is racist because he/she thinks she can get away with it. Racism benefits the racist … There has been a great deal written lately on microaggressions. Can you talk about what these are and how they undermine inclusivity? Microaggressions are everyday insults and indignities against Black people and other BIPOC. To dismantle microaggressions, we also need to dismantle the culture of white supremacy and white essentialism. We need to disrupt the racist beliefs and attitudes embedded in
the culture and the system that supports and legitimized that culture as a universal value. There has been a great deal of discussion about Black Lives Matter, particularly following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. What is the most respectful way for businesses to support this important movement? It is important for businesses to not take advantage of George Floyd’s death and the voice of Black Lives Matter and turn these into business opportunities. Businesses and organizations should really do this work from the heart by bringing in the right people who can help them learn, understand and develop strategic ways to really implement genuine change in their businesses and people.
“If you feel uncomfortable with someone being too close to you, it’s polite and perfectly acceptable to remove yourself to somewhere you feel more comfortable, within the meeting space, with a quiet word of ‘I think I may be a little too close for your comfort.’ This way, you take the responsibility to move without embarrassing them.”
THE NEW ETIQUETTE
Wave goodbye to the handshake — COVID-19 has prompted serious changes to business protocols and decorum.
You can be in control of the way you are greeted and how you greet others: “We are seeing so many variations now since COVID, and depending on the environment, it’s anything from a namaste bow to a fist pump to a simple hello,” Beadell says. “Your own body language sets the stage for that very
Managing business, family and personal wealth
— SHEENAGH BEADELL, PARTNER AT CHEMISTRY CONSULTING
Whether limp, clammy or bone-crushing, the handshake often went wrong. But it took a pandemic to make this outdated greeting a thing of the past. Handshakes aren’t the only protocol that changed. Sheenagh Beadell, partner at Chemistry Consulting, shares her tips for the new business etiquette. Determine protocols prior to meeting: “Email those attendees so that they have a better understanding of what’s expected,” recommends Beadell. “Is a mask required? Where is the sanitizing station? No handshakes. Bring your own water.”
GROW YOUR INVESTMENTS
easily and keeps the sometimes awkwardness at bay. For instance, if someone you know approaches you, simply clasp your hands, either in front or behind you, and nod to say hello.” Take the responsibility to move: “As our world is relaxing a little more, people can easily slip unintentionally into your space,” Beadell says. “If you feel uncomfortable with someone being too close to you, it’s polite and perfectly acceptable to remove yourself to somewhere you feel more comfortable, within the meeting space, with a quiet word of ‘I think I may be a little too close for your
comfort.’ This way, you take the responsibility to move without embarrassing them.” Bring professionalism to Zoom meetings: “If you are in your pajamas, do you really want everyone to see that?” asks Beadell. “Ensure that the technology platform you will be using works well in advance of your meeting. Make sure you are in an internet-strong and private location. Test your camera to see what others will see. Be respectful of the person who is speaking. Try not to speak over them. “I recommend asking everyone to keep their mics on mute (red on screen) and only unmute (green on screen) when they need to speak,” she adds. “That tells the participants, firstly; who wishes to speak and secondly; it eliminates all the background noises, which can be extremely distracting.”
Victoria’s Real Estate Market
SOURCE: VREB.ORG AS OF JUNE 1, 2020
457
Total number of properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this May
Sales of condominiums were down
55.7%
from May 2019 with 108 units sold
46.1%
fewer than the 848 properties sold in May 2019
Sales of single family homes were down
59.2%
42.9%
more than the previous month of April 2020
from May 2019 with 254 sold
Construction in Metropolitan Victoria
106 Projects under construction in metropolitan Victoria
=
41
Projects in Colwood, Highlands, Langford, Metchosin and Sooke
+
12
Projects in Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney
IAN STOCKDILL Portfolio Manager & Investment Advisor 250-953-8461 or 1-800-799-1175 ian.stockdill@nbc.ca www.ianstockdill.com
SOURCE: CITIFIED.COM
+
53
Projects in Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich, and Victoria
National Bank Financial Suite 700, 737 Yates St., Victoria National Bank Financial – Wealth Management (NBFWM) is a division of National Bank Financial Inc. (NBF), as well as a trademark owned by National Bank of Canada (NBC) that is used under licence by NBF. NBF is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), and is a whollyowned subsidiary of NBC, a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA).
DOUGLAS 15
JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE
Turn a trusted relationship into intelligent investments.
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FROM CRISIS BRUCE WILLIAMS, THE NEW CEO OF THE CHAMBER, BELIEVES THE ORGANIZATION MATTERS NOW MORE THAN EVER. This June, Bruce Williams stepped into his new role as the CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. The former broadcaster, who had been acting as the interim CEO of the South Island Prosperity Partnership, says his marker for the Chamber’s success will be a relatively smooth and healthy recovery. “And an economy that will take advantage of the opportunities we have right now,” he says.
What he brings from growing up in a familyrun business.
Investing is about working together. Your goals. Our solutions. Jeff Cohen, BA, CFP, FCSI Wealth Advisor Tel: 250-361-2408 jeff.cohen@nbpcd.com
BMO Wealth Management is the brand name for a business group consisting of Bank of Montreal and certain of its affiliates, including BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., in providing wealth management products and services. ® “BMO (M-bar roundel symbol)” is a registered trademark of Bank of Montreal, used under licence. ® “Nesbitt Burns” is a registered trade-mark of BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Montreal. If you are already a client of BMO Nesbitt Burns, please contact your Investment Advisor for more information.
Member - Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.
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Williams is known to many in the region as a broadcast producer, and former on-air host and television anchor with the CTV television network. What many may not know is that Williams grew up in a family business. “My family owns a bakery in a small town,” he says, referring to Aurora, Ontario. “It taught me very early the value of hard work and respect for employees. And the role that a business can play, not only in the greater business community, but in the quality of life and the health of the community. The line between businesses and community is
very often blurred — especially in a small town — but that same ethic can be applied in a larger circle, too.”
Why the Chamber matters more now than ever. According to Williams, his priority is to keep the Chamber strong and engaged with its members. “That will be the driving force that helps our economy build its resilience as it recovers,” he says. “The Chamber matters more than ever in its 157-year history, because as we respond to what’s going on and develop recovery and resilience, the connections provided by the Chamber — the mentorship, the expertise — can help
members best understand how they can use the reliefs being offered by the government. Creating that sort of security and resilience within an economy keeps us healthy. It keeps us safe.”
How this can be a time of opportunity. While this has been a time of great change and upheaval, Williams points out that it’s also a time of great opportunity. “It’s difficult to not be distracted by the downside, but the upside has also been seen,” Williams says. “People have had an opportunity to see what can be better about this world, this community, their own business, and about how to make things healthier for their family … The cliche is ‘A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.’ We have the opportunity now to create a much better world ... I want to make sure that the Chamber, and me personally, can do everything to help people take advantage of those opportunities.”
JAMES MACDONALD
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect businesses across all industries, these local entrepreneurs are discovering and creating ways to keep their businesses running.
A NEW DEMAND IN THE MARKET Before COVID, the product production at Plexi-Klass Manufacturing was “all over the board,” according to owner Vic Summerfeldt. Plexi-Klass specializes in custom fabrication of plastics, and that ran the gamut from making display units and food bins to signage. But their manufacturing has become much more focused, due to the pandemic. “All of a sudden, there’s a huge demand for shields,” Summerfeldt says. “We’ve actually had to put a lot of our regular
JAMES MACDONALD
THE PIVOT
A COOL IDEA
customers on hold, just to produce shields for the community.” While the protective barriers are something the company could always make, their first big order was for Fairway Market. And the demand kept growing after that. Depending on the needs, the shields can be customized with a base or bent sides to stand, or adapted to hang from the ceiling. “As the openings came, we would shift over to the best style,” he says. “We could see the progress from stores to dental offices and medical offices, and now we’re at the restaurants. For over a month, we were getting calls literally every minute or two. It was just constant.” Summerfeldt believes it’s a finite market and that’s okay with him. “For us, it’s good in the sense that our businesses has increased, but by the same token, other businesses aren’t benefiting from this. I feel a little funny about that.”
At the start of 2020, Andrew Capeau of Victoria Pedicab Company was expecting a busy tourist season. His company operates a fleet of 32 pedicabs that normally take cruise customers on guided tours through the city. In anticipation of the summer, he had even invested $60,000 into converting the bikes into electric assist. “Then COVID came, and we were completely shut down,” Capeau says. In trying to salvage some of the season, Capeau has converted three of his bikes to icecream carts. “We basically disconnected the carriage from the frame and built a box that contains a chest freezer and some coolers, and we added an umbrella,” he says. “People have been very supportive. They understand that I’m trying to keep my business active somehow.” Going forward, Capeau would like to partner with some local frozen treat makers. He’s also exploring how the model could be expanded beyond the summer, by possibly converting the bikes into coffee carts. Hotels opening up downtown could also offer potential customers. “They might want to use us as a point-A-to-B service for the guests because we’re open air and it’s a little more COVID friendly,” he says. “And we have so much information to share with people about the city. We’re an outdoor tour service and we’re really bloody good at it.”
DOUGLAS READS
A Necessary Conversation
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Recent events have put a spotlight on racism in our society. If you’re looking to be smarter and more empathetic about matters of race, So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo is a great starting point, and an updated edition is now available. More than a primer on
racism, it is a comprehensive conversational guide. As Olou writes, it all starts with conversation. “There is a good chance that you, regardless of race, have tried to have these conversations in the past,” she says. “There is also a good chance that they have not gone well. So ‘not well’ that perhaps you
have been afraid to ever have these conversations again. If that is you, you are not alone.” Part of the reason Olou wrote this book is because people of all races would ask her “how” to have those discussions. With this book, she shares the language to engage in clear, constructive,
and confident dialogue with each other about how to deal with racial prejudices and biases. And there is no doubt this dialogue is timely and critical. As Olou writes: “Words are always at the heart of all our problems, and the beginning of all our solutions.”
TOUGH TIMES, INNOVATIVE MINDSETS
FOR SOME ENTREPRENEURS, THE RECENT PANDEMIC HAS LED TO AN INJECTION OF INNOVATION. Despite the notion that crises are bad times to launch businesses, a 2009 study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found 57 per cent of Fortune 500 companies surveyed at the time were founded during recessions or bear markets. “Crises like these are the Super Bowl of entrepreneurship,” says Dr. Brock Smith, entrepreneurship champion at the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business. “If you can figure out how to survive something like this, you’ve earned your so-called stripes.” That’s because the entrepreneurial mindset says, “this is a challenge,” according to Smith, who notes how impressed he has been with the resiliency, vision and positive attitude of local entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 crisis. Resiliency has certainly been at play for the team behind Urban Grocer, which began planning its flagship store on Fort Street and Oak Bay Junction two years ago and found themselves in the middle of a pandemic just months before opening to the public.
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FOR PANDORA AVE
FROM CONCEPTUAL DESIGN TO FULL-SERVICE CONSTRUCTION
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While COVID-19 did slow the process, at no time was there any thought to halting the launch of the 10,000 square foot grocer, says General Manager Shawn Fahr of Urban Grocer, whose ownership team has been in the grocery business on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands for more than 50 years and owns Vessel Liquor Store. “We’ve stayed optimistic,” says Fahr, whose team will open Urban Grocer at the beginning of August. “Maybe it’s not the best time, but we are really passionate about providing this neighbourhood with a quality grocer.” “If you are a creator, there’s never been a better time,” says Smith. “What happens is we have a unique set of circumstances that provide entrepreneurs with a unique set of opportunities. Necessity really is the mother of invention.”
After
250-880-1188 FLINTSTONESDESIGNBUILD.COM
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INTO THE UNKNOWN 20 DOUGLAS
BY JEFF DAVIES PHOTOS BY JEFFREY BOSDET
“Nothing worth having comes easy.”
John Wilson is CEO of The Wilson’s Group of Companies, which includes Gray Line Sightseeing Victoria, BC Ferries Connector and Wilson’s Transportation. Wilson’s fleet includes more than 200 vehicles.
In the summer of 2019, The Wilson’s Group of Companies, reputed to be the rising star of B.C.’s transportation sector, was on the road to success, with 26 brands, a 200-vehicle fleet, more than $30-million in annual revenues and 300 employees. Then came the fatal Bamfield bus accident, followed six months later by a world-wide pandemic and economic shut-down. This is the story of a family company’s hope and resilience during the toughest time in its 40-year-history.
That message is embossed on the boardroom wall in the The Wilson’s Group headquarters on Glanford Avenue in Saanich. It now appears prophetic. In recent months, this family-owned group, the biggest name in bus transportation on Vancouver Island, with deep roots in the community and a long history of philanthropy, has been hit by both tragedy and trauma. First a fatal bus crash, then the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the Wilsons to suspend most of their business and lay off staff, then to watch as revenues dried up and future plans became murky. “Obviously we’ve got a little bit of a hiccup here; a major, major stumbling block,” says CEO John Wilson. It’s now May 20 and our third interview in nine months — this time by telephone — and I’m making yet another attempt to write a company profile that has repeatedly been delayed by the changing business climate. “Victoria is pretty much stagnant,” Wilson says. The company still has a couple of industrial contracts up-Island, one serving a fish plant in Port Alberni and the other a mine in Campbell River, as well as occasional charters for Canadian Blood Services, but all other operations have been suspended. The tour buses, the charters, the airport shuttle and the BC Ferries connectors are all out of service. But, on this day, there are positive signs. COVID-19 infections are dropping in B.C. while hundreds of people have recovered. We’ve flattened the curve, as health officials put it. Some businesses in Victoria have reopened; others are making plans to do so. There are more people downtown and more cars on the road. You can even buy a coffee, and get a haircut. But those health officials, such as B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, are issuing daily warnings about a possible second wave of infection. Everything can, as we’ve learned this year, change overnight. “It’s a storm that we’re going through,” Wilson says. “One of my favourite quotes is, ‘You know, we’re all in the same storm. We’re just in different sized boats.’” Certainly, few industries have been rocked as hard as tourism and ground transportation. As we speak, 95 per cent of Wilson’s staff have been laid off. Revenues are down a staggering 98 per cent. “It affected us early, hard, and we’ll be one of the last ones to recover.”
Into the Unknown It’s a very different world from the one last August when we had our first interview. Then the future appeared as bright as the Island skies and as expansive as the Strait of Georgia. On that summer day, the CEO; his daughter, brand manager Samantha Wilson, and his son, operations and fleet maintenance manager Andrew Wilson, had assembled in the boardroom. On the walls were framed photos and newspaper articles, plaques and memorabilia, celebrating four decades of achievements by the family-owned companies, their executives and DOUGLAS 21
employees. The Wilsons spoke of their love of Victoria, their desire to expand business, their knowledge of the market and their long list of charitable efforts. They reminded me of their motto: The fun is in the getting there. Their eyes were firmly on the future and there were plans to celebrate the familyowned company’s 40th anniversary in February 2020. Over the past few years, the Wilsons had taken on more routes and launched new enterprises. “We’re definitely not an easy industry for sure,” John Wilson said in that August interview. There have been undeniable challenges, given the competitive nature of the industry and the changing marketplace. But on that day, none of the Wilsons could have foreseen how subsequent events would shape their future and pose new and far greater challenges. On a Friday evening in September, just weeks after our initial interview, The Wilson’s Group experienced its first fatal crash. A Wilson’s bus, chartered to carry 45 University of Victoria biology students and two teaching assistants to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, skidded off a logging road and down an embankment, before coming to rest against some trees. Two students, Emma Machado of Winnipeg, and John Geerdes, of Iowa City, Iowa, both 18, died from their injuries. Now, fast forward more than six months later to early March: The CEO is in a somber and reflective mood as he once again greets me in the boardroom on Glanford Avenue for our second interview. We’re in the early stages of the downturn in business and tourism resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. It will soon get much worse. But now, just days before the World Health Organization declares a COVID-19 pandemic, John Wilson is still hopeful his companies can weather that storm. The September tragedy, however, looms large. “It’s a sad, dark place to be in, not just from the family perspective, but from our working team here as well,” he says. The crash is still under investigation, so he can’t talk about the specifics. “We’ve been going on that road for 30-plus years, and we’ve never dealt with such a thing … It definitely was, and still is, top of mind. There isn’t a day that goes by that it isn’t on my mind. And we just try to move forward in a positive direction, both as a family, as a company and within the community.” In December, an RCMP technical report said speed was not a factor. It noted a Jeep was approaching the bus on the gravel road, and the Jeep’s lights were probably shining in the bus driver’s eyes. The report was submitted to Transport Canada and the BC Coroners Service. On the night of the crash, the CEO got a call 22 DOUGLAS
Travis Wilson, Manager of North Island Operations
Andrew Wilson, Fleet Maintenance Manager Samantha Wilson, Brand Manager
from the manager of North Island operations, his nephew, Travis Wilson. Then he phoned his vice-president and both started making calls to find out what they could do. They dispatched a team to the hospital in Port Alberni to be with the passengers. In the morning, they sent buses to Port Alberni and the Cowichan Valley to pick them up and bring them back to Victoria. Then Wilson and members of his team went to UVic to meet the passengers when they returned. The university had counsellors there. “The most difficult thing I had to do, for sure,” Wilson says. The Bamfield road is narrow, with many twists and turns, humps and hollows, as well as loose gravel. It’s often shared with logging trucks. Ordinarily, Wilson says, the company would not have had buses traveling to Bamfield at night: “We’d always been firm about travelling in the daylight. Only, unfortunately, incidents happened on that fateful day that required going in at night.” With some students running late, the group needed a later departure time. The Bamfield bus route is an important part of Wilson’s business. At the time of the crash, the company still had 10 or 12 bookings there. It kept those commitments, with a guide vehicle
The Wilsons hope their deep roots, public support and record of community involvement will help them pull through these difficult times.
serving as a pilot. Then, as the investigation continued, the company suspended the direct bus service, but offered passengers transportation to the ferry from Port Alberni to Bamfield. “We got a lot of calls, letters, emails from supportive people,” says Wilson. “And I think the biggest role of support is just continuing to utilize our services.” Again, it’s early March, the worst of the pandemic is yet to come and business continues to be strong. The Wilsons hope their deep roots, public support and record of community involvement will help them pull through these difficult times.
The Local Connection During our August 2019 interview, brand manager Samantha Wilson said the fact Wilson’s is locally based gives it an advantage over a big company like Greyhound. “The routes we took over from Greyhound are all here in B.C., and because we are so close to them, we are able to make changes quicker than having our head office be in a different country, different time zones.” No one was sure if the new routes would be profitable. “I’ll let you know,” John Wilson says with a laugh during last summer’s meeting. “Right now, no. We’ve had to make a lot of changes. We are improving equipment, bringing in our policies around drivers and uniforms, adjusting schedules to where we think they are viable.” How can Wilson’s succeed where a corporate giant failed? John Wilson’s reply? “It’s a lot of sweat equity and a lot of hard work that gets put in by a lot of different people that gets us to where we are today. “Our diversity is the biggest part of our ability to adjust to the winds of our industry and the economic change in tourism,” says Wilson. “We’re involved in many aspects of ground transportation: scheduled services, a charter business, sightseeing, a rental van fleet, school buses. We have double-deckers. We have pretty much everything you can think of in ground transportation. Most companies focus on one of those areas, not all of those areas.” The Wilson’s Group also operates its own maintenance shops in Saanich, Nanaimo and Vancouver, as well as its own bus stations (some depots closed last year) and reservations centre. It carries some freight on its BC Ferries Connector and the Vancouver Island Connector. All this infrastructure, Wilson says, “makes us both nimble and able to change.” His son Andrew, a licensed mechanic, oversees maintenance for Wilson’s fleet and other carriers that come to the Island and use Wilson’s services: “It allows us to have a lot of close relationships with other bus companies across the province, across the country, all the way down to California,” Andrew Wilson says. “Once they get off the boat and get onto Vancouver Island, if something happens to their vehicle, then they are stuck, so being here and having a lot of experience in the business, we are their first call.”
An Enviable Reputation It all adds up to a solid business model for a company that has an “enviable” reputation, says professor Brock Smith, a specialist in entrepreneurship and marketing at the University of Victoria. Last August, he had rated Wilson’s chances of succeeding on its new routes as “very high.”
DOORS OPEN in Port Alberni! Port Alberni is filled with unique businesses, and now you can shop them online! Discover the many treasures that Port Alberni has to offer!
We gratefully acknowledge BetterBuySooke for their leadership and encouragement.
Find us online at www.BetterBuyPortAlberni.ca DOUGLAS 23
A LOOK BACK Certainly The Wilson’s Group can point to its long history in Victoria, its family ownership, its deep commitment to the community and the environment, as well as its business savvy. The company began in 1962 on Salt Spring Island when John Wilson’s father, William Kello Wilson, started a trucking business with one vehicle. “Mom and Dad decided they couldn’t make enough money on Salt Spring to start a family so they moved to Victoria.” They grew the trucking operation into a van and bus rental business. “We still have one truck left from that fleet,” says Wilson. “But we’re not in the trucking industry anymore.” The Wilsons incorporated three companies into Wilson’s Transportation in 1980, “so we consider that to be our anniversary.” The Wilson’s Group grew to include 26 brands, from the BC Ferries Connector to the Gray Line hop-on, hop-off tour buses, with a fleet of about 200 vehicles, annual revenues of more than $30 million and more than 300 employees. Over the past two years, the company has made big inroads, in part as transportation giant Greyhound halted almost all of its service in Western Canada, dropping all but its VancouverSeattle route, leaving many small communities in B.C.’s Interior with no bus service. Greyhound, based in Dallas, Texas, blamed a 41 per cent drop in passengers since 2010. In the days before COVID-19, Greyhound’s demise presented an opportunity for Wilson’s to expand and diversify. In fall 2018, it got the green light from the Passenger Transportation Board to operate buses on several routes vacated by Greyhound, from Vancouver to Whistler, Kamloops and Kelowna, albeit with competition from other carriers. That autumn, Wilson’s also bought the Island operations of Tofino Bus.
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In March, after the tragic crash and the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Smith still held that view, although he added Wilson’s ability to withstand a downturn in tourism may depend on how heavily leveraged it is after acquiring its new businesses. Smith says Greyhound struggled, “because its original business model was developed to serve long-haul transportation needs cost effectively.” But much of that long-haul business shifted to air travel. Wilson’s, meanwhile, has taken over shorter routes, with more passengers, lower costs per passenger and smaller, less luxurious buses. “If the customer is only sitting in that seat for one or two hours, or maybe three or four, that’s very different than sitting in that seat for 60 hours,” Smith says.
Invested in Community Smith also praises Wilson’s efforts to invest in the community through sports and charitable works: “Not just as part of their identity, but as a business strategy as well. In academic-speak, that is what we call building social capital, right? Basically endearing yourself to the various stakeholder communities.” The Wilson’s Group website lists nearly half a page of sports teams, activities and events that it supports, sponsors or co-owns, everything from hockey, baseball, lacrosse, rugby and basketball, to racquet sports and stock car racing. The company provides ground transportation for many of those teams. So is this a business proposition – or a way of supporting the community? Both, says John Wilson: “It is a community give-back. You wake up in the morning, hoping to break even.” Wilson says the company first got involved in sports in a big way during the 1994 Commonwealth Games. It’s since had a role in many high-profile events and activities, such as the Vancouver Canucks training camp and the World Junior Hockey Championship. Then there’s the charitable work, ranging from the Mustard Seed Food Bank to Pacific Opera Victoria. The Wilsons are big donors to the Our Place Society Therapeutic Recovery Centre, which offers rehabilitation programs for those recovering from addiction and hoping to re-enter society. John Wilson, who this January became chair of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, says he can’t estimate the amount of time he and his family spend volunteering, but says the donations provided by all the companies in the Wilson’s Group are probably close to half a million dollars a year. Then there’s the commitment to the environment. “Buses are great products as they are,” says Wilson. “You are taking numerous cars off the road.” Just days after we spoke last August, the company launched its first fully
electric vehicle, the Camosun Express, a free shuttle for Camosun students and staff. It doesn’t stop with buses. In 2018, the company announced plans to launch a fleet of electric boats that will operate in the Inner Harbour, going hand-in-hand with the company’s Gray Line Sightseeing Victoria product. And that’s where the Wilsons were last summer as they looked forward to their 40th anniversary of incorporation: packaging and refining their services after a period of rapid expansion. “It’s time to take a breath and do what we do, which is tweak them and make them successful operationally,” John Wilson says as we wrap up that first interview. And how would he and his family like the public to think of the Wilson brand? Everyone pauses for a moment before the CEO says, “Safe, reliable and community minded.”
The Pandemic Six months later, in early March, after the fatal crash and the COVID-19 outbreak, Wilson says, “I still stand by those words. I still feel very much we are a safe operator.” He’s still surrounded by the plaques and clippings and awards, and the reminders about the value of family, community, charity and hard work. But just a few days later, with the COVID-19 drama unfolding, with dire warnings from governments at all levels, with tourism drying up, and much business across the country shutting down, the Wilson’s Group posted a notice on its website, informing the public it had decided to suspend all operations of its Vancouver Island Connector, Tofino Bus, Mount Washington Ski Bus, BC Connector, CVS Tours, and Sightseeing Victoria Hop-On Hopoff bus until further notice. It reduced the BC Ferries Connector to two departures a day. Later that week, the company announced it would suspend all BC Ferries Connector buses through April 30. Its message to the public: “We apologize for any inconvenience this change in service may cause and thank you for your understanding as we work through this together.” That of course, was just the start. On May 5, the Times Colonist published John Wilson’s commentary on the impact of the pandemic, during what was to be a year of celebrations marking the 40th anniversary: “Never did I think this is how we would be spending it when late last year we began making celebration plans for this significant milestone for our company and our family. Like many others, rather than celebrating, we are just trying to survive.” On May 8, the company posted yet another notice online, saying it had made the difficult
“We’re doing the best we can with the skeleton crew here, a lot of family, and again, we’ll scratch and claw and do the best we can. We’ll get knocked down but we’ll keep moving forward.” — JOHN WILSON
decision to extend the suspension of all its scheduled services. Twelve days later, when we spoke again, John Wilson said he hoped the BC Ferries Connector and some other services could resume with a reduced schedule in early June, but the YYJ Airport Shuttle, the Vancouver Island Connector and the Tofino Bus remain suspended indefinitely. And yet, for all of this, Wilson is still trying to look ahead and strike a positive note. “It’s upsetting, but we’ve got to look at what we have to work with. We’re doing the best we can with the skeleton crew here, a lot of family, and again, we’ll scratch and claw and do the best we can. We’ll get knocked down, but we’ll keep moving forward.”
Holding Out Hope The Wilsons are hoping to reschedule the 40th anniversary celebrations for next year. They’ve also postponed the launch of the tour boats until 2021. Meanwhile, The Wilson’s Group is part of a national consortium of bus companies trying to negotiate some federal funding to help them break even on inter-city transportation. It’s a work-in-progress. There’s a vast array of federal programs out there, and Wilson hopes his firm qualifies for some of them. Right now it’s not clear where it may fit. As for the travelling public, “We feel there is still optimism and pent-up demand that will take precedence in 2021, and we’re hoping we can be here to reap the benefits of it to serve Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island, as we’ve done for many years in the past.” The world, of course, has changed. It’s a formidable challenge for any business, particularly one that depends so heavily on tourism. The coming months will show just how far all that hard work and commitment, community support and loyal customer base will carry The Wilson’s Group and its fleet of buses. Then again, as they say at Wilson’s headquarters, nothing worth having comes easy. ■
THE FACE OF TOMORROW Salina Dharamsi, CPA | PwC Canada Hire a CPA bccpa.ca
DOUGLAS 25
THE
WAKE-UP CALL WHAT BUSINESS OWNERS LEARNED DURING COVID-19 BY KERRY SLAVENS
As we move into the reboot phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Douglas asked local business leaders to share lessons learned. And one lesson is very clear: The pandemic has been a wake-up call to be prepared for anything. Whether it’s for another virus outbreak or a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, no one is taking things for granted anymore.
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W
hen news of the COVID-19 virus began to hit Vancouver Island, the majority of businesses had to adapt fast — or close their doors for what could be a monthslong crisis. As the owner of two businesses, each with dramatically different needs, Al Hasham had double the problems to solve and no time to lose. At Max Furniture, which had only just moved from Rock Bay — tripling its space to 4,000-square-feet — to Quadra Street, Hasham worked with co-owner Rahim Khudabux to shut things down and lay off staff until they could figure out a way to do business safely with private appointments, FaceTime viewings and an expanded online presence. Meanwhile, at Maximum Express Courier, Freight & Logistics, Hasham and his management team worked with urgency to ensure employees who felt comfortable to continue working could be on the job safely, with the right safety equipment and protocols. The old model of delivery and contact with clients, including the use of handheld devices, would not work in the era of COVID. The era of knock, drop and go had begun. “The biggest challenge for me was trying to keep up with the amount of information coming in, not just daily but hourly,” says Hasham. “Trying to pivot as quickly as possible, making changes without upsetting our team or giving them stress or anxiety, and communicating constantly. “There was no manual for doing business [in a pandemic],” he adds, “but we’ve learned many valuable lessons.” Douglas asked Hasham and other local business leaders from a variety of sectors about their biggest lessons learned during the COVID-19 crisis.
◗ LESSON 1
Let Tough Times Bring Out Your Best For Scott Garman, real estate adviser at the Garman Group, the big lesson from COVID-19 was just how resilient and resourceful people in the business sector can be. “I was impressed with how local businesses adapted their business plans, and moved to new safe, acceptable income streams where possible.” “The biggest takeaway for me is that innovation and creativity flourish when we are a little uncomfortable and faced with adversity,” says Nicole Sorochan. Like Hasham, Sorochan has more than one business to think about. At One Net, where most of the clients are cloud-based tech companies and digital entertainment brands, only a few contracts were delayed and none lost. In fact, One Net’s entertainment clients began seeing large spikes in usage as people sought home-entertainment options. Meanwhile, One Net was knee-deep in an investment round for a startup it had been incubating — Hipster Bait, an interactive, augmented-reality music discovery game for iOS and Android, created to take music back to the streets and to the artists. “Trying to raise capital and weighing the pros and cons of launching during the pandemic has been challenging and exciting,” says Sorochan, who is also a partner in Transcend Victoria, an inventive immersive entertainment
The main advice for businesses [is] to strategize now on how to start building a cash contingency reserve to call on during a crisis. — SCOTT GARMAN, THE GARMAN GROUP
The biggest takeaway for me is that innovation and creativity flourish when we are a little uncomfortable and faced with adversity, — NICOLE SOROCHAN, ONE NET
Fight tooth and nail to build some savings, if at all possible. We would have been in a much tougher spot if we hadn’t had a financial safety net built. — ROSS DUNN, STEPFORTH WEB MARKETING
company focused on taking human-centred experiences to new heights. With their entire target market in various forms of lockdown, Transcend was forced to pause. “I think the need for what we are imagining will become even greater once this is all over,” she says, “and it will take an entire community of creative people to make it happen. “Creativity in its purest form brings people together,” she adds. “The city is full of examples of this that make me smile every day. From artists, who selflessly found ways to entertain us on livestream, to the small companies like Nezza Naturals and Victoria Distillers, who combined forces to make us hand sanitizer; to the House of Jimbo, who created designer face masks, both for locals and the homeless …”
◗ LESSON 2
Progress, Not Perfection One of the lessons Denise Lloyd and the team at Engaged HR learned early in the pandemic, as they worked to meet the urgent HR needs of hundreds of clients across Canada, was that “perfect is the enemy of done.” “As a company,” Lloyd says, “it is very important to us to be a leader in our field, and that means communicating information to our clients and our community as quickly as possible. So I couldn’t wait for it to be perfect because perfect didn’t exist; we had to work with what we had, and we had to adapt on the fly.” For Lloyd, the key to this is trusting that her team’s values, experience and expertise will get them through. And it has.
◗ LESSON 3
Flex Your Mindset At DriveWise BC, Kate Harris, owner/operator of the familyowned driver education company with locations throughout B.C., experienced the initial shock of having to shut down completely. “It was incredibly hard and scary to have our business of 45 years suddenly go completely quiet,” she says. “I wish I had taken more action to innovate in the first few weeks after closing our doors. It was a scary time and I panicked,” says Harris. “Fast forward to a few weeks later, I decided to trust our experience in this business and our willingness and ability to adapt to new ways of doing things.” Lloyd adds, “There are lots of tactical and pragmatic things that we are advising clients to do to prepare for a second wave of COVID-19 or for a future pandemic of any sort. “Having said that, none of those are going to work if you don’t have one important thing in place, which is a nimble mindset. If you want to not just survive but thrive, be prepared to think strategically, to make decisions quickly and to leverage opportunity when you see it.”
◗ LESSON 4
Strengthen Your Safety Net Many people expressed surprise at how many small businesses came perilously close to shutting down only weeks into the pandemic. But just as most Canadians live DOUGLAS 27
paycheque to paycheque, most small businesses can’t afford to go more than a month without revenue. “The main advice for businesses [is] to strategize now on how to start building a cash contingency reserve to call on during a crisis,” says Scott Garman. “It pays to have some built-in resilience,” says Charles Horn, owner of The Pedaler Cycling Tours, which saw business drop by 95 per cent overnight. In the absence of tourists, Horn pivoted, adding bicycle repairs and sales to serve the local market. “I should have started this repair business a year and a half ago, but I didn’t put energy into it. Who plans for a pandemic? Nobody.” At StepForth Web Marketing, Ross Dunn was hoping for the best but preparing to lose 50 per cent of his client revenues, at least temporarily. “Fight tooth and nail to build some savings, if at all possible,” says Dunn. “We would have been in a much tougher spot if we hadn’t had a financial safety net built. It wasn’t huge, but it has helped immensely.”
◗ LESSON 5
Keep Receivables Up-to-Date “It’s tough for some because not many small businesses have a lot of reserves,” says
It wants to know if we’re ‘Still Watching’?
Making sure your receivables are always up to date is important. You shouldn’t have receivables at 60 and 90 days in the first place. — AL HASHAM, MAXIMUM COURIER EXPRESS AND MAX FURNITURE
Al Hasham. “So making sure your receivables are always up-to-date is important. You shouldn’t have receivables at 60 and 90 days in the first place. We make sure anybody going into 60 days, we put their account on hold. If you don’t get paid, why are you providing the service? You just can’t work that way.” And make sure you have a relationship with a financial institution, he adds. “You need them to see how your business has grown so when times are tough they say, ‘OK we’ll give you a bit of leverage there.’”
◗ LESSON 6
Learn to Scale For Tony Drolet, owner of Elite Promotional Marketing, which provides custom promotional products, apparel and awards to clients across Western Canada, an important lesson came
I can’t bear to chill anymore. Let’s take this date to The Courtney Room.
from his days of scouting: Be prepared. “More specifically, the guiding principal I would advise on would be to understand how to scale your business, both up and down,” he says. “A lot of businesses concentrate (as they should) on how to grow. The opposite is just as important, depending on the wide range of local, national and international economics. Having the ability to smoothly scale your spending down as a reflection of the dropping revenue during a pandemic will ensure viability and survival.”
◗ LESSON 7
Don’t Ignore Your Digital Presence “Having a strong digital presence that can help you sell [is important],” says Sorochan. “When you can’t open up a physical door, you need to open up a virtual one. Most importantly, trust in your creativity and innovation to solve and potentially pivot your business model if you need to. Who knows? You may end up with an entirely new thriving business.”
◗ LESSON 8
Diversify, Diversify, Diversify “Try hard to ensure your income isn’t reliant upon too few clients for your bread and
HAPPY HOUR
Drinks that don’t require a dress code.
Delight in $5 draught beer and $8 glasses of wine from 4pm to 6pm
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butter,” says Ross Dunn. “[StepForth was] not as diversified as I wish we had been, but at least we didn’t have to worry about one or two clients worth most of our income cancelling. I try to consider this quarterly: Are we too exposed? If so, what new business verticals can we target or increase our presence and limit our exposure to market destabilization?” “Reliance on a single travelling market, no matter how diverse that market is — it’s still a single market,” says Charles Horn. “Unless you have deep pockets and can wait out a season, that reliance can be a dangerous strategy.”
◗ LESSON 9
Put On Your Oxygen Mask “Pay attention to your team, including you,” says Denise Lloyd. “Some employees will thrive during this time, and some will struggle. Some will rise to the surface as rock stars, and some will disappoint you. “The thing to remember is that these are unusual times, and everyone is going to need some additional care and attention to navigate these times successfully. This also includes you, so be sure to put your oxygen mask on first and take care of yourself, so that you can, in turn, take care of your team.”
ONE DRIVER. ONE CAR. ONE INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE.
REWARD YOURSELF Now more than ever before, it’s time to get out and treat yourself, or someone you love, to some fun. All driving days are designed with one thing in mind, to ensure you have an experience of a lifetime. From professional coaching to open lapping, the Circuit has something for every driver, every skill level and every occasion. Visit us online and find the experience for you.
PEACE OF MIND WITH EVERY VISIT Increased Sanitization
On-Site Safety Procedures
The thing to remember is that these are unusual times, and everyone is going to need some additional care and attention to navigate these times successfully. This also includes you. — DENISE LLOYD, ENGAGED HR
◗ LESSON 10
Keep the Lines Open “We’ve learned to communicate more, and with intention. We’re feeling more connected to each other as a team and with our community,” says Stacey Toews, co-founder of Level Ground Trading, which imports fair trade coffee and roasts and packages it here in Victoria. “Being ‘forced’ to connect remotely has actually improved the quality of our conversations, and I think it will have a longterm positive impact on how we work, give back and show up as a business.” At One Net, Nicole Sorochan and her team balanced the seriousness of the situation with light-hearted fun, holding MTV-style ‘cribs’ tours, where an employee per day got to
mag@islandmotorsportcircuit.com | 1-844-856-0122
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virtually tour the team through their homes, and hosting game hours to connect through online gaming. “It brought us even closer together,” says Sorochan. “Our creative concepts as a result are some of the best yet.”
Having the opportunity to pull myself from the rat race of day-to-day operations … allowed me the time and energy to observe my company systems and processes …
◗ LESSON 11
Find Time to Reflect “The greatest lesson I’ve learned during this pandemic is how important it is to work on your business,” says Tony Drolet. “Having the opportunity to pull myself from the rat race of day-to-day operations ... allowed me the time and energy to observe my company systems and processes. I have uncovered inefficiencies in our operations that I would not have otherwise noticed. I have been able to look pragmatically at our business plans for tomorrow, next month and next year. Most importantly, I have bolstered my understanding of reflection. Being given the opportunity to reflect on my decisions and their outcomes has been both productive and inspiring.”
◗ LESSON 12
Take a Deep Breath “The silver lining is [that] everything came to a pause and we were forced to take a break, breath, think and then react,” says Al Hasham.
— TONY DROLET, ELITE PROMOTIONAL MARKETING
“I’ve always been one of these people who said, ‘There’s no need to rush — you have the right to think about it before you react, and then make the decision.’ Because when something like this happens, everyone goes into panic mode — it’s human nature — but take a step back for yourself and find a moment to think about it. I come from a background of looking at the worstcase scenario, then working my way through. So when you think, ‘What’s the worst case? That’s fine; I can still survive with that.’”
◗ LESSON 13
Community Matters “Be the local business that is connected to your community and steps up to help out,” says Stacey Toews. “Support those who are doing great work and find ways to engage your team with giving in some way.”
At Level Ground, Toews and his team completed a major food bank campaign, did giveaways and gave their tin-tie reclosure tabs from their coffee bags to local businesses making masks. “It’s all helped keep our culture strong and brought us closer to our peers,” Toews adds. At Stepforth, Dunn offered free website audits via Zoom to small business owners in specific markets to help them build their businesses. StepForth also donated time and expertise to create covid19now.com and covid19therapy.ca to create awareness and provide free mental health support for front-line healthcare workers. At Maximum Courier, the team set up a COVID-19 support account, providing free delivery of essentials, such as prescriptions, to vulnerable people in the community. “We learned that our customers and the community really want to support local businesses, even if we can’t be there to serve them like we always have,” says Kate Harris of DriveWise, which has been developing safety controls in preparation for the business reopening. “We have really learned to trust in that support, and we’re so grateful for our wonderful employees and our extremely patient customers.” “Let’s all support each other and support local,” says Scott Garman, “helping our local economy recover together.”
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? “Victoria has historically been a low volatility market in Canada, in terms of real estate, and I believe we will see this hold true through this crisis. I believe we will see price stability for the most part through this, though sales transaction volume will be down considerably and will take well into 2021 to reach pre-pandemic levels.” — SCOTT GARMAN, GARMAN GROUP
“We’re feeling very positive about the future and our plans for recovery. Reopening for DriveWise requires us to have a whole new set of precautions, procedures and communications in place for the safety of our students and employees.” — KATE HARRIS, DRIVEWISE BC
“We’ve certainly had to deal with the loss of some customers who can’t currently operate, but we’re optimistic for their return and for our overall recovery. Our online [coffee] sales have more than doubled, with mostly local orders, which has us 30 DOUGLAS
excited about people choosing local.” — STACEY TOEWS, LEVEL GROUND
“The wonderful part about this ‘new normal’ is that it is in our hands to create. How businesses operate will be controlled in certain aspects by government regulations [but], we’re now entering an economic landscape that can be moulded by the leaders in our communities. Having the ability to work on the leading edge of new client/customer habit, forming is exciting.”
our clientele ... There will be some serious purse-tightening to rebuild our safety net quickly, and we’ll have to find the time and energy to go the extra mile to support our clients while they reopen and (in some cases) rebuild ... while adapting to the new normal. All of that said, I’m feeling really good about our prospects.” — ROSS DUNN, STEPFORTH WEB MARKETING
“Our vision is to transform workplaces. There has never been a more relevant time in HR than right now. Our future is very bright as we work with our clients to adapt, change, and thrive in this new reality.”
“Travel is a resilient industry. People travelled after 9/11 and after 2008 — it doesn’t disappear. The thing [COVID] didn’t change is the nature of the business — it just interrupted it. It wasn’t a technology change that made my work obsolete or some fundamental shift in the market that meant I can’t sell horse buggies anymore ... I predict that in two years business will be what it was.”
— DENISE LLOYD, ENGAGED HR
— CHARLES HORN, THE PEDALER
“We are going to be in good shape as long as the second wave of COVID-19 isn’t too disastrous for
“In the courier industry, we’ll continue with either the same volume or less. I’ve been talking to
— TONY DROLET, ELITE PROMOTIONAL MARKETING VICTORIA
agents we do the overflow for, like Purolator, who actually said they’re at Black Friday and Christmas levels already. For Max Furniture, it will take a bit to get revenue back up. We’re in a three-times-larger store, so we have space for people to be comfortable and safe. We’re hoping to grow steadily over time, but it also depends on the recovery of our community. I know we get anxiety with all the news, but we need to change our outlook and say, ‘We’ll get through this.’” — AL HASHAM, MAXIMUM COURIER EXPRESS, FREIGHT & LOGISTICS AND MAX FURNITURE
“Our future is bright for One Net. We can all feel it. It hasn’t always been easy, and we feel like we are in a good place moving forward to continue to grow and thrive … As a community, I feel if we continue to stick together and support each other as we have been, that our recovery will be a historical moment to remember.” — NICOLE SOROCHAN, ONE NET, HIPSTER BAIT AND TRANSCEND VICTORIA
FEATURED BUSINESS BRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
INTERACTIVE CONSTRUCTION BUILDING BETTER
S
trength starts in the foundation, and that is as true for a home as it is for the company building it. For Russ Barry and Jodi Roach, owners and operators of Interactive Construction, that has been their practice since Day 1 – a focus on building better for their clients, their community and the environment from the ground up. “We are constantly adapting and learning how to build better than we did the day before. Covid-19 impacted everyone, and our experience reinforced the choices we make to support our crew, engage with our subtrades and respect our clients,” Russ says. “We’re learning a lot as the situation evolves, but it is really clear that our values are serving us well as we navigate the changes in the industry and in our community.” Functional Foundations For Interactive Construction, the crew adapted their approach but never fully stopped building. The company worked with staff to support their needs as they navigated having children at home, illness and other impacts of the pandemic, Russ says, noting everyone had to adjust. In a hands-on industry, the online operational foundation he built into the company paid off however. With payroll, invoicing, scheduling and more all done digitally already, administrative staff and project managers worked from home, while the crew and subtrades adhered to new
hygiene and distancing protocols on site. “Seven members of our crew could work and manage projects remotely in March and April because of those systems we already had in place,” Jodi says. “Paired with a high level of trust between the teams, our crew was able to balance taking care of themselves while still delivering for our clients.” Interactive Construction has been building custom homes and renovations in Victoria since 2013. The company’s wide portfolio of work includes several Passive House Canada certified and award-winning projects that are pushing the definition of sustainable building in the city. “The houses we build are people’s homes,” Jodi says. “We’re so grateful to be welcomed into those spaces as we work to create them, knowing what we’re really building is community.” Navigating the complex impacts of a global pandemic reinforced how interconnected everything is, she adds, and how decisions on one jobsite need to work for everyone involved. A consistent focus on the people using them is at the core of decisions around systems and protocols. “The one constant is our approach to people. We respect our crew, our partners and our clients,” Russ says. “As a company, we seek the best in our community, to partner with and work with, to create homes built with pride and skill.”
AS D A LC O F ENATTEUNRTE PV O ENRSTOORREID
Adapting As Usual For the year ahead, there will undoubtedly be new challenges and opportunities as the longer-term impacts of Covid-19 are realized, Russ says. What they do know is that the goals they set for 2020 before the year began are even more relevant now. They are committed to finding ways to lower VOC emissions within homes to support health and well-being in built environments, and lessen their global impact through sustainable building practices and materials, sourced locally when possible. Online systems to support remote working remains a focus so that the crew can adapt to changing protocols and requirements, Covid-19 and otherwise, without losing the momentum of a project. It’s about refining what was already working, rather than learning a completely new way to do business, Russ says. It’s a position they are grateful to be in. “We aren’t restarting with new systems,” he says. “It’s business as usual in that we keep adapting – to what our clients need and what the world needs.”
250-886-3833 interactiveconstruction.ca
FEATURED BUSINESS
SOUTH ISLAND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP
The South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) has launched the Rising Economy Taskforce to coordinate a strong local response to the economic crisis created by COVID-19. SIPP is an alliance of over 60 public and private partners across Greater Victoria. Founded in 2016, SIPP was created in response to Greater Victoria’s slow recovery in the years following the Great Recession of 2008-2009. Today, through the strength and agility of our regional partnerships, our region is in a far better position to accelerate our economic recovery and leave no one behind. Collaboration today, means prosperity tomorrow. The Rising Economy Taskforce is the largest, coordinated industry-led COVID-related initiative in British Columbia and is led by representatives of diverse segments of the Greater Victoria economy. The Taskforce will support recovery by establishing priorities for the region that are most inclusive, maximize the positive impacts on the economy and will help coordinate recovery activities for the region by helping stakeholders identify common interests and develop partnerships. When the recovery begins, the Taskforce will help measure our progress through a monthly economic dashboard and communicate priorities to all levels of government. Taskforce members include representatives from Greater Victoria businesses, First Nations, municipal governments, post-secondary institutions and nonprofits. A cohort of sector- and business-specific committees will work with the Taskforce to provide guidance and gather input to inform a recovery strategy. For more information and to sign up for monthly updates, visit southislandprosperity.ca/economic-recovery-dashboard. Taskforce members: CHAIR Emilie de Rosenroll CEO, SIPP VICE CHAIR Frank Bourree Bourree and Associates Ken Armour Esquimalt Councillor Sherri Bell President, Camosun College Jamie Cassels President and Vice Chancellor, UVic Dave Corey Executive Officer, VREB Christina Clarke CEO, Songhees Devco SIPP Board member Mitzi Dean MLA Esquimalt-Metchosin Geoff Dickson President & CEO, Victoria International Airport Tina Fang Chair of the Canadian Migration Institute SIPP Board member Mandy Farmer CEO, Accent Inns
Gordon Fyfe CEO & Chief Investment Officer, BC Investment Management Corporation (BCI)
Jeremy Meckler Regional Manager, Community Business, Vancity
Dr. Murray Fyfe Medical Officer of Health (South Island), VIHA
Ruth Mojeed Founder and CEO, The Inclusion Project
Dan Gunn CEO, VIATEC
Ralf Mundel VP Operations, Thrifty Foods
Lisa Helps Mayor of Victoria Carol-Anne Hilton CEO, Indigenomics Institute Robert Jawl Managing Director, Jawl Properties Doug Kobayashi Colwood Councillor Julie Lawlor Executive Director, Westshore Chamber of Commerce Cliff McNeil-Smith Mayor of Sidney Nikki Macdonald Consultant, Adjunct Professor, UVic Captain Jamie Marshall Vice President, Business Development & Innovation, BC Ferries
Craig Norris CEO, Victoria International Marina SIPP Board Chair Paul Nursey CEO, Destination Greater Victoria Steve Pearce Board President, Think Local First Erinn Pinkerton CEO, BC Transit Chief Gordon Planes T’Sou-ke Nation
Dan Ruscheinski Senior Director, Esri Canada Gerry Salembier Assistant Deputy Minister, BC Region, WD Captain (Navy) Sam Sader Base Commander, CFB Esquimalt Jennifer Vornbrock Community and Government Relations, UVic SIPP Board member Zac de Vries Saanich Councillor Steve Wellburn Partner, Private Enterprise and Professionals, MNP Bruce Willliams CEO, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce John Wilson CEO, Wilson Group
Colin Plant Board Chair, CRD Rasool Rayani Investor, Entrepreneur, Business Owner Sandra Richardson CEO, Victoria Foundation
ASDP VOENRSTOORREI D A LC FOENATTEUNRTE
www.southislandprosperity.ca
FEATURED BUSINESS
ECOLOGYST FOSTERING A DEEP CONNECTION TO NATURE
What if Mother Nature made her own clothing company? Undoubtedly, products would be made from natural fibres and materials that support the planet as well as an active, outdoors lifestyle! Eighteen years ago, this is exactly what Rene Gauthier, founder of Sitka, and his team set out to do — create adventureworthy clothing designed to last a lifetime while also maintaining integrity with the planet and supporting the local business “ecosystem.” It’s because of these values that the decision was made to change the company’s name from Sitka to Ecologyst Outfitters Inc. “The core of our brand has always been about fostering a deep connection to nature and inspiring others to get outside amongst the trees, and now our name is even more aligned with our purpose. We’re showing our community how they can make more ecoconscious decisions through their clothing, as well as through our numerous educational blogs and videos,” says Gauthier. Ecologyst is also focused on taking care of the environment through multiple
partnerships, such as with Pacific Wild on the Hornby Island herring documentary, The Silver in the Sea. Ecologyst’s Sitka Society for Conservation has been operating since 2014, working with groups such as Clayoquot Clean-Up. And perhaps the most exciting project currently in the works is the Impossible Fibre Project with the Advanced Fibrous Materials Lab at UBC, which is looking to make the impossibility of recycling cotton possible! Beyond the Perfect Fit Ecologyst Outfitters Inc. continues to advocate that doing good and being profitable can and must co-exist. In fact, last year it dove headfirst into community ownership, currently sitting at 7% with the aim to achieve 20%. “We scrap the status quo in most aspects of our business. Right back to our roots of making surfboards in 2002; lots of people questioned whether you can even surf in Canada. We were met with surprise when we moved our production back to Canada too, but this was at the very heart of who we are — home-grown, committed to ethical
SD PO N RSTOOR RE IDA LC O NA T TE U NRT E A VE FE
working conditions, and minimizing our environmental footprint,”shares Gauthier. Ecologyst Outfitters also have a vertical supply chain, meaning they're closer to all their employees — and community feedback. Happy, safe employees working within an ethical company culture are ensured, and there’s higher quality control due to the fact that Ecologyst owns its own factory in Victoria, B.C. As Rene says, “Returning to the directto-consumer model means we’re hyper connected to our community; what they want and need from their gear. We are free to focus on quality clothing, created from all-natural materials, which we back with a lifetime guarantee.” This is what a perfect fit for socially and environmentally conscious consumers looks like.
1219 Government Street, Victoria 250-382-7873 ecologyst.com
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TOURISM’S
UNCHARTED TERRITORY THE LOCAL $2.3-BILLION TOURISM INDUSTRY WAS HIT HARD BY COVID-19. IN ORDER TO RECOVER, ITS STAKEHOLDERS AND OPERATORS MUST NAVIGATE A WORLD REMADE BY THE PANDEMIC. BY ATHENA MCKENZIE PHOTO BY JEFFREY BOSDET
I Prince of Whales owner Alan McGillivray next to the Salish Sea Eclipse, one of two $3.5-million catamarans purchased, in the last few years. The federal ban on marine vessels with a capacity of more than 12 passengers is expected to lift on June 30, but, at press time, the whale-watching industry is still awaiting approval to start operations.
t’s a magical spring morning in the Inner Harbour. Above the Legislature, fluffy white clouds drift across the azure sky. The lawns of the Fairmont Empress are a riot of colour, bright purple and magenta tulips offering a bounty of Instagram possibilities. But no tourists crouch to snap that perfect shot. The streets and sidewalks are deserted. No buskers’ singing, voices of tour guides or bike bells break the silence — the only sounds are bird song and the muted lap of the waves against the hulls of the boats docked at the marina. “My gosh, we’ve had all this beautiful weather, it’s just been a stunning spring,” says Prince of Whales owner Alan McGillivray, whose whalewatching business is based in the Inner Harbour, out of 112 Wharf Street, a very prominent tourist location. Several of his boats are moored there, including the Salish Sea Eclipse, a $3.5-million high-speed, luxury, custombuilt catamaran launched last year. “We should have been all fired up on April 1,” he says. “When we’re going full blast in the summer, we have almost 100 employees. Back in March, when the really obvious announcements came from the Prime Minister that the borders were closed and international travel was pretty well canceled, we had to layoff everybody except for three employees.” It’s not hyperbole to say that in the wake of COVID-19 the local tourism industry is among the hardest hit of sectors. Prior to the pandemic, tourism was the second largest industry in Greater Victoria, boasting an annual $2.3-billion economic impact and bringing $1.4-billion in new revenue from visitors into the local economy each year. “2020 was setting up to be a record here in every and all channels,” says Paul Nursey, Destination Greater Victoria CEO. “We had record conventions, incredible sports tourism opportunities, like the FIBA World Cup Basketball Qualifiers, and it was looking to be a very, very strong year. “We’d been working diligently for the last six years on two big priorities: Year-round, high-yield business and sustainable tourism. We were heading to a really good place. And regrettably this virus has disrupted all that.”
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JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE
businesses had already invested heavily in the coming season, and will not see that return on investments. “It is a financial challenge,” McGillivray says. “We went through the whole winter with very little revenue and supported all of our initiatives, keeping all of our facilities paid for, both offices and moorage. We put in place all of our marketing and website improvements. We built a brand new office on Granville Island, which we haven’t even really occupied yet. Likewise, we took delivery of a brand new 3.5-milliondollar boat that, on its very first hour of being legally inspected, we had to park it at Granville Island, and it has not moved since.” As of press time, Transport Canada’s prohibition on vessels carrying over 12 passengers and operating for tourism was set to expire on June 30.
Alan McGillivray, owner of the Prince of Whales and Elspeth McGillivray, the company’s operations manager. The Victoria-based whale watching company is the largest in the Pacific Northwest, with 14 boats and tours that usually depart from Victoria, Telegraph Cove, Vancouver and Seattle.
The Worst Possible Timing Presenting the full scope of the losses is difficult. According to Destination Greater Victoria, projections show a $1.4-billion decrease in visitor spending, along with job losses of 19,800 to 22,500. Most tourism businesses receive up to two-thirds of their annual revenue from May to September and rely on this revenue to keep functioning over the remainder of the year. In
The Recovery Task Force
2020, it’s likely that this revenue will decrease by up to 88 per cent, assuming it is safe for some travel and tourism to recommence this summer. Industry forecasters predict the tourism business will be extremely curtailed for 18 months until the fall of 2021. In addition, as Nursey points out, the pandemic happened at the worst time of the year because many of the local tourism
To help the struggling Greater Victoria tourism industry through the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, 12 tourism business leaders have formed the Greater Victoria Tourism Rescue and Recovery Task Force. They are working together to propose solutions and to also develop ways forward for business recovery. According to Nursey, the focus of the task force is two-fold: to seek policy initiatives and financial support to ensure survival of Greater Victoria’s tourism industry through the COVID-19 pandemic; and to position Greater Victoria’s
■ INDIGENOUS TOURISM Heading into 2020, the Indigenous tourism industry was outpacing all other tourism sectors in Canada for growth. According to the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous tourism could result in a $900-million loss to the Canadian GDP. As many Indigenous tourism businesses are young and not yet showing a profit, they are not eligible for many of the loans
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offered through the small business relief programming managed by the BDC, EDC and the major banks in Canada. It was initally estimated that by June, no less than 40 per cent of the Indigenous tourism business sector could be closed (representing 760 of the estimated 1,900 Indigenous tourism specific businesses). On June 11, the federal government announced $133 million in funding to help
Indigenous businesses, of which $16 million is allocated to support Indigenous businesses in the tourism sector. ITAC will oversee this tourism funding, which will go to 600 Indigenous tourism businesses in the form of up to $25,000 nonrepayable grants. “This is one of the major steps we need to at least salvage a core group of businesses,” says ITAC’s President and CEO Keith Henry. “It
will give them some operational dollars to work with us and the provincial Indigenous tourism partners to rewrite business plans and marketing strategies, and get prepared for reopening.” Henry cautions that the outlook “is still grim,” and that ITAC is working with Export Development Canada and Business Development Canada on adjusting business credit availability programs.
“During the lockdown, we have focused on developing marketing material, creating an online gallery and building systems for the successful operation of our businesses. Starting on Indigenous Day on June 21, in partnership with Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, the Songhees Seafood & Steam food truck will be at Ships Point with safely distanced artist vendors and performances. As soon as international travel resumes, we expect our tourism ventures to do very well.”
“Domestic tourism has been good for our sector. Around 60 per cent of our customers have been domestic. Now, obviously, it’s going to be a much bigger number. Starting on National Indigenous Day, we’ve devised a new marketing platform Destination Indigenous. It’s going to be a call to action to consumers locally and across the country that it’s time to come experience Indigenous tourism.”
— CHRISTINA CLARKE, CEO, THE SONGHEES NATION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
— KEITH HENRY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE INDIGENOUS TOURISM ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
tourism industry for the expected economic recovery, as restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic are relaxed, with a focus on a realistic 18-month survival-and-recovery strategy. In its initial report, the Task Force has prioritized five requests for government that are critical to support local tourism businesses immediately and going forward: Extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) well into 2021. Extending the 16-week period before severance is required for staff on temporary layoff, as well as flexibility for group lay-off provisions for tourism’s highly seasonal workforce. Providing interest-free loans, grants, subsidies, or similar financial supports. Supporting COVID-19 safety-oriented and physical social-distancing measures. Redirecting Destination Canada and Destination BC marketing funds from traditional international source markets to domestic source markets, at the community level, for the short term upon the approved restart. As of press time, Destination Greater Victoria will receive $504,000 over the next two fiscal years (2020 and 2021), flowed through Destination BC. Anthony Everett, president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver Island, is another member of the task force. His organization also helped spearhead the BC Tourism Resiliency Network with Island Coastal Economic Trust. “What businesses are telling us is that their number one need, besides cash, is to be liquid,” Everett says. “We can’t help them with that, but [the network] can help them navigate all the online government systems. We have program advisers who work with businesses directly. And we also have an extensive set of experts that a business can access for free for further help as they navigate to reopen, adapt and market their business.”
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The cruise industry is an essential part of the tourism equation in Victoria. In 2019, the Victoria Cruise Terminal at The Breakwater District welcomed more than 700,000 passengers and 300,000 crew. This included the inaugural call of the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas, which will be one of the vessels utilizing the new mooring dolphin extension when sailings resume. The cruise terminal reportedly contributed more than $130-million annually to the regional economy, including 800 direct and indirect jobs in Greater Victoria. “We were anticipating that this was going to be another very strong year, and boy, what a
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DOUGLAS 37
Exploring Our Own Backyard
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difference 60 days makes,” says Ian Robertson, CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA), the not-for-profit organization that manages the Victoria Cruise Terminal. “It’s no secret that this year, our organization will realize a financial loss ... we’ve had to make some very difficult decisions around temporary layoffs, which resulted in close to half of our organization being temporarily laid off. That was probably the most difficult day as a CEO that I’ve ever had.” While there are some optimists, the local cruise industry might not have the smoothest sailing to recovery. Early pandemic news stories of cruise ships carrying infected passengers could have lingering effects. According to reports, cruise companies lost $750-million in revenue in the spring, while shares of the big three — Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian — dropped by 60 to 70 per cent. With the loss of a full cruise-ship season, the GVHA anticipates losing about $12.5-million in cruise-ship passenger fees, approximately 70 per cent of its total revenue for 2020. But Robertson says he is more optimistic about the future than he was in the early months of the pandemic. GVHA’s cruise partners have reported that 76 per cent of cruise-ship passengers whose trips were cancelled this year have opted to take a credit and rebook next
In late May, the federal Ministry of Transport announced that cruise ships with overnight accommodations for more than 100 people are prohibited from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020.
year. There are berth requests for 2021, and the GVHA should know what the season will look like by November. “We will need an acknowledgment from the cruise lines that they are going to put even more stringent screening practices into effect,” Robertson says. “First and foremost in my mind is that the cruise lines have to assure the communities they are coming into that their passengers have been screened. We want to make sure when cruises return, the passengers and the crews will be welcomed.”
In the short term, the industry focus will be on the local traveller exploring the region, and then gradually moving into the rest of B.C. and then the rest of Canada. “We don’t typically rely on B.C. residents to partake in the activities we offer,” says Elspeth McGillivray, Prince of Whales’ operations manager “This is giving us, and all the tourism operators, an opportunity to look to our local communities — to not only support us in these times but to enjoy your own backyard. And to encourage people to spend their vacation dollars within B.C. when they would otherwise be going to Europe or elsewhere.” In the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s (TIAC) recent report, The State of Tourism in Canada During COVID-19, it notes that as some restrictions begin lifting, travellers have started researching destinations and showing some travel desire. TIAC believes that in the North American market, car travel will be more attractive for tourists in the short term. But Nursey cautions that while B.C. tourists can help save some of this year’s lost tourism season, they are not going to be enough to return the industry to its previous levels of economic success. “International travelers spend more and do more diverse activities than domestic travelers,”
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he says. “And conferences are the highest spending customer by far. So any notion that somehow the B.C. traveller can replace international travel is not accurate.”
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Brand Safe When the cruise industry does return, it’s believed the Alaska route could be one of the global itineraries to rebound the fastest. “The reason for that is Alaska is seen as being very, very safe,” Robertson says. And safe is the key word for the travel industry going forward. “There’s a really good quote,” says Deidre Campbell, managing director of Beattie Tartan. “It goes: ‘After 9/11, without security, there would be no tourism.’ Because of what happened then, we needed to increase security. They’re now saying that after COVID-19, without health and safety — and the training around health and safety —there will be no tourism.” (As a comparison, the U.S. Travel Association reports that the impact of COVID on travel is six or seven times greater than the 9/11 attacks.) Campbell, a communication specialist, who was awarded Destination Greater Victoria’s Miracle Award in recognition for her work in tourism, believes the perception of what makes a destination safe is something the entire region will have to agree on, meaning collaboration across the board. “We’re building a brand of trust around a brand of a destination,” Campbell says. “So if everyone is not on board with the level of health, safety, hygiene and cleanliness, and all those distancing measures, that’s going to hurt our destination.” Collaboration is also at the core of Mandy Farmer’s vision for the future of the industry. As the CEO of Accent Inns, she led the company through some innovative measures to thrive in the last few months — including housing hospital workers and running hotel rooms as self-contained workspaces — and is still going ahead with the planned opening of its eighth property in Tofino this summer. “I’m among the hotel association that is helping to build the guidelines for safe travel within B.C.,” Farmer says. “We’re like bending over backwards to share information with each other. One of our managers used to be a manager of a hospital ward, so she just whipped us all into shape.” Those guidelines from the BC Hotel Association have been shared nationwide. “You want to be the one that shows leadership, shares information, helps each other through this,” says Campbell. “If we become known in Victoria — as we were with sustainability — for these new standards of safe tourism, then I think that’s going to be our edge.” ■
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INTEL
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
BY JIM HAYHURST
How Authentic Leadership Shines During a Crisis Long seen as a soft skill, the ability to lead from the heart is getting tested — and refined — like never before.
1 Pursuing their purpose with passion. Dr. Henry has been on the front lines of outbreaks, from Ebola to SARS, for her entire career, and has literally written the book (Soap and Water & Common Sense). 40 DOUGLAS
2 Practising solid values. Dr. Henry is as interested in the contagion of fear as much as the viruses themselves because fear attacks the very core of our humanity — our empathy for one another. 3 Leading with their hearts as well as their heads. Each daily briefing always starts with statistics, but it also includes stories to honour the people behind the numbers. 4 Establishing connected relationships. When Dr. Henry says “Be kind, be calm, and be safe,” she seems to be speaking not to a general population, but to each of us individually. 5 Demonstrating self-discipline. By holding the briefing at the same time each day, with the same agenda, Dr. Henry exercised a leader’s most potent form of discipline: Consistency. During a time of crisis, it’s this last trait — the discipline of consistency — that is at once most difficult and most needed. Authentic leaders have exercised this muscle so many times it just shows up when the stakes are highest. Undisciplined leaders whose communication style, decision-making and emotional stability lack consistency (yes, a certain U.S. politician fits the bill) are quickly exposed. Comedian George Burns said, “Authenticity is everything in politics. Once you learn to fake it, you’re golden.” And while faking authenticity may seem oxymoronic, it’s still possible. But not for long. In a crisis with no end in sight, well, the pretenders get found out. It is exhausting. Again and again, employee surveys reveal that what they seek most in their leaders is not charisma or passion or even the ability to clearly communicate vision. It’s consistency: knowing that actions and reactions will
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egendary basketball coach John Wooden once said the truest test of character is what you do when no one is watching. Perhaps at no other point in history could it also be said that the opposite is true: Who you are when everyone is watching — and the stakes are highest — is proving to be just as revealing. And let’s be clear: Everyone is watching. We may all be consumed by our own personal and professional journey through the COVID-19 crisis, but our leadership lens has both widened and focused simultaneously. The acute awareness of our own actions is consistently tested by comparisons to our peers, both here and around the world. Employees, customers, communities and family are all providing feedback on how we’re doing as leaders. Like it or not, this is a test everyone is forced to take — and the marks will be public. If ever there were a time for authentic leadership to take centre stage, this is it. And in many ways, the best example is happening here in Victoria each day at 3 p.m. Dr. Bonnie Henry’s COVID-19 daily briefing has been a masterclass in the art and science of authentic leadership. At first, I resisted watching, despite my wife’s encouragement. “She’s incredible,” said Beth. “I just feel so much better after I hear her.” So when I finally started watching, I was blown away. Everything Dr. Henry and the B.C. leadership team did matched well against the five traits of authentic leadership identified by Bill George, the CEO-turnedHarvard-academic who popularized the theory of authentic leadership.
RESILIENCY IN CRISIS In the face of challenges and uncertainty faced by global leaders, Deloitte surveyed its own ranks to find the five fundamental qualities of resilient leadership. Not surprisingly, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry checks every one of these boxes. ■ Design from the heart — and the head. In crisis, the hardest things can be the softest things. Resilient leaders are genuinely, sincerely empathetic, walking compassionately in the shoes of employees, customers and broader ecosystems while still being mission critical. ■ Put the mission first. Resilient leaders are skilled at triage, able to stabilize their organizations to meet the crisis at hand while finding opportunities amid constraints. ■ Aim for speed over elegance. Resilient leaders take decisive action — with courage — based on imperfect information, knowing expediency is essential. ■ Own the narrative. Resilient leaders seize the narrative at the outset, being transparent about current realities —including what they don’t know — while painting a compelling picture of the future that inspires others. ■ Embrace the long view. Resilient leaders stay focused on the horizon, anticipating new models that are likely to emerge and sparking the innovations that will define tomorrow. Excerpt from The Heart of Resilient Leadership: Responding to COVID-19, Deloitte Insights, 2020.
generally align to a defined set of parameters, which team members can execute without confusion or fear. In her recent Harvard Business Review article, “Real Leaders Are Forged in Crisis,” professor Nancy Koehn declares unequivocally that leaders are not born but made. Like strong steel, they are forged in high heat, under great pressure. “Your job, as a leader today,” she writes of the COVID challenge, “is to provide both brutal honesty … and credible hope.” It’s that dual notion of honesty and hope that, for me, most cogently captures authentic leadership at times like this. By its nature, honesty in crisis is brutal. But credible hope at once softens the blow and hardens our resolve to see it through.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
I believe there’s tremendous power for leaders who act with authenticity and its equally misunderstood cousin, vulnerability. If I think back to the most impactful leadership moments of my life, either I — or the person leading me — said a version of these five phrases, creating space needed for the connective tissue of leadership to form and strengthen. They were: Thank you for the feedback. What do you think?
Group captures with the elegant (yet stinging) acronym W.A.I.T. (“Why Am I Talking?”). Authenticity is defined as “real or genuine; not copied or false; true and accurate.” It comes from the Greek word for author. Let us all be the authors of hope at this time through honesty, consistency and caring so that — one day — we may look back and see that the greatest contagion of 2020 was not a virus — it was our ability to lead authentically. ■
I don’t know. Help me. O kay, nice, good, ahh, wow, interesting… (or any other open-ended single word). In fact, often the best word was no word at all, a hard-earned habit that Ian Chisholm at Roy
Jim Hayhurst is a trusted advisor to purposedriven organizations and leaders. He is currently active in six companies and social impact projects that elevate Victoria’s reputation as a hub of innovation, collaboration and big thinking.
BY DALLAS GISLASON
How COVID-19 is Reshaping Our Region’s Economy
ATTRACTING TALENT What attracts tech talents and their families? Not surprisingly, they tend to put major emphasis on a high quality of life when they choose which cities to call home.
Is there a new normal, a return to normal or no normal at all? An economic development professional shares the emerging trends.
W
hat is it they say about economists? Oh yeah, they are people who are paid to make incorrect predictions about the economy. And now is perhaps the most unprecedented and difficult time to make predictions because there are many unknowns. These range from the implications of prolonged border closures to the risk of a second (or third) wave of the pandemic before a vaccine becomes available. Economists are predicting everything from U-shaped recoveries to prolonged L-shaped recoveries. The Economist itself put forth its “90% economy” thesis, as several sectors will not be able to contribute to GDP output anytime soon. What’s my prediction? Well, I’m no economist (but I can still be wrong!). However, I am an economic development professional and this gives me a unique perspective on this region, including its diversity, its rural and urban spaces, its economic composition, and the entrepreneurs and consumers that make its economy function. As you’ve already witnessed, our economy is hurting. While the government relief measures are helping, there’s still a long way back to normal. And normal will look different than before. Here are some potential
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new realities as we move into our region’s unpredictable economic future. DECENTRALIZATION OF “BIG TECH” “Employees who prefer to work remotely can now do so indefinitely,” said a company-wide email to all Twitter employees on May 12. Sure, big companies like Google and Facebook have been opening offices outside Silicon Valley for years, but there is no doubt that this pandemic will lead to a decentralization of the tech sector. Why live in expensive cities like San Francisco if you no longer need to commute to the office? Mid-sized cities that offer a high quality of life and relative affordability will reap the rewards.
GOOD GOVERNMENT
Further, what if there was a special place that could not only boast high quality of life, but also its success at handling the pandemic (one of the lowest death-rates anywhere in the western world)? I’m looking at you, British Columbia. Don’t underestimate the new emphasis that tech talent and their families will place on healthcare, safety and good government. Even self-described “libertarians” are changing their minds about the role of government. The way that our province’s leaders across the political spectrum unified behind the experts still gives me goosebumps. Companies like Canada’s Shopify already utilize our region for its remote workforce. But DOUGLAS 41
this is a huge opportunity to attract talented people to work both at our 900-plus tech companies and support our local economy by living here and working for Twitter, Google or other major-leaguers. HYPER-LOCALISM (WITH A STRONG LINK TO GLOBALISM) You head out the door on your daily walk after a full day of working from home. You take a new shortcut that gets you to the neighbourhood village centre a few minutes faster. You pop into the barbershop to wave hello to your neighbour Jim who’s getting a trim. Next door is the bakery where you spot a batch of French bread in the window. Its enticing scent closes the deal: That will go well with tonight’s dinner! The idea of the urban village is not new — our region is full of them. From Cook Street Village to Esquimalt Road to the heart of Sidney (Beacon Avenue), walkable centres rich with amenities will be our region’s saving grace. People who shift to remote work will replace their commute time with quality time and shift their gas money to the “freshly picked” aisle. Hyper-localism will apply to other sectors as well. This pandemic has highlighted some of the vulnerabilities of global supply chains. Globalization itself is not going anywhere, but the opportunities to embrace local suppliers
— from advanced manufacturers, to clothing retailers, and food and household goods sellers — should not be overlooked. This plays a role of keeping this capacity in the marketplace for when it’s needed most, like say a global bidding war for personal protective equipment or a shortage of hand sanitizer. One thing I worry about is if we’ve become too reliant at the household level for home delivery (particularly Amazon). I love technology as much as the next chap, but we need to realize how much value leaks out of our local economy for the sake of convenience. For every dollar spent at a locally-owned business 48 cents remains circulating in the economy. How much stays here from your Amazon purchase? Sorry to pester you, but our local businesses need that money here, and our community needs our local businesses. OFFICE MARKET SHIFTS TO MIXED-USE All of these trends above leave us with a big question: What happens to our robust office market? While many companies will shift to remote work, others will still have some sort of office footprint (though it might be smaller and altered for flex scenarios). This will cause a shift in demand and capital toward more residential density across the region.
This is not necessarily a bad thing since our population will continue to grow in the context of diminishing land availability. Many urbanists are predicting that cities will actually shift towards increased density of people (despite 95 per cent of COVID-19 patients living in urban areas). This has been the pattern following every pandemic in history. Which for me is a relief. Cities are a more sustainable way of organizing humans. The other trend that will come from this is the resurgence of co-working. In a May 15 Douglas online article, KWENCH’s Eva Ravenstein said their coworking members cannot wait to get back into their space in Rock Bay. Their main reason? Human connection and the increased mental health that comes with it. A NEW (INCLUSIVE) ECONOMY As The Conference Board of Canada pointed out recently, this pandemic has hit the part-time and low-wage earners overwhelmingly harder than full-time workers. Women account for two thirds of minimum wage earners. Indigenous populations, and other minorities such as LGBTQ+, immigrants and refugees, are typically in more vulnerable positions too. This reality has led to some interesting conversations happening right now about universal basic income. This concept is probably years away, but I think many are warming
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to the idea since the economy isn’t actually about successful businesses (surprise!) — it’s actually more about successful customers. Only a customer creates a business. If they are unemployed, there is no economy. Lastly, I need to emphasize the risk that this pandemic may make our city bland and antiseptic, which is the opposite of why most of us live in a city to begin with. To counter this, we need more art, music, vibrant public spaces, out-of-the-ordinary experiences — and we need to experience those things with others. As the University of Toronto’s Dr. Richard Florida said in a recent piece in Foreign Policy: “The crisis may provide a short window for our unaffordable, hypergentrified cities to reset and to re-energize their creative scenes.” And our creative scene is hemorrhaging right now.
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A NEW MODEL OF GROWTH Will anything I’ve stated come to pass? The reality is that with all this speculation, there are still way more questions than answers. But as former deputy mayor of New York Dan Doctoroff said: “Cities will come back stronger than ever after the pandemic. But when they do, it will be driven by a new model of growth that emphasizes inclusivity, sustainability, and economic opportunity.” So perhaps the only question we can each ask right now is this: “As our city finds its new normal, what am I going to do to make it better than before?” ■
A sincere thank you
Dallas Gislason is Director of Economic Development for the South Island Prosperity Partnership. Over the last 15 years, his passion for regionalism, urbanism, inclusion and innovation has fueled some of the profession’s most interesting projects.
GROWTH
“As a local business owner, it’s truly heartening to see our city pull together to keep everyone healthy and keep businesses running safely. Thank you to our community for all the support we have received.”
BY CLEMENS RETTICH
Dancing in the Dark
Al Hasham, President of Maximum Express
Many businesses are asking the question: How can I plan for a future I can’t predict?
H
ow do we know what to do next when we don’t know what’s next? That might sound like a question emerging only from a landscape forever altered by COVID-19. But the truth is, that question has always applied to each and every day of our lives. COVID-19 and our efforts to recover from it only made the truth hard to duck.
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When something like a pandemic happens, we finally have to confront the truth we have avoided: We don’t know what’s next. Ever. Every morning, we stand in the doorway to a day we cannot predict. Standing in this doorway we have a choice to go through or to stay asleep. As the poet Rumi said, “People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch, The door is round and open Don’t go back to sleep!”
SETTING THE FOUNDATIONS Poetry can give us images that change our perspectives in a way data or flow charts can’t. But it isn’t enough. We have to be able to translate the truth into decisions and actions. In this case, the structure of the toolkit for action is very similar to the toolkit of improvisation in music, theatre, or the martial arts: solid foundations and responsive technique. The foundations required for an organization to walk through the metaphorical doorway and thrive are simple to talk about, but require discipline to create and maintain. ■ Culture A lot else can be wrong, but if an organization’s culture is healthy, it can absorb a lot of shocks to its system, learn from them and emerge transformed and stronger. The foundations of
Accent Inns’ response to COVID-19 was to turn the hotels into havens for front line workers. The positive move also helped build team culture.
and leverage debt for growth or transformation. Smart companies are mixing the digital and the financial foundations. An engineering firm I know is compressing and accelerating the recording of work-in-progress (WIP) to get accurate invoices out faster, and then using automated billing and reminder systems through an accounting/ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. ■ Your Brand In the world of Google reviews and “Rate-My-Anything,” a strong, authentic, trusted brand backs your social contract with your customers. Market share, repeat and referred business, and a customer experience that justifies good margins, are all built on a strong brand. A strong brand is hard to build, because like culture, it is not entirely up to you. As Amazon’s Jeff Bezos said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” Examples of good brand moves during this crisis are local retailers’ creative pivots, restaurants like Charelli’s innovative takeout, Little Jumbo’s mixed drink deliveries and Westshore Law’s resource list to help people navigate some of the overwhelming employer information coming from the feds. I also think highly of Dr. Henry’s personal brand (and I applaud the good brand move by Fluevog in the creation of the Bonnie Henry shoe). One brand that got it badly wrong was McDonald’s. When it launched its new social distancing logo redesign, with the iconic golden arches separated for the first time ever, the backlash was swift. How could McDonald’s talk about physical distancing when it did not pay its employees to stay home when sick?
A lot else can be wrong, but if an organization’s culture is healthy, it can absorb a lot of shocks to its system, learn from them and emerge transformed and stronger. that healthy culture are psychological safety, a driving sense of purpose and a binding sense of belonging. Mandy Farmer and her leadership team at Accent Inns are an example of a business with a mission. By turning their hotels into havens for front line healthcare workers needing to shelter in place, away from their families, Farmer and her team created a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging for the people who needed a safe place to stay, so they didn’t bring any risk home to their loved ones. ■ Finances Cash is king, and liquidity is the ace. A disciplined management of cash flow — the speed of the entire order-to-cash cycle — ensures that value created for customers yields cash as fast as possible. Good liquidity ensures that if cash on hand is not enough, or debt is cheaper, you are in a strong position to access 44 DOUGLAS
TIME TO DANCE With the foundations in place, you are in a position to dance — to improvise in a changing environment. But doing this means committing to practices and priorities. These following ones are central. ■ Trust To do anything innovative or unplanned or experimental requires a high-trust environment. Trust is a non-negotiable two-way street. If the organization is not transparent and well structured, with clear standards, trust will always be in short supply. So will innovation and the ability to respond effectively to the unplanned. Several firms in B.C.’s construction industry failed this one because it was discovered they had been lax with on-the-job safety requirements. This was discovered when several employees — notably some courageous women — blew the whistle. ■ Rapid Value Creation The point of this dance is value creation: creating responsive, sticky value for customers and employees. To be responsive is to be quick. You can intuit what customers might want, but if you don’t have a process for cheaply and quickly testing your assumptions — and continuously improving based on what you discover — your value will fade. It won’t make it through the door to tomorrow. Great examples of Rapid Value Creation include various B.C. breweries and distilleries who moved some or all of their production to alcohol-based sanitizers. Another example, combining supply chain management/branding/marketing, is London Drugs’ move to clear shelf space in its centre aisles for local producers.
■ A Two-Part Framework Trying to be effectively innovative while taking care of Business As Usual (BAU) is like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time. BAU structures (generally hierarchical) that serve maximum profitability are not the same structures that serve innovation (generally flatter networks). You can’t achieve both results with one machine. Some sample solutions to this dilemma include Kotter’s Dual Operating System model and Deloitte’s Edges model. ■ Capacity If we can’t dance (innovate) and make do at the same time, where do we find the capacity to sustain two levels of effort at once? Most smaller organizations have no capacity to innovate without cannibalizing the ability to conduct business as usual. The answer is delegation and digitization. Optimize your organizational structure for decision-makers, bring in outside help and automate everything you can with digital tools. Do take note that the Canadian government is offering to support innovation for larger projects through the Strategic Innovation Fund through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the National Research Council’s COVID response programs. ■ Becoming Digital We were 20 years into the fabled 21st century (this was supposed to be the age of the Jetsons, remember?), with many organizations still stubbornly refusing to leave the 19th century, never mind the 20th, in culture and technology. Then COVID-19 hit. From e-commerce, to remote work, to ERP systems, the new digital world has finally arrived. Customers, employees, suppliers and competitors are making significant strides in adopting digital tools. If you wait to join them after “things have settled down,” it will be too late. WHAT COMES FROM UNCERTAINTY When they work, improvisation and dance are remarkable human activities. They create something new and valuable in real time, with complete commitment to the present. Whether the improvisation is in hip hop or the Argentine tango, the discipline of dance improvisation can teach us a lot about the relationship between foundational skills and innovation in unpredictability. They show us how to give the audience what they came for: Something beautiful created in uncertainty. ■ Clemens Rettich is a business consultant with Grant Thornton LLP. He has an MBA from Royal Roads University and has spent 25 years practising the art of management.
In the midst of a crisis, it takes teamwork to bring about positive change.
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WHAT’S OVER & WHAT’S NEXT COVID-19 has caused societal, business and economic disruptions not seen in North America for several generations, perhaps since the Second World War.
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NEXT
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Treating the retail website (or any biz website) as just a nice option since most of your business is walk-in or word of mouth.
Get online pronto! COVID-19 forced even digital holdouts to shop online, and many now expect it. Plus, your business must be ready for more virus waves.
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In-person, elbow-to-elbow meetings with shared coffee, donuts and the proverbial egg-salad sandwiches.
Opt for socially distanced meetups via FaceTime, Zoom and Google Meet. In person, mind the six-foot rule and don’t share finger foods.
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Open concept workplaces, designed based on density and cost, with communal kitchens and meeting areas.
Create fluid not fixed workplaces that adapt fast to economic disruption. Think hygiene stations, touchless entry and antimicrobial surfaces.
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An employer-rattling attitude of “Sure, I’ll work for you, but it’s on my terms because I can always get another job.”
A shrinking job market means employers can — and will — be choosier about who they hire and who they keep.
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Social licence to pay frontline employees the lowest wages because “it’s always been this way.”
Societal pressure to rethink fair compensation for those doing frontline jobs based on exposure to risk.
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Employees expected to commute into corporate offices, with occasional flex days.
More distributed teams, working from home, regional offices or co-working spaces to decrease office density.
Like it or not, get ready for long-lasting changes. 46 DOUGLAS
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See how we can help you change your life, in a changing world. Talk to us at royalroads.ca
