16-Aug-2011 Posted by Chris

Is Warren Buffett going crazy?

The simple answer to that question is no. Warren Buffett is perhaps one of greatest minds to have ever attempted capitalism. If you don’t believe me, I would argue his $50 Billion personal balance sheet acts as proof to the time value of money and the discipline of a buy and hold strategy in cash producing profitable companies and their shares. But his op-ed today in the New York Times has people... read more

28-Jul-2011 Posted by Chris

An argument in a vacuum

It’s funny how perspective can add to an argument. When you are making an argument with no room for debate, or attempt to understand others perspective, it actually gets quite easy. www.EthicalOil.org, which appears to be some kind of fan-inspired Ezra Levant worship site, really nails just how easy it is. You see, it seems to exist exclusively to reinforce what Levant has been arguing about the... read more

13-Jan-2011 Posted by Chris

New Blog Template – Thanks to Jay Palter

I have been wanting a new blog template for some time. I Tweeted it and along came  a white knight, Jay Palter. My goal was to simply move from my old Blog Platform, Squarespace, and begin using WordPress. Squarespace was incredibly easy to use as an author, but simply didn’t give me the flexibility I wanted. I wanted to use the Disqus comment tool, as well as some other widgets like allowing people... read more

3-Jan-2011 Posted by Chris

Alberta Venture FAST 50 – 5 Years in a Row

In business, next to profit, growth is everything. Without growth you lose flexibility. You lose chance to seize special opportunities, and you will struggle to create better jobs and career growth that your employees deserve for the hard work they contribute. In fact, one of our company’s corporate values, is “To create opportunity through GROWTH and fair profit.” For this reason, and... read more

1-Oct-2010 Posted by Chris

Business Value – Creating Opportunity Through Growth and Fair Profit

I was a bit moved this week by something that probably most of you might have found a bit silly, or charming at best. First the back-story: Last year, myself, my business partner Don and our senior executive team, came together to establish some corporate values. You can apply your typical cynicism to these types of things. It would be natural, because I used to do the same. I suppose though, this... read more

18-Sep-2010 Posted by Chris

Office Space Update – A worthy cause

Last June I posted a blog entry, looking to find an innovative use for our old Yardstick Software office space. Since we had a year left on our lease, and it was looking to be very difficult to find a sub-tenant for such a short period, we decided to try and find a tenant that may not have the funds, but would benefit by having access to this type of space. I am very pleased to announce that since August... read more

21-Aug-2010 Posted by Chris

Extraordinary execution of a simple idea. Zappos.com

In business, it’s rare to come up with an amazing new idea. Usually it’s the entreprenuer that executes a simple idea, amazingly, which stand out. Shoes or footwear, have been around for thousands of years. So how did Zappos.com become the World’s largest online shoe retailer in only 11 years? Simply put, they decided to become experts in delivering “Wow” customer service.... read more

9-Jul-2010 Posted by Chris

It takes balls…. basketballs.

I am no basketball afficianado, but I do know a thing or two about taking an organization into and through a tough battle. Sometimes getting your supporters off a fence of self-doubt means making bold statements and even bolder predictions. In today’s much hyped announcement by Lebron James, about his decision to excercise his free agency and move to the Miami Heat, he left behind him a City and... read more