What I learned at the Royal LePage Headstart Conference

What I Learned at a Royal LePage National Conference

Sep 16, 2017/0 Comments/in Community, Innovation, Leadership, Presentations, Stories/by Jeph

Just Try It: Cheat Codes on How to Differentiate

Sep 11, 2017/0 Comments/in Leadership, Motivation, Presentations, Regina, Social Media, Video/by Jeph

One of The Most Remarkable Non-Profit Organizations in the World

Jul 30, 2017/0 Comments/in Human Resources, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Regina, Stories, Strategy, Video, Website/by Jeph

How Safe Is Your Job?

Jul 27, 2017/0 Comments/in Advice, Blogging, Leadership, Stories/by Jeph

In a society that profits from your self doubt-liking yourself is a rebellious act

You Have To Love Yourself First

Jul 25, 2017/0 Comments/in Advice, Consumer Behaviour, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Stories/by Jeph

Loving others begins with being able to love yourself.

On a recent Tim Ferriss podcast I was listening to, Morgan Spurlock tells the story of Touré visiting Kanye West at his home.

“He went to Kayne’s house. So he’s inside Kanye’s house, and inside Kanye’s house there’s a big, giant picture of Kanye, like, right inside the living room. And so Toure said to him, he goes, Kanye, why do you have a giant picture of YOU on the wall?’ And Kanye goes, Well, I gotta cheer for me before anyone else can cheer for me.'”

And that’s why Kanye West has a picture of Kanye West in his own house.

You have to be your own champion first. If you can’t cheer for yourself, why would anyone else cheer for you? An important lesson Kanye West has taught me.

Then today on Instagram I saw my friend Tiffany’s post. I commented on it but it made me want to post this story. Liking yourself isn’t easy sometimes but you have to try.

In a society that profits from your self doubt

On the door of one of the offices at StratLab there’s a poorly designed poster with a weird smiling Alien that says (in Star Wars font) “GEBY”.

Gratitude (showing you care about something or someone makes you appreciate it/them more)
Exercise (see documentary “23.5 Hours” thanks Barb!)
Breakfast (you need some fuel)
You (do something for you)

Every morning if you do these four things you’re going to have a great day. Ironically, also learned on a Tim Ferriss podcast (the one with Noah Kagan).

What’s your hobby?

You have to start taking time out of your day to care for yourself. If you don’t know how to, ask someone how they do it. You’ll find it fascinating because generally no two people have the exact same things they do to take care of themselves. Or you’ll find people will give you a weird look like “I don’t do anything for myself I have (insert excuse here).” Generally I don’t keep exploring the conversation with those folks, they’re happily in their bubble of comfort.

Start loving yourself.

It’s rare in the business world. People are very willing to backstab a competitors, a coworker, even friends. People who do these things have no respect for themselves, and no respect for their reputation. In the end, you will be judged on how you treat others but also yourself. If you love yourself you have no reason to try to take stabs at others. You’ll have no reason to look at other people in a negative light. It all starts with loving yourself first.

In a society that profits from your self doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy For Beginners

Jul 19, 2017/0 Comments/in Advice, Blogging, Leadership, Marketing, Measurement/by Jeph

The Marketing of Medicine

Jul 10, 2017/0 Comments/in Blogging, Consumer Behaviour, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Research, Stories/by Jeph

10 Business Lessons From The Amazing Supermensch, Shep Gordon

Jul 5, 2017/2 Comments/in Advice, Books, Leadership, Marketing, Motivation, Strategy/by Jeph

Supermensch, the legend of Shep Gordon. So I’m listening to the Timothy Ferriss Podcast and this guy who Tim’s about to interview has one of the coolest introductions, Shep’s done a lot. He’s cooked for His Holiness the Dali Lama, entertained who’s-who of Hollywood, and managed some of the most amazing musical acts, then the most amazing chefs in the world. He was a brilliant story teller and had accomplished so much. He seemed content, I wanted to know more. So i bought the book, They Call Me Supermensch: A Backstage Pass to the Amazing Worlds of Film, Food, and Rock’n’Roll. This post is inspired by the book. I highly recommend it. Entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking, one of my favourite books this year.

This quote pretty much sums up Shep.

hero

Shep Gordon is one of my hero’s, here are a few reasons why.

1. Create history.

Don’t wait for it to happen, you can create history. Most people believe all you have is what you’re dealt, like you can change your future if you want to. What a lie! Create history. When Shep first started managing his first artist, Alice Cooper, these were his marching orders, to create history. Quite literally working with Alice they didn’t try to “market” Alice Cooper, he didn’t “advertise” Alice Cooper. No that’s what the other managers would do, if he really wanted to stand out he needed to create history.

Whether it was wrapping an album in Panties or shooting Alice Cooper out of a cannon, Shep tried nearly everything. The first time Alice was to play in the UK they needed a really aggressive stunt as ticket sales were nonexistent. Shep got a flatbed truck with a giant billboard on the back displaying Alice wearing nothing by a large snake. Oh and he paid the driver handsomely to ensure the truck “broke down” several times in Piccadilly Square downtown London during rush hour. The driver was subsequently arrested, but they sold the show out! Create history.

Or the time that they promised to shoot Alice out of a cannon on stage in Pittsburgh. The problem was the cannon didn’t work. The night before the big show, Shep invited media to a “pre-concert party” where they were going to demo the cannon shot, how exciting! Shep was up to something, because when the cannon fired, Alice (or a dumby, who knows!) fired but only went ten feet. Panic strikes, the star is injured! Rush him to the hospital!

On the news you’d hear of the “accident” and how Alice was hurt with “non-life threatening” injuries. He played the show the next night in a wheel chair with hospital staff on stand-by if anything should go wrong. But how could it? It was all staged, Alice wasn’t hurt at all. It worked perfectly.

Create history, don’t wait for it to happen.

Create history Read more

The Most Infamous Street Artist of All Time

Jun 26, 2017/0 Comments/in Consumer Behaviour, Design, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Motivation, Stories/by Jeph

Dear Montréal, We’re Stealing Mural Festival. Sincerely, The City of Regina.

Jun 17, 2017/0 Comments/in Community, Leadership, Strategy/by Jeph

Dearest Montréal,

We here on the prairies have grown quite fond of some of the pleasantries your fine cultured citizens have the pleasure of enjoying year on year. We feel it is our duty to inform you that we will be politely (and with the utmost respect) be stealing your Mural Festival as well as a few other ideas from your wildly addictive city.

Your streets are nothing short of beautiful. We intend to do the same to our fair city in due time. Not only do I want to steal the idea of the Mural Festival, I want to take back to Regina a few other parts of Montréal.

Thank you Montréal for your cooperation and willingness to share in your Mural Festival. We from the City of Regina (unofficially), thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.

A Regina citizen that appreciates your fine city.

First of all Montréal is 375 years old, yeah that’s older than our country! So you can assume Montréal is doing something right, otherwise it wouldn’t be around. There’s a lot of history there, a lot of history this author had no idea about. The people are proud of their rich cultural heritage, far more than I witness on the prairies. It’s about time to start that rich, cultural, artistic, prairie heritage.

If we want to become a major destination in Canada we need to believe we can be a major destination in Canada.

What you want? CHEESEBURGER!! CHEESEBURGER!!

They Get Hospitality and Customer Service – fast service is a win-win

You don’t wait for meals very long at all. Be it crêpes, burgers, or a famous smoked meat sandwich, the service in most places in Montréal was remarkable. They are FAST! Sometimes you are served literally in minutes after ordering. This is a huge win-win! The restaurants like to have more people through their doors and customers don’t want to stay in one place too long. Serving meals fast is a way to impress customers and help your bottom line!

The “cooler” the dining experience the better your odds of success

Montréal really gets outdoor dining. Patios, terraces, tables in the middle of nowhere, some of the most romantic places to share a meal with someone are in the most unique places. We can easily steal this idea. We just need to talk to the City of Regina about allowing dining establishments more leniency on “where” they can setup tables to serve you. “Creating Instagramable Moments”.

Does It Cost To Get In? Nope.

Never short on fun (free) things to do

We went on a Tuesday till a Saturday and there was the Mural Festival, The Francofolies Festival, as well as a beer fest going on near by. They were all free to attend. That means the organizers must have some great funding to be able to put on acts like that throughout the week. The Mural Festival was an entire street blocked off and shops, restaurants, and artistic acts lining the way. Amazing art pieces now cover the not so boring concrete jungle most cities become.

There’s a free app called Cite Memoire that tells the history of old Montréal in 22 different projections telling the history of Montréal. Some of these projections were literally hundreds of feet in the air and you could only see them after a certain at night (had to check the app). They were breathtaking. Talk about “creating Instagramable moments” what a smart idea!

Got street art?

It’s beautiful just to walk around, the Street Art is amazing

Many of the most spectacular ones were from last year and 2015, Mural Festival is a way to keep making your city more artistically beautiful. The amount of tourists walking around snapping pictures of the Murals was also amazing (guilty!). What a brilliant way to make your city more beautiful, once a year hold a “mural fest” invite famous artists from around the world, and BOOM, every year there are more places with stunning art for everyone to enjoy.

“Be weird. Be awesome. Be loved!”

This isn’t your regular not-for-profit organization

Or check out one of their “COR Cribs Episodes”

“How are you staying current?”

And that’s why Kanye West has a picture of Kanye West in his own house.

Who would you rather have operate on you, a newly minted Doctor recently out of her residency or a surgeon with 16 years of experience?

Bad Medicine Part 1 – The Story of 98.6

1. Create history.

He stands up for what he believes in. Love him or hate hime, Banksy makes you think different.

What you want? CHEESEBURGER!! CHEESEBURGER!!

Does It Cost To Get In? Nope.

Got street art?