What does Tim Hortons teach us about luck and careers?

It is that time of year again - RRRoll up the Rim.
I have bought a lot of coffees, yet I still don't
have a new car, not even a donut! Don't feel too bad
for me, or for Tim Hortons. They just sold off
15% of the company and raised $800 million US, not a
bad return for a company that was purchased for $500
million 11 years ago. What's that - about a 1000%
return? Sure beats a savings account!

One of the key brains behind the Tim Hortons brand
was Ron Buist. Ron was the head of marketing for the
company for 24 years. He joined the firm in 1977,
when they had a chain of 50 stores. When he retired
in 2001, Tim Hortons could boast over 2000 stores.

Ron was responsible for creating many innovative
campaigns, including "RRRoll up the Rim". Prior
to his job at Tim Hortons, Ron was working for Blacks
Photography. He read a magazine article featuring an
interview with Ron Joice - Tim Hortons' CEO at the
time. In the article, Joice mentioned that they were
looking for a new marketing agency. Ron Buist called
him up just for the heck of it, and, three weeks later,
was hired as the head of marketing.

In 1985, Buist was looking for ways to help with the
seasonal ebb and flow of the business. He was visiting
with representatives from Tim Hortons' cup
manufacturer, and noticed that when the cup was laid
out, it had a white space. He asked the manufacturer
if they could print on this space. The answer was
sure, but why would he want to print on it when you
couldn't see what was printed unless the rim was rolled
down?

That penny (I mean twoonie!) made a big drop in Ron's
head. He said; "The most simple things in life are
the most successful." Lots of free donuts and
2400 franchise stores later, it would seem that a lot of
people have won in this deal.

The thing that most impressed me was Ron's ability
to "see" opportunity. It was how he got the job, and it
was the key to seeing things that pretty well most
others missed, or didn't bother with. Opportunity is
waiting - we just need to do something about it. I
wonder how many prizes have been missed because
the person didn't bother to rrroll. Try it - it really does
work!

How to move from analysis to action!

One of the great brands in the world is Nike. The word Nike refers to the mythological winged goddess of victory. Greeks would use the term to describe going to battle. It became synonymous with honoured conquests.

Nike - the company – was originally called Blue Ribbon Sports. Phil Knight, the founder, began selling shoes out of the trunk of his car in 1964. He was looking for a way to make a "living" out of athletics. His coach, Bill Bowerman, was looking for a lighter shoe for his students at the University of Oregon. In his first year, Phil found an athletic shoe supplier in Japan, and was able to sell $8,000 worth of shoes.

In the ‘70s, Phil’s company grew quickly, earning up to $270 million a year. And now? Well, let's just say they sell billions of dollars worth of sport paraphernalia.

I was recently chatting with a client and we were discussing next steps. She said; ”Alan, I need to ‘Just Do It’. Like Nike, I need to get out and start to take action, to tell potential employers who I am, what I have to offer, and to see if there is a fit.” Where would Phil Knight be right now if he didn’t go out and make his dream happen?

At some point you just have to do something. The same principle can be applied to moving forward in your career. What do you need to do to get that promotion, to find a new role, or to get unstuck? So often, we expect opportunity to present itself to us. When it doesn’t, we get frustrated and feel stuck. As soon as you start taking action, you will notice that things will start to change. Even a series of small actions can lead to significant changes in our circumstances.

What do you need to do? At CareerJoy, our coaches instinctively have a sense of what you can do to change your life. No excuses - Just Do It!

What can Sting teach us about our careers?

Sting is one of my favourite musicians. I recently picked up a DVD documenting Sting’s life - most specifically, the time surrounding the recording of his first solo album.

There were many things I learned from watching this documentary. Sting said; "One of the greatest things in my life is that I don't know where my life is. I don’t have the faintest idea of what I will be doing a year from now. One of the reasons I left teaching was that I could predict that I would be the Assistant Head Master in 10 years. I could see what my life would look like. That was a nightmare. I much prefer not knowing what is around the corner."

Sting grew up the son of a milkman. At the end of his street was a shipyard. Men would work on the ships for 9 months, and then send them out to sea, never to be seen again. This became the metaphor for how Sting saw his life - embarking on the great adventure of life, rather than staying safe in the harbour.

Sting's gift to the world is to be a tremendous lyricist and composer. He spoke about the time he knew that he had reached his dream. It was when he was in the hospital and a window cleaner started to whistle Roxanne. Sting said; "I almost started to weep". He had a similar experience in another hospital, when, waiting for his son to be born, Sting heard an orderly whistling Walking on the Moon. "It is a great privilege to do what I am gifted in and to be able to impact others."

What is your “SOS to the world"? What is your “Message in the Bottle”? I hope someone gets your message – visit us at www.careerjoy.com and we can help get your message out.

One billion chances for opportunity

One of the things that I have become a raving fan of again is the library. “The library?”, you say. Yes - in our little town resides a terrific library.

One of the town’s generous residents regularly donates The New Yorker magazine (a subscription typically costs $46 American!). For the approximate cost of a subscription, you can buy 460 New Yorker back copies. I recently splurged and bought myself 20 old issues. Not a bad return for a toonie!

As I was scanning articles, I noticed an old ad for the iBook. The ad demonstrated all the neat things you could do with the new iBook version - make movies, rip and burn music, and much more. It also mentioned an MP3 player called the RIO.

It was strange not to find iPod mentioned. Not only was iPod not included, but Mac was promoting a competitors’ product! I looked at the date of the ad - June 01, 2001. Fast forward 5 years later, and Apple has not only sold a ton of iPods, but the company also sold their 1 billionth song this past week on iTunes. The song was sold to Alex Ostrovsky, who won a $20,000 prize from Apple for his trouble.

Imagine if Apple had not developed the iPod. iTunes would also not have been developed. Sometimes the biggest opportunities in our life are right in our very midst. You don't always have to leave to find what you are looking for. You need to pay attention to bigger opportunities that come from your original idea.

The iBook is a wonderful product, however, iPod and iTunes were the real keys to Apple’s huge leap forward. Where are the big opportunities attached to what you are currently doing? We can help you look – simply visit us at www.careerjoy.com for more information.

Why careers are complex

This past Christmas my family and I were visiting some good friends in Sudbury. On the way home, in the car, we were listening to the news. There we were, minding our own business, when, out of the blue, Aidan (my 8 year old) makes a profound observation: "The world is complex. I have a lot of questions about the world."

I have spent the last couple of months digesting my conversation with Aidan. His statements are very much related to the work that I do with my clients. A lot of things clicked in my mind as I thought about Aidan’s observations.

"Careers are complex. I have a lot of questions about the world of work."

When you start to understand the complexity of the world (and of careers), and learn to respect that complexity, you can work on responding with a sophisticated approach. I think we have “dumbed down” careers – we think that as long as we get a good education and work hard, we’ll live happily ever after. While there is some truth in this statement, we must remember that having a successful career is complex.

One of my clients has been involved in off-shore racing with 60+ foot sailboats. While he may have spent many hours on a Laser, it is not the same as a 60 foot racing boat. If he treated it like that, he most likely wouldn’t win any races. In the worst case scenario, he could even put his life at risk. As he respects the complexity of the sailboat, he is more intentional in his training and in his approach.

Now, that sounds to me like a much more successful strategy. I will chat next week about the questions to be thinking about related to the world of work.