ENTREPRENEURSHIP & ENTREPRENEURS

 

The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) has published a series of research studies aimed at the needs of Leading Growth Firms (LGFs), defined as firms with 20 to 500 employees whose sales grew by 50% over a three-year period. Studies marked * below were researched and written by me, all but one of which were published in a format suitable for general readership.

In addition, I have contributed many articles to The Financial Post, where I worked for nine years and Small Business Magazine, where I was Editor for five years, as well as several other publications, including the Globe & Mail and Cool Companies.

Leadership and Management

Published Research

The Six Stages of Growth * examines how CEOs of LGFs set priorities for themselves and their firms as they grow from as few as 10 employees to as many as 500. The conclusions are based on their responses to 21 questions that delve into complexity, management structure, self-management/leadership and delegation. The study is based on a questionnaire that was designed jointly by the Ministry and Statistics Canada and distributed to 1,379 CEOs of leading growth firms, more than 60% of whom responded. For the detailed analysis of the full report on this study, go to Complete study Stages of Growth.

The architecture of leadership * is based on the same survey as the Six Stages and explores how CEOs structure their management teams — the weight of the management layers in the organization, the shape of the management pyramid, delegation and monitoring the level of competence of the managers.

The Growth Builders Report * dealt with the path to growth, strategy, managing growth, people, managing hyper-growth, big leaps – mergers and alliances, managing your resources, technology and integration.

Planning for Succession * is based on a survey of CEOs of 169 of leading growth firms in Ontario. The results examine: CEO perspectives; why CEOs move on; necessary skills; strategies; timelines; and financing.

The Wisdom Exchange 2000 * dealt with the e-business proposition, strategizing for e-business, implementing e-business, managing customers, marketing, human resources and the view from the top. [Link to come]

Journalism

Entrepreneurs must master the normal requirements of running a business thjat are comparable to any business, large or small, but they must also possess that special skill that enables them to deal with resources that are inadequate for the goals they set themselves. The following articles deal with both aspects.

I adapted, for Claudia Sammer’s Cool Companies, the research I did for the Ontario government on the Stages of Growth of small and medium-sized businesses.

Speeches

Making it happen: a guide for change agents. This speech puts the process of change management in a broad context, encompassing socio-economic and institutional changes with special consideration of the power of an entrepreneurial mindset — principally a sense of freedom to do whatever is required and an allied understanding of when to control and when not to control. It concludes with some tips on how to be an effective change agent. It was delivered in June, 1992, to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

The business plan — a speech delivered to Commerce and MBA students at Queen’s University in January, 1992.

Entrepreneurship

Published Research

Entrepreneurship in the Arts and Cultural sector shows how successful cultural organizations must necessarily be entrepreneurial and suggests a framework for other cultural organizations to follow. The Full report offers a complete, detailed analysis of the findings in the research. The study was sponsored by the Co-operative Program in Arts Management, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Community Arts Ontario and Arts-4-Change, with the support of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.

From Ideas to Opportunities provides a comprehensive approach to creating new businesses, starting with the path to identifying viable ideas, through sources of information to practical tips on how to navigate the entire process. Each section includes one or more examples of actual businesses that have gone that route. This guide was originally prepared for entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada, but its principles and approaches are valid for anywhere in the world. Sponsored by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Business Development bank of Canada.

Journalism

Here is a selection from among many profiles of small businesses that I wrote:

I also wrote several articles on financing small and entrepreneurial businesses:

Speeches

The twin imposters of success and failure. This speech demonstrates how success and failure are opposite sides of the same coin and offers some insight on how to land on the right side: the importance of carefully considered goal setting, the lessons that successful entrepreneurs have drawn from their successes and their failures, and the management of the transition from planning to execution. It was delivered to a workshop on entrepreneurship sponsored by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency in October, 1991.

The complex relationship between banks and small firms was the topic in this speech to the Credit Union Central of Canada in October, 1993. It includes their perceptions of each other in a rapidly changing, more demanding environment.

The economic impact of small business & entrepreneurs

Published Research

Why Growth Firms matter * lays out the hard data of LGFs’ role in job creation — 2% to 4% of all Ontario firms are LGFs but they create, on average, more than half the new jobs — as well as the intangible benefits of their dynamism. These include bringing global standards to Ontario as well as contributing to the upgrading of the industrial infrastructure in the province and leading the way in facing the “Asian invasion”, currency fluctuations, rapidly changing technology and business leadership. The job creation data are based on a special run of Employment Dynamics by Statistics Canada. Click

The Dynamics of Growth * is based on a special run by Statistics Canada covering leading growth firms from 1986 to 1998. The analysis includes: the scorecard at the end of a 12-year period encompassing booms and a bust; how growth firms fared; how they bounced back from the 1990-92 recession; failure rates; contribution to job creation; and how the superstars managed to grow regardless of the recession.

Between 1987 and 1994, I wrote six mini-books on “The State of Small Business”, three commissioned by the Ontario government (1987, 1989 and 1990) and three by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (1991, 1992 and 1994). These are each comprehensive statistical analyses of entrepreneurship, including profiles and strategies of small businesses and entrepreneurs, their economic impact and the role of government in promoting their success. The economic impact studies were ground-breaking research based on special data runs by Statistics Canada and, among other aspects, they identified for the first time that less than 1% of small firms – rapidly growing firms – account for an astonishing share of job creation. Click below for the three most substantial of these reports.

Journalism

During four years as the Founding Editor of Small Business Magazine (later Profit), I wrote an editorial every issue. As a representative sample, here are my last dozen:

Speeches

The enormous economic impact of small business explains how small businesses suffer from a poor perception in the eyes of big organizations, and how they make a huge contribution to business, economic development and human resources. This speech was delivered to the Moncton Central Business Development Corporation in March, 1991.

Entrepreneurship development

Speeches

The topic of Innovative approaches to entrepreneurship development was the focus of a conference sponsored by the National Entrepreneurship Development Institute and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and held in Halifax in June 1991. This speech showed how attitudes toward entrepreneurship differ from province to province and how entrepreneurship cannot be a one-size-fits-all tool for governments and schools. It explores how to create an environment in which entrepreneurship can thrive.