Schumpeter’s vision of the lone entrepreneur is so entrenched in our minds that we unconsciously tend to believe that entrepreneurial flair is a matter of genetics; a recent ECSI survey I conducted found that 68% of business leaders firmly believe that great innovators are born and cannot be made.
But scientific evidence of the last 30 years has proven just the opposite. Many of the traits we assume to be genetically determined are in fact the product of one’s environment. A famous study on identical twins aged between 15 and 22 found that while 80% of IQ differences were attributable to genetics, only around 30% of the performance on creativity tests could be explained that way.
That’s a tremendously significant finding. It means that we can work on learning and improve our creativity. It also means that we can damage our creativity — and a number of studies confirm this. According to several of these, most children display highly creative thinking before going to school but gradually lose this creativity as they progress through schooling. You can imagine pretty much the same kind of process going on as initially young, enthusiastic recruits proceed up the corporate ladder. How creative are they likely to be once they’ve reached the top?
Of course, not every child is going to be a Leonardo da Vinci, nor is every young manager a Steve Jobs. But people who point to that fact are missing the really important truth about creativity, which is that there’s Creativity as in genius (the 30% that goes with your genes) and creativity as in attitude and mindset (the 70% that you can do something about). We tend to muddle these two quite different types of creativity and it’s working on the little c that I’m talking about here. This is not an arbitrary distinction I’m making up — it’s backed up by plenty of psychometric and neuroscience research (for a recent book on the subject, try Anna Craft’s Creativity in Education).
Arguably, little c creativity is a bigger deal in business than the big C. When you dig into the back-story of Apple, you soon start to recognize that it wasn’t all about Steve. Steve, actually, was wrong a lot of the time. If it had been entirely up to him, Apple would never have opened the App Store. What made Apple great was the combination of Jobs’s genius with the little-c mindsets of the people he worked with and who weren’t afraid to express their own ideas.
I think that Steve thought that as well — not, perhaps, in his first spell at the wheel, but certainly in his second. When asked what he thought was his most important creation, Jobs, instead of mentioning the iPod or iPhone, said it was Apple, the company. He claimed that “making an enduring company was both harder and more important than making a great product”.
Survival Skills in the Era of “Doing More with Less”
by Walter Palmer, CEO and President, PCG Solutions
In May of last year, I wrote an article for RILA’s Asset Protection Report titled, “Doing More with Less. Seriously?” In this column, I took on this phrase and attitude that often goes unquestioned in Corporate America. Of the hundreds of articles, columns, blog posts, and research studies I have written over the years, none has received more feedback and comments than this one little 800 word piece. Loss Prevention professionals had a visceral reaction to this article because it went to the heart of an issue that they have to grapple with every day.
In response, I heard from several Loss Prevention executives who had recently had to reduce staffing or take on new responsibilities with their already limited resources. I heard from executives who had been trying to get by the best they could and were now under fire for shrinkage results going up. And, I also heard from executives who had recently gone through the process of deciding which tasks to eliminate for their staff because of limited resources.
As a result of those conversations and reactions, we began to look at how one can be effective, both as a department and as an individual, in this environment. At the upcoming RILA Asset Protection Conference, I will be presenting on this topic in our session titled, Survival Skills in the Era of “Doing More with Less.” In this session, we will discuss a four step process for navigating and thriving in today’s budget environment and will share data sets from other companies that illustrate the importance of this topic. And, if you would be interested in sharing your experiences related to this topic, I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you in advance of this session. You can reach me at wpalmer[at]pcgsolutions[dot]com.
Haven’t registered for Loss Prevention, Audit, & Safety Conference yet? There’s still time!
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Employment | Tags: “Doing, Less”, more, skills, Survival | Comment (0)CBC: Sheppard Transit Report will Recommend LRT
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is bristling about a report set for release Friday that will recommend light-rail transit over subways for Sheppard Avenue.
Ford, who prefers to build a subway along Sheppard, has already blasted the expert panel as being “biased.”
“We all know that, we know what they’re going to say,” said Ford Thursday. “I listen to the residents, the taxpayers, the people who pay our wages, they’re the boss.”
Eric Miller, director of the Cities Centre at U of T and a member of the panel, was interviewed Friday on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.
He said the mayor is “unwilling to look at the facts,” about why LRT is the best choice for Sheppard.
“The whole point of the panel was to step back and look at the evidence,” Miller told Metro Morning. “The mayor’s charge is typical of his approach to things.”
“We took a very systematic look at it, at the issues of subway versus LRT. And LRT came out as the clear choice.”
“Scarborough doesn’t have the density of development and the travel patterns to merit a subway,” said Miller. “We have subways downtown because we have the density to justify it.”
“[Ford’s] strategy is to sling mud and denigrate the work of the panel.”
The 50-page report will be released at 10 a.m. on Friday.
Martin Prosperity Institute Blog
HBR: Creativity with a small c
By Alessandro Di Fiore – Appearing in the HBR Daily Alert – March 19 2012
Martin Prosperity Institute Blog
Job Creators Need Certainty Sooner Rather than Later
By Christine Pollack, Vice President of Government Affairs
Last week, members of RILA’s Healthcare Committee met in Washington, D.C. to discuss many of the employer requirements created under the new health law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Executives discussed everything from how the law will define a full-time employee, to how to structure wellness and preventive benefits programs, to wondering if they will still be able to offer their employees consumer directed health products like HRAs.
These are issues that job creators across the country – from your local main street shop to your largest retail corporation – are also wondering about. One thing is for certain: PPACA has created a lot of uncertainty for retailers of all sizes nationwide. And it’s this uncertainty that is detrimental to the employer-sponsored health system and contributing to a slower-than-expected economic recovery.
RILA agrees that our nation’s health system is broken and needs to be fixed, and we support efforts that encourage employers to seek innovative ways to provide American workers and their families with quality, affordable health care. Employer-sponsored coverage has been a core part of an employee’s compensation package since WWII and should remain a viable option for American workers and their families for decades to come.
With health costs steadily on the rise and with no end in sight, and now thousands and thousands of pages of new regulations under PPACA which have yet to be released, retailers are seriously weighing their options about remaining in the health insurance business. This isn’t an easy decision for any employer to make and a decision that retailers don’t even want to think about. But PPACA changed all that. The decision could be made a little easier if there were more certainty and flexibility in the health law rules, and significant time for compliance.
During RILA’s Healthcare Committee meeting last week, human resources executives and benefits managers had the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and have a constructive conversation with the President’s top health advisor about the need for certainty, flexibility, and ample time to comply with the health law. Certainty – the need to have a roadmap that retailers can use to make concrete business decisions well into the future. Flexibility – the need to recognize that the retail industry is largely comprised of variable workforces that don’t work a typical 9-5 job. Time for compliance – the need to provide businesses with a significant amount of time to make changes to their benefits plans, create and test new IT systems, and establish budgets to pay for all these requirements – – all before possibly being subject to new federal taxes and penalties.
RILA and its member companies have been very constructive stakeholders throughout the regulatory development phase of PPACA. Retailers continue to come to the table and provide the Administration with real solutions on how to implement rules under PPACA that provide certainty and flexibility. The ball is now in the Administration’s court.
It’s less than two years before the bulk of the employer requirements go into effect. Yet retailers have not seen any of the major regulations that make up the PPACA employer requirements such as: the definition of a full-time employee, the affordability and minimum value tests, and reporting requirements.
Employers large and small will need to make major business decisions as a result of these new requirements under PPACA. These regulations will be used to determine such things as which employees and their families will be eligible for coverage under an employer-sponsored plan or an insurance Exchange, whether or not a business is subject to a new tax penalty, and what new reporting and IT systems an employer will be required to build and operate to comply with new federal and state reporting requirements. These are decisions that retailers do not take lightly.
With so much riding on our economy, the Administration owes it to our nation’s job creators to release proposed regulations under PPACA that provide clarity and flexibility, and more than ample time for businesses to comply with these new requirements.
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Employment | Tags: Certainty, Creators, later, Need, Rather, Sooner, Than | Comment (0)City of Toronto: Report of the Expert Advisory Panel Regarding Transit on Sheppard Avenue East
The “Report of the Expert Advisory Panel Regarding Transit on Sheppard Avenue East” was released by the City of Toronto today at 10am.
Excerpt from the Panel Letter to Toronto City Council:
The terms of reference given to the Panel were “to advise City Council on the most effective means of delivering rapid transit to the greatest number of riders with the funds currently allocated and with projected funds, and report on other funding sources that could augment funds for a public transportation project on Sheppard”.
We were able to complete the task mandated to us by Council, in the brief time available, by investing the time necessary to review extensive documents, to consider detailed presentations and to hold thorough discussions exploring the potential of all the options and technologies.
To facilitate a comprehensive discussion and decision-making process, we identified nine criteria to guide our decisions and recommendations: Economic Development; Cost Effectiveness & Fiscal Sustainability; Timeframe; Ridership; Network Connectivity; Level of Service; Equity & Accessibility; Environmental Sustainability; and Community Impact. The criteria were grouped and weighted, to reflect the Panel’s terms of reference.
The report provides details of our decision-making process, using these criteria to explore and evaluate three public transit options. Option A was LRT service from Don Mills to Morningside; Option B was a subway from Don Mills to Scarborough Centre; and Option C was a subway from Don Mills to Victoria Park and LRT from there to Morningside.
Having completed our detailed evaluation of options, the Panel concluded that Light Rail Transit (LRT) is the recommended mode of transit for Sheppard Avenue East. With the exception of Dr. Gordon Chong, a strong consenus exists among the Panel members that the LRT is superior to the subway options presented, across the range of assessment criteria under consideration.
Download the full report from the City of Toronto.
Martin Prosperity Institute Blog
11th Round of TPP Negotiations Conclude in Melbourne, Australia
by Stephanie Lester, Vice President, International Trade , RILA
RILA along with members of the TPP Apparel Coalition and several RILA member companies traveled to Melbourne, Australia last week for the 11th round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.
According to USTR, conclusion of a robust TPP agreement is an important element of the Obama Administration’s plan to support high-quality jobs for Americans and negotiators made good progress in many areas this round, and they remain on track to conclude negotiation of a comprehensive, 21st-century agreement. In addition, RILA and the coalition met with several US stakeholder groups who increasingly view a positive outcome on apparel as critical to the overall success of the negotiations.
During the nine-day negotiating round, more than 20 working groups met to discuss the legal texts of the agreement, which cover all aspects of our commercial relations with TPP partner countries. Notable progress was made across many chapters, including on trade issues traditionally included in trade agreements as well as cross-cutting issues such as regulatory coherence, better integration of small and medium-sized businesses into international trade, deepening of regional supply linkages between TPP countries, and promoting development. Productive exchanges also took place on emerging trade issues such as addressing trade and investment in innovative products and services, including digital technology, and ensuring state-owned enterprises compete fairly with private companies.
In Melbourne RILA and the coalition held productive discussions with government officials and other industry stakeholders, including the Australian and Vietnamese textile and apparel industries. In meetings with various negotiating teams, the coalition advocated for simple, flexible rules of origin, smart customs provisions, and immediate market access that facilitate apparel trade and investment in the TPP region. We also met with other US stakeholder groups who increasingly view a positive outcome on apparel as critical to the overall success.
Coalition representatives explained that restrictive rules such as the “yarn forward” style rule of origin–which require all the materials that go into a garment to originate and be assembled in a TPP country to receive tariff-free treatment–are unworkable in today’s global value chains. Past FTAs with TPP countries have shown that such an “all or nothing” approach does not spur new U.S. exports or new apparel trade or investment.
We also discussed advocating for customs provisions that facilitate rather than hinder trade; emphasizing smart enforcement that views responsible trading companies as partners; achieving immediate, reciprocal duty free access so as not to delay the job creating benefits of the agreement; ensuring that the TPP is a living agreement so it can grow with a rapidly evolving fashion industry; resisting efforts by interests that have sought to shackle the TPP with demands that will make it hard for trade and investment to grow in the region; adopting a general rule of origin that is liberal and flexible, with limited exceptions only for specific products proven to be import sensitive; and supporting an early conclusion and expansion to other countries such as Japan, Mexico and Canada.
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Employment | Tags: 11th, Australia, Conclude, Melbourne, Negotiations, Round | Comment (0)RILA Tackles the Future of the Supply Chain at Logistics 2012
by Anthony B. Hatch, ABH Consulting
Greetings from the RILA Logistics 2012 Conference!
Some 1300 or so retail and logistics leaders have gathered outside of Dallas for RILA’s Supply Chain Conference (“Logistics 2012″), a 20% increase over 2011, perhaps showing a sign of the increasing belief in the stability of the economy. For those of us who track the intermodal industry for a living, “RILA” is indispensable, an opportunity to hear from carriers, 3PLs and IMCs – and most importantly dozens and dozens of decision makers in the retail space, the primary driver of intermodal volumes. As railways only intensify their focus on intermodal, we still find ourselves in early ’12 with as many questions and answers for the intermediate term, questions that impact the structure and future of supply chains and of the North American economy as a whole. And all are covered here, beginning today:
· 2012 looks better…how much so? Will we be back to past peak (2006) levels this year?
· In-Sourcing or globalization? Are we really moving real volumes of production back to the US? Or near-sourcing to Mexico? Or splitting between industries like autos and white goods (growing in Monterey) and electronics (now ensconced in China)?
· What is the growth rate of international import container business? Merely US retails sales? International imported boxes grew last year, after a slump, by 0.7%, as opposed to overall intermodal, which grew 5.4%. Decent late peak parcel growth and consistently strong domestic intermodal share expansion account for the difference.
· Where are we in the game for the domestic conversion story? I suspect early innings….
· Port selection and diversification – MLB (mini-land-bridge) or AW (all-water)? With Panama Canal’s new wider opening only two years away, has share shift from the west coast ended, or will it continue (as every east coast port operator believes)?
· What are the opportunities and risks in changing logistics patterns and differing strategies, in areas such as chassis and transloading.
· How do we solve our infrastructure deficit given the new political realities? We’ll hear from BNSF Chairman Matt Rose on that.
All of these critical issues are the subject of a breakout session and/or a roundtable (as well as of course plenty of bar conversation). Oh, and there’s one more:
· What will Bill Walton, (post) luncheon speaker, have to say about “Linsanity”?
Follow the conversation on Twitter at #RILAlogistics
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Employment | Tags: 2012, Chain, Future, Logistics, RILA, Supply, Tackles | Comment (0)Coverage from First Day at Logistics 2012!
Here’s what RILA Attendees are saying about
Logistics 2012:
- Ryan Hanson, Target Corporation
“As a first time attendee to RILA’s Logistics Conference, I was very impressed with day one. The speakers were great and the roundtable discussions provided good insight into trends from industry leaders. Thanks to the entire steering committee for all their hard work to make this conference so impactful.”
-Ryan Hanson, Director, Domestic Transportation, Target Corporation
Also- download the RILA Logistics Spotify Playlist to hear some supply chain-themed travel tunes!
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Employment | Tags: 2012, Coverage, First, from, Logistics | Comment (0)When Disaster Strikes: How Retailers Respond
The recent severe weather events in the Midwest and South come on the heels of a year in which more people were killed by tornadoes than in the previous eight years combined, according to National Weather Service statistics. Many of the 550 deaths last year were tied to a devastating storm that ripped through Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011.
The retail industry was not spared the impact of the Joplin tornado. But in the face of such unspeakable tragedy, retailers demonstrated incredible resilience and learned some valuable lessons along the way. We thought it would be a good idea to share those lessons learned with the retail industry to spare retailers from having to learn them the hard way. What better venue than at RILA’s Loss Prevention, Audit & Safety Conference?
On Tuesday, April 24, Chris Canoles, senior director of loss prevention at The Home Depot, will lead a general session “When Disaster Strikes: The Joplin, Missouri Story.” Chris will highlight what worked, what didn’t work and some of the changes The Home Depot made to its disaster preparedness and response plans based on the lessons learned from Joplin.
As the retail industry knows all too well, severe weather events can occur unexpectedly with little to no warning. This general session will provide conference attendees an unprecedented inside look into the response of one retailer and the opportunity to enhance their own preparedness. If you are attending LPAS 2012, you won’t want to miss this session!
Follow the discussion on Twitter at @RILAtweets or #RILAlp.
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Filed under Employment | Tags: Disaster, Respond, retailers, Strikes | Comment (0)Toronto Star: Casino a Bad Bet for Toronto
The Toronto Star – March 2, 2012
“Toronto deserves a world-class casino,” city councillor and one-time mayoral hopeful Giorgio Mammoliti declared recently. Why? What did the good city of Toronto do to deserve such a costly, socially destructive boondoggle? Why would we allow as important a piece of waterfront property as Ontario Place to be turned into a gambling den — with all the glitz, tackiness, misery and crime that goes along with it?
Martin Prosperity Institute Blog