Doug's Blog Archives – Page 36 of 58

12 Feb 2010

Hiring Developers in 2010

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:58:19-06:00February 12th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Software Development, Technology|

It looks like Sunwapta Solutions will be hiring in 2010 to support our current clients and our growth plans. This likely includes:

Marketing and Sales
Software Developers
Product Manager

The first hire will be a developer. The position has not been fully defined or posted yet, but if you know of a great intermediate to senior developer in Calgary with all or a bunch of the following skills please pass them on:

Strong object oriented design and development skills,
Current to leading edge C# and .NET framework,
Very strong in user interface (HTML, CSS, AJAX, Silverlight,WPF, etc.) design and development. You can make things happen on the user […]

11 Feb 2010

All Talk and No Action?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:58:27-06:00February 11th, 2010|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog|

Lately, I've been talking in my blog about what it is to be an entrepreneur. Working on the business versus in the business. Strategy versus busy work. Keeping customer happy, etc.

Is it all talk and no action?

Not at all.

Sure I blog about the things that I find interesting or attract my attention. If I am focused on something, it get's more attention over a period of time in the business.

We have been in business almost 10 years now which is an accomplishment in and of itself. We have had the pleasure of working with and building great software […]

10 Feb 2010

The Three Faces of an Entrepreneur

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:58:32-06:00February 10th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership|

The Leader (Entrepreneur)

This is the role most frequently associated with being an entrepreneur. A leader has a clear picture of the future and inspires others to share it. Vision and passion drive the creation of a new business.

The Manager

This role is essential to take the dream and make it into a world class business. There are two distinct types: business and people.

A great people manager is a catalyst to get the maximum results from people in alignment with business goals. Great people management is a talent that is not always learnable.

A business manager handles the building of the business (systems, processes, […]

9 Feb 2010

Entrepreneurs, Creation and Enlightenment

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:58:37-06:00February 9th, 2010|Categories: Books and Courses, Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

A couple of quotes from "E-Myth Mastery" by Michael Gerber that I found interesting:

"Entrepreneurship is, first of all, the power to create.

But creation is not something you do.

Creation is something that is done through you."

and

"Your job is not to become an entrepreneur. It is not to create.

Your job is to commit to the process of becoming an entrepreneur and then to practice what entrepreneurs do so that entrepreneurship can find you when you've practiced enough to be ready.

Commitment and practice."

What is not stated here is how long? That is because the […]

8 Feb 2010

Great, Good Enough and Poor

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:58:42-06:00February 8th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

It is important to distinguish.

You only have 24 hours in your day, 7 days in a week, 52 weeks in a year and who knows how many years.

Your company only has so many people and the same constraints on time.

Great

Great effort or great results? I think the world rewards you mostly for results over the long-term. Sure you can put in a lot of hours on something, but if the results aren't great?

Because being great at something usually requires a lot of effort over a long period of time, you must choose wisely; you can't be great at everything.

Focus […]

5 Feb 2010

Are You Building an Entrepreneurial Business?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:58:50-06:00February 5th, 2010|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog|

Are you an entrepreneur or are you a builder of an entrepreneurial business?

An entrepreneur is someone who has an idea for product or service and turns it into a viable business; making money in the process… repeat.

A builder of an entrepreneurial business is someone who builds a business full of people who have ideas and they turn them into viable products and services; making money in the process.

The first depends on one person. The second leverages the potential of many.

Both can work and can generate enough to retire on, plus some.

One has the potential to become much more.

Which one are you? […]

1 Feb 2010

Look After The Customer

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:58:54-06:00February 1st, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Marketing, Sales|

I've had it in mind to write on this subject for a while. It is so easy to find examples where companies don't look after their customers as much as they should, but harder to find examples where they do.

Unfortunately, my experiences lately have been more negative than positive; and I find that surprising when everyone is saying they are different and understand their customers; and even more bizarre in a down economy.

The idea is that if you find a great product or service that people want and focus on great customer service, the market will reward you.

If that is […]

28 Jan 2010

Knowing When to Quiet the Lizard Brain

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-06T12:44:07-06:00January 28th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Another great post by Seth Godin about how fear sabotages success; often subconsciously. The thing is, without it you would live life recklessly and probably have already doomed yourself.

So the trick is to ignore the irrational part that keeps you from succeeding and pay attention to the part that helps you survive. How do you do this?

Walk through the possible outcomes of things that are causing your fear to their logical conclusion. Usually, the worst outcome is not nearly as bad as you imagined in your subconscious. In that case ignore the fear. And if it is real, then you can […]

27 Jan 2010

Who Is Right?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:59:02-06:00January 27th, 2010|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation|

Read ten different business books and get 10 different stories on the secret to business.

Talk to 10 different entrepreneurs or business owners and you will get another 10 answers.

The reality?

There are many paths to business success.

Most companies will make lots of mistakes along the way. Some will have some luck and some will have some hard luck. Some will ride a trend and some will pick one that doesn't pan out. Some will survive and some will thrive. Some will bloom quickly and fade just as quickly and some will struggle and bloom later.

Just like judging people, it is easy […]

25 Jan 2010

Lessons from the Coyote and Hare

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-06T12:48:47-06:00January 25th, 2010|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog|

This morning I saw a hare (big rabbit) duck under our fence with a coyote hot on his heels. The hare stopped and went motionless. The coyote could not fit through and stood 20 feet away, staring at the hare, trying to figure out how he could salvage his breakfast.

Who is trying harder?

The predator or the prey? The obvious answer is the prey. However, if the predator doesn’t eat on a regular basis they will eventually become too weak to catch food.

If your business is struggling, it may feel like you are the prey and the market is out to […]

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