Doug's Blog Archives – Page 5 of 58

21 Mar 2016

Manage Your Brand: Win the Hearts of Customers

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:11:51-06:00March 21st, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Oilfield Pulse, Sales|

Happy Customers - Branding

—

People buy Apple products, because Apple has a powerful brand that connects to their ideal customer.

Consumers can see the connection to the iPhone in their hand or the MacBook Pro in their lap along with the company itself.

It doesn’t matter if the products are manufactured offshore by companies and people they don’t know exist. It doesn’t matter if the components in the phones are fabricated by other companies most of us have never heard of. […]

14 Mar 2016

Why Having an Opinion Isn’t the Same as Thinking

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:12:09-06:00March 14th, 2016|Categories: Books and Courses, Doug's Blog, Leadership, The Good Men Project|

Lion Listening in Africa

Does the sheep really care that the lion doesn’t care about his opinion, and other challenges you’ve probably never considered.

—

I’ve been challenging some commonly held beliefs (or memes) for a while. Often this conversation is in my head. Sometimes it is with clients and their beliefs about how their industry works. (I may even talk to myself when no one is around, but I am not aware of any proof.)

I was recently reading […]

7 Mar 2016

Partnering Starts with Brand and Trust

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:12:22-06:00March 7th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Oilfield Pulse|

Trust and Partnering In Tough Times

Critical Parts of Successful Collaboration

—

Over our last 15 plus years in business and consulting, I’ve run into many cases of small businesses attempting to work together to deliver better client value, win larger projects, and share marketing and sales costs.

This is one example of what it often looks like:

Five to ten small firms targeting a similar target market form a marketing group or shell company.
They all remain autonomous and […]

1 Mar 2016

Stop Hoping For a Hero to Save You

By Doug Wagner|2020-08-11T13:07:29-06:00March 1st, 2016|Categories: Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Leadership, The Good Men Project|

As an entrepreneur, you have more problems than time. So you try to hand your biggest problems to someone else to make them disappear.

—

We love our heroes.

In the movies, sometimes they start out as hero material, and sometimes they are reluctant heroes; forced into the role.

In sports, our heroes range from the all-star lineup of the favored team to the quarterback on the opposing side who leads the underdog team in a playoff run.

We want […]

26 Feb 2016

How To Put Success Back Into Your Forecast

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:13:00-06:00February 26th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Doug's Blog, Oilfield Pulse|

Rocket To Success

Here is the million dollar question: “What can Albertans and the oil and gas sector expect in 2016?”

—

Some people have access to more data, but unless you’ve invented the time machine, your guess about the future might be just as good as theirs.

The Future Is Gloomy

(Update: Since this article was originally published in December 2015, the price of oil has dropped below $30 US per barrel and the royalty review results have been announced. Those […]

4 Feb 2016

Survive To Thrive

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:13:20-06:00February 4th, 2016|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog|

Survive to Thrive - Plant Growing in Hands

Are you limited to survival, or can you thrive in the face of adversity?

—

Sunwapta Solutions Inc. has been in business for over 15 years. Suffice it to say, we’ve been through a few economic cycles during that time ranging from the dotcom bust, 9/11, the 2008 world banking crisis, and now the current slump in oil prices.

Of course, your business might run into problems for […]

28 Jan 2016

The Real Person Behind the Facades of Success

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:13:30-06:00January 28th, 2016|Categories: Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

Masks - Facades of Success

How our layers of roles and personas create a wall between us, happiness, and success.

—

“I’ve always wanted to be a brooding, deep, dark artist, but I can never keep that facade going for more than 15 minutes.” ~ Bryan Callen

When I first started in business, we would meet other entrepreneurs all the time. The ones with some experience appeared to be highly confident and flawless. They talked about how […]

7 Jan 2016

3 Ways To Be Happier Than A Fly In Your Soup

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:13:43-06:00January 7th, 2016|Categories: Doug's Blog, Dream Teams, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

Fly on Soup - Business Lessons

The illusion of success can trap you in a business that keeps you buzzing but doesn’t fuel your passion.

—

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman

Sunday evening I was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a good book on my Kindle, and eating my […]

14 Dec 2015

Trying to Avoid Failure By Never Starting is a Dead-end Road

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-17T13:11:27-06:00December 14th, 2015|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

Man Stuck Deciding and Not Moving Forward

Many times we get ourselves into a mental trap where not moving forward seems safe. It isn’t.

—

“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way, and not starting.” ~ Buddha

We often get in our own way when pursuing success.

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of people starting businesses because they have lost their job or fear they will lose it in the future. Some people […]

13 Nov 2015

An Introvert’s Guide To Personal Success

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:14:25-06:00November 13th, 2015|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation, The Good Men Project|

Introvert Speaking and Reading from Phone

If the world seems to demand that you become something you’re not, don’t worry. You can be authentic and follow your own path to success.

—

I remember coming out of high school straight into the military as a shy and introverted officer in training. I was so quiet a lot of people thought I would quit. I didn’t.

After studying electrical engineering for five years, I went off to serve another seven years in the Air […]

Doug’s Blog

Does the sheep really care that the lion doesn’t care about his opinion, and other challenges you’ve probably never considered.

Critical Parts of Successful Collaboration

As an entrepreneur, you have more problems than time. So you try to hand your biggest problems to someone else to make them disappear.

Here is the million dollar question: “What can Albertans and the oil and gas sector expect in 2016?”

The Future Is Gloomy

Are you limited to survival, or can you thrive in the face of adversity?

How our layers of roles and personas create a wall between us, happiness, and success.

The illusion of success can trap you in a business that keeps you buzzing but doesn’t fuel your passion.

Many times we get ourselves into a mental trap where not moving forward seems safe. It isn’t.

If the world seems to demand that you become something you’re not, don’t worry. You can be authentic and follow your own path to success.