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The United States is bearing witness to fierce nomination campaigning right now.

Party representatives are being faced with tough choices of unknown candidates, disgraced former governors, religious zealots, racist bullies, and mysterious managers of government email records.

But there is another more important nomination campaign being waged. This one is for the privilege and honour of being a presenter at the 2016 South by Southwest Conference. For that important race, I have thrown my hat in the race along with my running mate, IMI International’s legendary Don Mayo.

To call Southby a conference is a bit like calling Burning Man a concert. SXSW is a dizzying circus of presentations, events, stunts, panels, parties, pitching, schmoozing, films, concerts, networking, demonstrations, workshops, learning, and food trucks. Any event held in Austin, Texas must include reference to their food trucks.

I have been twice and wish I had started attending a decade ago. It is in a nutshell, the conference every marketer needs to hit at least twice. Why twice? The advice I was given prior to my first Southby was to expect nothing out of it. Just learn the lay of the land.

Those particular advisor givers were both right and wrong. SXSW is overwhelming. It takes a first visit to figure it out. Maybe more. But I did get a lot out of it Year 1 and even more Year 2.

If I was to highlight one takeaway it would be the people. There are venture capitalists attending, social media influencers, celebrities, agency staff, baby faced entrepreneurs, client side stars, media, and a whole ton of wannabes.

So now in to my pitch.

I want to speak at SXSW. Why is the obvious question? Is it to build our agency’s profile? Attract new business? Recruit new talent? Yes. Yes. And Yes! Is it to feed my ego? No Answer.

But there is more to it than that. I love public speaking as you know and work harder than you might realize for every presentation I give. So I want to test my skills and see how I do on a massive stage. I want to share our agency’s learnings and client experiences, as truly it’s a passion of mine to help build our industry. I want to show off what Canada has to offer, hence my pairing up with as unique talent as this land can boast in Don Mayo. I want to meet like minded people and being front and center is a powerful magnet.

So to do all this I need your help. I need your votes. I need you to go online, create an SXSW account, and show me some love. Here is the link: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/54525

Our topic?
Moneyball: Translating Analytics into Marketing Gold

Here is the official write-up (thanks to Maria on our team!):

No industry draws as much universal passion as sports. And no industry draws as much data. When everything is measured – speed, heart rate, agility – how do you know what will actually be helpful in creating the perfect team or play? With the advancements in digital analytics and consumer research, sports marketers are now faced with a similar challenge – endless possibilities in measuring fans’ engagement and affinity. Avoid data overload. Learn how to effectively leverage data’s power to fuel your winning plays for compelling and authentic brand experiences. Get insights from more than just best-in-class cases – go behind-the-scenes with the researchers and strategists themselves. – See more at: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/54525#sthash.xr8fYnJR.dpuf

Now you have the link and the ask, here is my platform. If you vote for me I promise to:
1. Wear a Canadian flag when I present. Not sure where yet, but the suggestion box is open.
2. Provide copies of the presentation to all who can prove they voted for Don and me. Autographs will be extra.
3. Periscope Don and I’s rehearsal of the final presentation the night before, for your viewing pleasure. Subtitles will be sponsored by IMI wizards Neal and Adam.
4. If we get picked, I promise not to talk endlessly about it at CSFX16 in February. (Man it’s hard to type with my fingers crossed.)
5. Invite all confirmed voters who also attend our presentation at SXSW to our post presentation celebration on 6th Street. Understand of course the polite thing is for you to buy, not us.

In all seriousness, I think you know the importance of this to me and I can only say thank-you a million times over for your support.

NEW.

It’s the most powerful word in Marketing.

Everybody loves New. The new smartphone. The new car. The new boutique hotel. The new condo development. The new restaurant. The new sushi place. The new library. The new teacher. The new mall. The new coffee shop. New.

New boyfriends. New neighbours. New employees. New job. New apartment. New car. New house. New condo. New shirt. New watch. New puppy. Everything seems better with those few letters tacked on.

So how come it’s so hard to get people to do new things. Change habits. Take on different approaches to work. Forget other people. What about yourself?

I personally find that NEW sounds sexy and then…the slippage starts.

I like new diets.
I love new exercise regimes.
I also love new ways of working.
New approaches to managing my day.
New apps.
New approaches to meetings.
New age business books to read.
New blogs to read.
New blogs to write.
New speeches to give.
New conferences to attend.
New ways to motivate.
New ways to communicate.

But sustaining new is hard. It requires discipline. Patience. Focus. Motivation. Maybe it requires a marketing campaign? A self-directed campaign created and consumed by the same entity. Me.

I think it’s a unique idea. Do you? Want to give it a try? I do.

Now I need to find an application. An opportunity to test it out. The beatific aspect of being in the marketing world is every day presents a new challenge. See I’m already marketing new things. So my next challenge is going to be mounted with a marketing campaign. Off I go to create a compelling proposition, find uncluttered channels, and deliver a message that will resonate. With Me!

If you don’t want to hear me whine, turn the page.

I’m floating at 36,000 feet over somewhere called Canora right now. The seat map says we are doing 825 KMH, but I feel like I’m standing still. According to aviation experts…that’s a good thing!

The cabin is cool. The flight is smooth. My family is tucked in nicely with their in-flight movies. Call me content.

But that wouldn’t be accurate.

I’m annoyed beyond annoyance. Upside down from the bright side. My cloud is grey and there is no silver in sight.

Peeved should be my new surname. I think it’s automatically bilingual, so the stewardess should be able to pronounce it when they page. “Monsieur Peeved, please stop issuing death stares at the lady next to your wife.”

That won’t get me to stop.

She’s going to have endure my wrath the entire flight. Because she just set common courtesy back a century this morning, in a scenario we all know too well. The airline seat shuffle.

This was an easy one for her to win. My wife had a window seat in a 2-4-2 configuration. When I booked online it showed me next to her in the aisle. But somehow the map was wrong so I’m across from her. But still on the aisle.

Sounds simple so far doesn’t it?

Of course I waited for the person who had the seat I wanted and asked if we could change seats. They are both aisles. Both the same size. Both the same row. Both the same colour even. Okay so hers was a few feet closer to the window and yes mine was on the end of a row of four.

I politely asked for her to switch. It’s a routine ask, happens on every flight. Every day. I indicated the location of my wife. Quickly added the proximity of my children, smiled naturally and waited for her to say of course, no problem.

Bzzzzzzz. Does this woman really have a toaster oven buzzer in her head? Did she really just zap me. I feel like one of those TV cop show sound cannisters just went off in my head. She is rejecting my request.

She looked down. She looked at her booked seat. She threw her eyes away from my booked seat and used them to demonstrate the perils of being in a row of four. She didn’t say sorry. She didn’t ask if it was airline error. She didn’t even ask my wife if she minded.

Bzzzz.

I was stunned. Really I ask? She snorted about how she didn’t want to be in a row of four.

But it’s got two aisles. There is no Noble Prize winning mathematical formula in the world that supports her argument she may have to provide more bathroom aceess than being next to one person. In theory, no sorry, in reality she is only next to one person in a four pack!

She wasn’t in a debating mood. I hastily retreated and sent my wife a quick email vent.

I couldn’t believe it. You don’t realize how much simple courtesy means in your life until you are denied the same. But I’m getting her back. I’ve already plotted how I’m going to block her exit when she wants to leave. She will be stuck to that chair like a Louisiane inmate when I’m done with her. If she does escape she’s going to experience the new Olympic sport of slow walking. I have amazing peripheral vision, she has no hope of getting past me!

If this wasn’t a professional media channel I would also share with you my preparations to spray her with flatulents all the way up the airport ramp. I’m strategically ordering right now from the on board Cafe.

If she survives all those nuisances than she might want to think twice about the baggage carousel. I’m debating using a cart to block her in to a back breaking corner or innocently advising my kids to stand next to her armed with some dubious data from me that the bags come out in the same proximity as our seats. There is guaranteed at least one crushed toe or annoying elbow in the rub coming out of that.

Maybe I will get lucky and she will be scheduled on the same return flight home. Perhaps the shoe will be on the other foot. Or the butt on the other cushion. Payback is always a multiple of the crime.

I’m enjoying this.

The Debating Games are well underway as Toronto has a brief lull between the Pan Am Games closing and the Para Pans soon to start here on August 7th.

So it’s time to rev up the debate around T.O. bidding for the Big O. As in Olympics. Also as in the unfortunate and timeless nickname that will forever shackle the legacy of the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The Big O debate is whether or not Toronto should pursue, yet again, a bid for the Summer Olympics. The 2024 Games are next on the docket and the powers that be have only precious weeks to make a call. The smoke hadn’t lifted from the extinguished cauldron Sunday night before politicos, scribes, and sports advocates come out blazing and choosing sides. Add the backdrop of Boston’s humiliating exit from the 2024 race this week and the fire just keeps getting hotter.

I have an obvious bias. I am all for anything that helps Canada, Toronto, athletes, our industry. Let’s face it, there is clear opportunity for economic gain for people like me if we have an Olympics in our city. But candidly I also see the argument for things such as pursuing the Expo 2025 bid. Objectively, that property may generate better, larger, more sustainable, and accessible benefits. But I am not picking or stumping for one over the other. But I do have an unshakably strong opinion about one thing. Context.

Too often when Olympics, or Stadiums, or Expansion Teams are debated, the opponents twist and turn numbers to make them suit their arguments. It’s easy for adversaries of a cause to focus on the examples and cases of past failures. It’s human nature to debate what didn’t work and why that should be a lesson. It’s also human nature to be non-believers. To have little faith. Zero courage. The vast majority of society lives with these shackles.

Thankfully history has been dominated by people who dare to believe. People who dare to think the world isn’t flat. People who have the courage to turn back dictators. People who have faith that man can fly. People who want to walk on the moon. People who want to connect the world electronically.

The Debating Games need those people. People who will point to Barcelona and prove the Olympics can work. People who can point to new types of companies and demonstrate how old models in business, charity, and education are extinct. People who understand how those disruptive models need to be applied to legacy organizations like IOC and FIFA. People who can apply those disruptive models to building infrastructure. People who can apply those disruptive models to managing events.

If we do this, then we will see the real opportunity. The real opportunity isn’t to hold a party for a few elite bureaucrats or sponsors. The real opportunity is to inspire the minds and hearts of our young people. Our old people. Our disenfranchised people. It’s an opportunity to do what we do best. That is, be Canadians.

We say we are a great country. We say we are innovative people. We say we are a community. We say we are entrepreneurs.

So let’s prove it. Let’s bid, win, stage an Olympic Games that creates a legacy of sport, access, equality, and fiscal soundness…that will make us all forget we ever argued about it in the first place.

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Pan Am Games – Toronto 2015;

We owe you an apology.

We spoke, not from experience, but from media fueled cynicism. We whined loudly about your costs, your traffic congestion, your endless construction. We whispered to eager listeners that you were not the Olympics. We predicted gleefully that nobody would care.

We suggested your participating athletes were second-rate and not world class. We said you were important enough for Winnipeg, but not close to being on the prestige level we demand in Toronto. We said the lack of visitors was proof of your irrelevance.

We smirked when your CEO was fired over an alleged 91¢ expense claim. We gasped when we heard you were ripping up the Queen’s Quay immediately after the event. We howled patriotic injustice when you announced Kayne would headline the closing ceremonies.

We didn’t know that Cirque would do an amazing job of the Opening Ceremonies.

We never imagined 20,000 rabid fans watching women’s rugby. Let alone that our Canadian team would annihilate the USA.

We can’t be held responsible for the fact that our co-workers would rave about the free concerts at Panamania.

We didn’t expect our friend’s son to be so inspired at the diving competition, that he is begging his parents to enroll him in lessons.

We had never heard of the international rules of baseball creating a Gold Medal moment atmosphere of a World Series.

We didn’t know Rosie MacLennan was the best trampolinist in the world and not willing to let anything stop her from proving it again.

We couldn’t anticipate the magic of the nightly medal ceremonies at Canada House.

We are surprised that research is showing how much businesses are benefiting.

We couldn’t imagine the beauty of the velodrome, the soccer stadium, or the world class pools.

We didn’t understand why 23,000 of our neighbours volunteered their time to help out.

We really can’t be blamed. We don’t get out much. We don’t actually exercise. We still watch cable TV. We almost always order delivery food. We do sometimes take the car three blocks to a drivethrough. We really like driving to the mall. We don’t watch sports. We never wander to the neighbourhood park to see kids play. We have never seen high performance athletes in person. We didn’t know that handball was so challenging. We don’t believe in events being a part of our city’s culture. We don’t believe in the power of sports. We have never volunteered. We have never coached. We have never referred. We have never cheered.

We really can’t be blamed. We weren’t told that the Pan Am Games would be so amazing. We always believe what we are told.

Sincerely,

The Skeptics of Greater Toronto

Two days before the FIFA Women’s World Cup Fina I was watching a TSN panel previewing the Japan – USA Game and reviewing the tournament as a whole.

Now of course I have forgotten the panelist name (some guy, a Brit, not James Duthie), but he said something that made him look like a genius after Carli Lloyd singlehandedly decimated the Nadeshiko. It was an answer to the question as to whether the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup could be classified as a “great” event. His answer was that World Cup events are defined by outstanding individual performances and that, to date, this tournament hadn’t seen that. But he expected all of that to change on Sunday.

All of that came true the moment the ball left Lloyd’s foot on a 54 yard mission to the Japanese goal. A scoring effort that the FOX Sports commentators called the greatest goal in Women’s World Cup history. With that, her two other goals, a pair of strikes from teammates, and two late game cameos from a pair of aging US superstars, the script for this event had reached it’s storybook ending. It was witnessed by a record TV crowd of over 28 million the USA, nearly 8 million more in Canada, not to mention the fiery and fortunate fifty thousand plus at BC Place.

Lloyd created a special moment at the most special time. Her choreography could not have been more precise. Sport is all about the grand moments on a grand stage.

There is much talk about whether this will produce a legacy for women’s soccer or for women’s sports for that matter. It also provokes dialogue for what’s next for Canada as a host. Perhaps a 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup bid? Just as the upcoming Pan Am Games are seen in some corners as a test run for a potential Summer Olympic bid, the FWWC was the next and last step in hosting for our country, before the supposed big grand prize.

But let’s not lose sight of the moment. Let’s hope the spotlight does continue to shine brightly on women’s soccer, women’s sports, amateur sport, and Canadian athletes. That’s a big ask. But that’s the burden and expectation of big events. This week the mantle is handed from the Women’s World Cup to the Pan Am Games. The media and critics are out in full force in Toronto. The traffic will be a mess. Ticket sales are sluggish. Hotels are empty. The Torch relay has been under attended. I don’t know what’s accurate or not, but I do now that the buzzkill is common to all major undertakings. But wait.

Wait till the whistle blows this week to start the competition. Wait till the gun sounds to launch the swimmers in the pool. Wait till the balls get kicked and the hurdles get cleared. Then check in with me. But I want you to do more than wait. I want you to help create the spotlight. On our athletes in the Pan and ParaPan events. They are our future Olympians and Paralympians. Our future NBA stars. Our future Women’s World Cup athletes.

They are also our future teachers, surgeons, neighbours, police women, friends, lawyers, in-laws, plumbers, politicians, and parents of our children’s friends. They deserve the brightest spotlight you can give them. The FIFA Women’s World Cup demonstrated again, the legacy our country has in being a great host and our ambition to be a leading international sporting nation. Carli Lloyd served us well by putting on one of the most outstanding performances of any World Cup competitor.

Someone is waiting in the wings in Southern Ontario to do the same during the Pan Am’s. I can’t wait to see who.

Canada turns 148 this week. I wonder if it feels old?

It’s almost one hundred years older than me. But as far as countries go, it’s still a baby. Or maybe toddler is a more apropo descriptor.

Canada’s done a lot in it’s weening years.

Fought World Wars. Served as peacekeepers. Rescued American hostages. Invented the Telephone. Then the Smartphone. Not to mention basketball, snowmobiling, penicillin, and Beaver Tails. And something called poutine.

Spawned Gretzky, Richard, Lemieux, Crosby, Nash, Wiggins. Greene, Humphries, Le May Doan, Hughes. Raised Bailey, Lewis, and Surin. Birthed Bieber, Celine, Shania, Carrey, Myers, Candy, Gosling. and Cirque.

Built a Den filled with Dragons. Put the Iron in Man…and Woman. Urged the World to ensure a child has the Right to Play. Built the world’s best doughnut chain, running rooms, and loyalty programs. Pioneered efforts to motivate and participate. Juggled two official languages. Welcomed immigrants from everywhere. Paid homage to a Queen not our own.

Proven to the world what a sound banking system can do. Not to mention universal health care.

Won the World Series. Hosted Olympics. Pan Ams past and present. Staged largest FIFA Women’s World Cup ever. Expos. G8’s.

Despite all we have accomplished, Canada still seems pretty youthful to me. It’s best days are ahead of it. This country has so much potential and everyday it seems we act a little less stereotypical Canadian hoser and a lot more confident Canuck.

Now is the time to show the world what we’re made of. We’ve got a brilliant platform to do so with our Sesquicentennial approaching in 2017. The time is ripe to get in the bandwagon. Groups of people are already planning celebrations across the land. Committees are being formed. Governments are allocating dollars. Grants are being requested. Businesses are devising campaigns. Schools are retooling lessons.

If age truly is a mental state than all of this planning is going to make Canada’s 150th feel like a Sweet Sixteen. It will be a bash you won’t want to miss. Enjoy your holidays this week and start thinking about what you’re going to bring to the 2017 party.

A friend of mine, Peter Gilbert, is retiring from teaching this week. Despite his three plus decades in the profession, I would still consider him a Student Teacher.

What is a Student Teacher? In my mind it’s the teacher who understands that every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year, is about the students. They never lose that passion that inspired them to pursue their vocation. They never lose that sense of purpose. They never stop trying to build character, spirit, and confidence in their young disciples.

A Student Teacher does more than teach. They teach, they coach, they mentor, they befriend, they inspire, they console, they guide, they advise, they humour, they discipline, they parent, they counsel, they train, they listen, they protect, they comfort, and they love.

A Student Teacher has lifelong impact. They make an impact on thousands of young people at a critical stage in their lives. They equip them to deal with the future. They provide them with skills, both hard and soft, to pursue their dreams. They motivate them with actions, not just words, that boost their confidence.

A Student Teacher doesn’t just have the myriad of challenges presented by their hordes of students to overcome. A Student Teacher has administrators, school board policies, (some) ungrateful parents, and sometimes not so motivated fellow teachers to also overcome. In today’s educational climate it seems that the Student Teacher is under attack from all angles.

It’s no wonder that too many teachers retire early. Fed up with a system that seems to punish the motivated and rewards the system-zombies. It’s no wonder that everyday there are less educators willing to volunteer their team to coach sports, lead extracurriculars, mentor musicians, or organize arts excursions.

It’s too bad. Our country can’t afford to lose men like Peter. He coached more teams than I can list. He spent more time with the students than his own children at time. It’s a cliche to suggest those students were also his children. But cliche or not, it’s true.

Without him I would not have been able to spend the last fifteen glorious years as a volunteer football coach. He served not only in an official capacity as my staff sponsor, but in an unofficial capacity as my defender, promoter, and advisor. He recruited players for me. Lobbied teachers to let kids play. Cajoled kids to study. Lined the fields. Cleaned the change rooms. Ordered the buses. Raised money. Booked the refs. Wrapped the goalposts. And occasionally….called the ambulances.

A team is only as strong as its team members. Next year I have a great young quarterback who starred for the juniors a year ago, a tough running back recovering from injury, and some rangy linemen coming back. But one key all-star I will be missing is Peter.

Thanks for being my teacher Peter.

Signed,

Student

Dateline: Charleston, South Carolina.

Does it really take the murder of nine black people to realize that racism still exists?

Why does it take a young white supremacist to get politicians to act?

Why is a white killer labelled crazy and a brown one a terrorist?

Why do Presidential hopefuls wait until the media speaks before they talk?

Why does the flying of a symbol that stands for slavery, bigotry, rape, and the elimination of human decency make sense in a country that stands for the “Land of the Free”?

Why do the supporters of the Confederate flag believe it honours their past, yet somehow doesn’t dishonour the past of their fellow countrymen and women? That’s the argument commonly made for flying this flag over the state capitols in places like South Carolina, witness to the horrific murders of nine black churchgoers a week ago. That’s the argument why it’s part of the state symbol of Mississippi.

Can you imagine how people would feel if parts of Germany still flew the Swastika?

Imagine Canadians reactions if the FLQ flag was raised over parts of Quebec?

Speaking of our homeland, you may think this is an American issue. It is not. I can tell you how nervous I feel when I see a Confederate symbol on someone’s clothing or vehicle.

So much of our culture is influenced by the U.S. Racism is learned. Taught. Bred. Just yesterday my son had an incident with a classmate who wanted to play the white pieces during a chess game. He said, and I quote, he didn’t want to be the “Black N’s”. You can fill in the blank. This wasn’t a joke. It was intended to be as mean as it sounded. But to who? My son, of many bloodlines, looks white to most people. That is what really struck me. It wasn’t meant as a slur to my son, though it upset him greatly, it was this other boy’s view on the world.

Thankfully there are signs of progress. Businesses are condemning politicians for their stances. Media are not hesitating to take candidates to task. Voices, that were often muzzled, are beginning to speak up.

But can you imagine being one of the many black lawmakers in the South Carolina legislature, who enter the daily workplace under the symbol that demonized their ancestors for centuries?

I don’t think removing the Confederate flag would have saved the lives of those none people in that historical church. But it could save the next nine.

TO A GREATER GOAL.

The official slogan for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup was omnipresent at the Opening Match in Edmonton on Saturday. It’s a great slogan, I love it.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is more than just a soccer tournament. It will hopefully have a profound impact on women’s sports around the globe. It is a celebration of how far women’s soccer has come in this country and internationally, as the 2015 event represents an expanded field of twenty-four teams. In less than twenty years the tournament has doubled in size to keep pace with the global growth of the women’s game.

Ironically the slogan has an even greater meaning given the unfortunate timing of the FIFA corruption allegations. But even in darkness there is light, as the amazing opening round crowds in Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Vancouver have demonstrated.

For the 53,000 Canadian fans filling grand Commonwealth Stadium on a picture perfect prairie Saturday, the slogan probably meant even more than the tournament organizers intended. In the stadium, the slogan was more than a piece of signage, it was the preoccupation of all of us. For the opening match just wasn’t about our Canadian women taking on China. It was the kickoff to the summit of a very long journey. A journey that last witnessed, had featured the triumph of an amazing Olympic bronze medal, a first in so many decades for a Canadian summer Olympic team in any sport. Yet a moment so emotionally charged, if only we hadn’t been seemingly robbed of a gold medal opportunity, by a devastating officiating call.

So Saturday marked the first step of pent-up redemption. Canada’s own coach had suggested that nothing less than making the Final was acceptable. Oh what a tall order. Oh what a lofty goal. But wait. First there is the task at hand of winning a single round robin game. Something we did not accomplish at the 20111 Cup.

I was very fortunate to be in attendance.

With the cooperation of Soccer Canada, we had staged the 2015 Canadian Sponsorship Forum in Edmonton, and purchased tickets for all 250 delegates to attend the match. The match was the closing component of three days of workshops, keynotes, research presentations, networking, information sharing, and inspiration. Speakers from the WTA, Mondelez, IMI, FC Barcelona, VISA, X Prize, Canadian Tire, Lagarde, UNICEF and many more, satiated our delegates quest for knowledge. A street soccer tournament with TSN and a Canadian celebration hosted by Canada Place created new business relationships and new friendships for life. Unique sessions, such as Stacey Allaster’s Building the Road to success: The Power of Women in Sport, struck a deeply personal chord with all of those who leaned in. So the stage was set for a dramatic finish to a dramatic conference.

Unfortunately Team China had not received the “memo.”

Didn’t they know the role of the host’s opening opponent is to cooperate? Couldn’t they read the world ranking that said we are #8 and they are # 16? How come they decided to outrun us in the hot Alberta sun? Press the play in our end? Hit a free kick off not one, but both posts?

At halftime they had the crowd concerned. By the 75th minute the tension was palatable. As game time crept through the eighties, sheer panic had silenced us.

Majestically Captain Canada, Christine Sinclair, scored the great goal to win the game 1-0. Majestic. In the 90th minute. One great goal. Canada seems destined for a greater goal.

No Team Canada fan, player, coach, administrator, booster could leave that stadium uninspired. Yes it was just one game, one goal. But I will remember it for a long, long time. It was a goal that rewarded the perseverance of a true superstar. It’s a lesson for us on the pitch and off the pitch.

If Soccer Canada doesn’t mind, I would like to borrow their beautiful slogan. I would like to use it to help motivate me and my team, because it elevates what we do everyday. We don’t just create marketing properties. We are doing something of a higher order. Something greater.

I hope Business Leaders in Canada pay close attention to the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Not just to Team Canada, but to all of the teams and athletes. If you watched the Swiss play on Monday night, not only would Ramona Bachmann wow you, but her entire team left me in awe at their relentlessness in a close defeat to the powerhouse Japanese team. It was their first ever appearance for them in the Cup and they deserved a better outcome. But still they achieved so much. I am sure today they are moving on and pursuing their next goal, motivated by the knowledge of how they have already inspired their country and recruited new fans, such as me.

Sport inspires people. I believe Businesses can as well. Much like Sport, Business has a mandate to do more than win. It can’t be all about profit. Like Sport, Business can create an impact. Business needs to have greater goals.

Go Canada Go.