In June 2007, CEOs and presidents of Ontario's high performance firms gathered at the Wisdom Exchange to expand their business network, share best practices, benchmark growth strategies and gain advice and insights critical to success.

1. Highlights from the forum for CEOs
Event Report and presidents of Ontario’s high
performance firms
WISDOM
EXCHANGE
2007
Strategies for Growth
13TH WISDOM EXCHANGE CONFERENCE
The Estates of Sunnybrook, Toronto, Ontario
June 2007

3. On June 5, 2007, CEOs of Ontario’s
high performance, innovative growth
firms met at the 13th Wisdom Exchange
forum to network and explore Strategies
for Growth.
We hope this report provides an overview of the insights shared by CEOs,
topic experts and workshop presenters at the event.
Wisdom Exchange 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS
In this report
Going global: opportunities abound for Ontario growth firms 2
Transformational leadership: look to the bard for inspiration 4
Competitive success: it starts at the top 6
Innovative marketing: Web 2.0 technologies 8
Organizational excellence: the seven keys to making
your organization great 10
Lean culture: techniques for business growth 12
Financing growth: some capital ideas 14
Defining success: learning from the best practices
of Ontario’s high performance firms 16
1

4. For many of Ontario’s high performance firms, global
Going global: expansion and staying on top of constantly changing
markets can be a challenge.
Wisdom Exchange 2007 WORKING LUNCH
opportunities In his opening remarks to CEOs and presidents of
leading growth firms at June’s Wisdom Exchange, the
Honourable Harinder Takhar shared his observations
abound for on India’s rapid growth and ensuing opportunities for
Ontario’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Ontario growth “I was born in India and have returned every year or
two since the mid-1970’s. During Ontario’s business
mission to India earlier this year, I saw things that
firms reinforced for me that India has changed more in the
past five years than in the previous 25 years,” said
the Minister. India’s economy averaged 7% annual
The Honourable Harinder S. Takhar,
growth for the past 10 years and grew another 9.2%
MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS in 2006. Home to one-sixth of the world’s population,
AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP India has an estimated 350 million middle-class
consumers who want the same products and services
that are popular in Europe and North America. In
recent years, the country has also accelerated its
engagement in global trade by opening its domestic
markets and increasing its investments overseas.
“Ontario companies have an advantage that makes
us very competitive,” the Minister explained: In every
Ontario community we have people from China,
India, and Pakistan who know these countries as
well as Canada. This helps us undertake partnerships
around the world and we should build on this
diversity. In addition, business people will find a
communications infrastructure in India supported by a
democracy where the legal system is based on
English common law, English being the most
important language for commercial enterprise and
national and political communications.
Recognizing India as one of the world’s fast-growing
emerging markets, Minister Takhar accompanied
Premier Dalton McGuinty and more than 100
business delegates on a trade and investment mission
2

5. “ It takes more than just thinking globally
for us to remain competitive in this
changing environment.
“
to India and Pakistan in January 2007. With two-way
trade expanding at a rapid pace, Ontario’s mission
was designed to build on this enormous potential.
Canada’s 2005 exports to India surged 25% over
2004, and India became Canada’s 14th largest
export market in 2006. As a major contributor to
Canada’s increase in export growth, Ontario goods
exports to India have more than doubled in the past
three years. Looking ahead, bilateral trade between
Canada and India is targeted at US $20 billion in On how to build relationships with foreign buyers,
goods and services within the next five years. It is also Minister Takhar advised, “If you get to know the
expected that India will spend between $150 and people and culture, work with your contacts in new
$330 billion over the next 5-10 years on infrastructure markets, and build win-win partnerships, the
alone and will not have the internal capacity to do it dividends coming out of these countries can be
without help. “This will open up new opportunities for great.” The Ministry’s Ontario Director for the Middle
Indian and Ontario companies to work together in East agreed, offering his hands-on description of the
critical areas,” said the Minister. export process: “You visit your target market, and
you meet people. Then you come back and meet
The Minister also cited examples of major Indian the same people again, plus new people. When
firms such as ICICI Bank, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, you come back the third time, you meet the old
Satyam Computer Services, and the Aditya Birla people and some new people. On your fourth
Group that have invested millions to start or expand trip you can ask the first people that you met for
their businesses in Ontario. “The Chairman of Infosys, an order.”
India’s largest software company, told me that Ontario
is the right place for them to invest,” he said. Thanking the audience of growth-firm leaders for their
contributions to the Ontario economy, Minister Takhar
The India-Pakistan trade mission is part of the said, “You are the innovators who create new
government’s embrace of globalization and products and services, high-value jobs, and
aggressive action to attract more investments and partnerships around the world.” To help Ontario firms
create more avenues of distribution across the globe enter into some of the world’s hottest markets, the
for Ontario’s world-class products. “It takes more than province has established 10 International Marketing
just thinking globally for us to remain competitive in Centres, in New Delhi, New York, London, Los
this changing environment,” said the Minister. “We Angeles, Munich, Paris, Mexico City, Beijing, Tokyo,
must go global and show the world what Ontario and Shanghai. These centres, located in Canadian
has to offer.” A strong example of this was when consulates, are there to assist Ontario firms to make
Premier McGuinty presented the politicians and local contacts, participate in trade shows, and
business leaders he met on the mission with a explore the opportunities of new markets.
BlackBerry. The Premier made sure everyone knew
that the world’s most popular personal communication For more information on programs and services to
device comes from the Ontario-based company support Ontario businesses at any stage along their
Research In Motion, as proof of Ontario’s leadership continuum of growth, visit the Ministry’s new and
in the global economy. improved, one-stop website at www.sbe.gov.on.ca.
3

6. When Jim Fisher, Vice-Dean of MBA Programs and
Transformational Executive Education at the University of Toronto’s
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management,
searched for an example of outstanding leadership
leadership: to discuss at this year’s Wisdom Exchange, he
reached back more than 400 years and brought to
life Shakespeare’s Henry V – only it was a very
Wisdom Exchange 2007 PLENARY
look to the bard different Shakespeare than the CEOs in the
audience had studied in high school.
for inspiration Leadership has fascinated Fisher throughout his
career. Over the last 30 years, he has worked
closely with some of Canada’s top corporate and
Jim Fisher,
political leaders, including Pierre Trudeau and Galen
VICE-DEAN, MBA PROGRAMS Weston among many, many more.
AND EXECUTIVE EDUCATION,
JOSEPH L. ROTMAN SCHOOL Why should Shakespeare be of any interest to the
OF MANAGEMENT, CEOs of some of Ontario’s fastest-growing firms?
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
As Fisher explained, half of all today’s English-
language live theatre productions are of
Shakespeare’s plays, which were all written around
1600. “In other words,” Fisher said, “Shakespeare
still has 50 per cent market share after 400 years
without introducing any new products.”
And why is the Bard so successful? “Shakespeare’s
enduring appeal lies in his tremendous insights
into people’s inner motivations,” Fisher said.
“Shakespeare asks why people do the things
they do. And why other people let them.”
“He understood that you are not a leader when
you just take a courageous stand, or when you
state the great vision, or when you have great
charisma. You are a leader when people are
following you in a direction where they would not
otherwise go,” said Fisher.
4

7. “ You are a leader when people are
following you in a direction where
they would not otherwise go.
“
Take the character of Henry V as a case in point.
The year is 1415. King Henry V of England has
invaded France. In late fall, after months of
warfare, his army of approximately 6,000 troops
begins the long march back to Calais, France,
so they can be home for Christmas. They are
tired, sick, injured, wet and hungry. On October
25, at Agincourt, they come face-to-face with
25,000 fresh, well-rested and well-fed French
troops. On the morning of the battle, Henry has “Henry gave his troops a plan and a vision,”
one chance to rally his troops and turn near- said Fisher. “All my experience tells me that
certain defeat into an English victory. leaders have to have both. Bringing the two
together gives power to both of them.”
History books don’t record exactly what Henry
said that morning, but whatever he said worked In Fisher’s leadership paradigm, motivating the
extraordinarily well. The battle of Agincourt has organization is just as important as setting targets
been immortalized as one of the greatest English and direction, creating organizational structures
victories of all time. and monitoring results.
Shakespeare, that master of inner motivations, Motivating employees inspires them to make
crafted for Henry a speech that galvanized a commitment to go beyond the minimum and
the English troops. He did it by appealing empowers them to help the company achieve its
to their honour; he appealed to their sense objectives. It is about articulating and bringing to
of fellowship; he promised them fame and life the values that are consistent with the vision
immortality, depending on whether they lived and give meaning to the work. It is about
or died. connecting emotions with the job at hand.
”The focus was on values – not money, not “Treat your employees like volunteers and they
authority – because values are what motivate will go the extra mile for you,” said Fisher. “Lead
people,” said Fisher. “That’s as true today as it with your heart, as well as your head. Create a
was 400 years ago.” vision. Have a plan. Energize your people.” In
Fisher’s view, that is the essence of leadership
Henry also had a revolutionary battle plan, Fisher whether your battle is for market share or for the
pointed out. He chose a wide muddy field as English throne.
his battleground. The French troops, as they
charged across the field in their heavy armour, It worked for Henry V. In fact, it made him
got bogged down and became easy targets for a hero whose fame has lasted more than
the English bowmen. 500 years.
5

8. Wisdom Exchange 2007 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
The success of high performance firms can be
Competitive grounded in some down-to-earth attitudes. That’s what
CEOs discovered at the 2007 Wisdom Exchange
when Art Church, President, CEO and Partner of
success: Mancor Industries Inc. in Oakville, Ontario, began
describing his company’s successful approach to
gaining and maintaining competitive advantages in
it starts at the top North America’s hard-hit manufacturing sector.
Church is a down-to-earth guy, even if he does have
Art Church,
an MBA in finance from McMaster University and
PRESIDENT, CEO a bachelor of applied science in mechanical
AND PARTNER, engineering (P.Eng.) from the University of Waterloo.
MANCOR INDUSTRIES INC. Over the past 10 years, Mancor, a precision
manufacturer of metal components and sub-assemblies
to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the
mid-volume transportation-equipment industry, has seen
growth in their employee numbers, plant locations and
sales. Major clients include John Deere, Freightliner,
Caterpillar and Volvo. “Basically, we’re hole drillers,”
Church said. “We learned that if we drill the holes in
the right place, people pay us more.”
His description of Mancor’s approach to business was
down to earth and his opinions on major issues were
equally up-front. The company’s operating philosophy
is based on three principles:
• Decentralized plants are run by stand-alone
management teams with full profit-and-loss
responsibility. “We get far better results,” said
Church. “Customer relations are better, as is the
rate of technology innovation.”
• Head office develops systems infrastructure and
facilitates best-in-class performance. “Responsibility
for the company’s success lies with the CEO,”
Church stated firmly. “The reasons for success have
to do with having good employees, good systems
and equipment, good suppliers, good customers
and good fortune, but the responsibility rests with
the boss.”
6

9. “ If an idea is good, people can usually just
explain it. If it’s not so good, they usually
say, ‘We should do it for strategic reasons.
“
• Continuous improvement is embedded deeply and
firmly into the corporate culture. “It means we’re
never satisfied, that we’re always looking for a
better way,” he said. “It also means we’re not
afraid to make mistakes.”
The search for innovations, improvements and new ideas
is never-ending. Every quarterly management meeting, for
example, includes a visit to a customer or other business
in the city where the meeting is being held. “You can Church’s focused, down-to-earth approach
even learn from a well-run restaurant or dry cleaner,” characterizes his views on two major issues facing
said Church. “But don’t do something just because Canadian manufacturers today.
Toyota does it. Do it because you understand the logic • The high Canadian dollar:
and the wisdom and can see how to apply it successfully “Stop complaining,” Church told the business
to your own business. Make the idea your own.” leaders in the audience. “The Canadian problem
is not a high dollar but wage and service costs
In addition to ideas, good plans are absolutely that are too high. We need to reduce manpower
essential. Church’s observation is that many ‘get stuck’ expenses with automation. Wage rates are
at the plan and repeatly re-do it; to make the plan a complex problem to solve. We may need
work, you must work through the cycle and continually some help with that.”
improve it. At Mancor, new ideas have to pass two • Competition from China:
critical tests. The One Page Test means they must be “China is almost impossible to beat so we’ve
able to be described on a single sheet of paper. The adopted the ‘bear in the woods’ solution,” said
Bar Test means they have to be simple enough to be Church. “Everyone knows you can’t outrun a bear
described and understood in a crowded, noisy bar. in the woods. But I don’t need to run faster than the
“If an idea is good, people can usually just explain it,” bear, I only need to run faster than you.”
said Church. “If it’s not so good, they usually say, ‘We
should do it for strategic reasons.’” Despite the competitive threats posed by China and
other emerging nations, the high Canadian dollar
Church is a big believer in the 80/20 approach, which and other pressing issues, Mancor is growing. Part
says that 80 per cent of the value is usually generated by of the spirit driving that growth, is his firm belief in
20 per cent of the activity. It is a rule he applies in many the importance of focusing on the customer and
areas of the business, including training. “Training plans combining good business with a little fun. “Have fun”
with high value result in people acquiring skills that help is embedded right in the company vision, along with
the business improve,” he said. “We develop most of our being “Best-in-Class”, “Profitably Growing Mancor”
training programs ourselves. First we identify the 20 per and “Being Safe.”
cent of the concepts or skills that will generate the 80 per
cent value to Mancor, then management teaches the As Church explained, “If people like to come to work
program. We have learned that shorter is better: the and people like to do business with us, we think
target time for most training is two hours.” that’s cool.”
7

10. 1. 2.
During the past 15 years, the Internet, e-mail and
Innovative the World Wide Web have revolutionized the
business world, yet many experts believe the real
transformation has just begun.
marketing:
Wisdom Exchange 2007 WORKSHOP
As the Internet transforms from an information
source to an interactive site for collaboration, new
Web 2.0 opportunities are emerging for businesses of all
sizes. New Web-based technologies such as
blogs, wikis, social networks and a remarkable
technologies new breed of collaborative software suites hold the
promise of changing even more dramatically how
businesses operate. Yet these second-generation
1. Dr. Cindy M. Gordon,
Internet capabilities, collectively known as Web
FOUNDER AND CEO, 2.0, also raise a number of questions voiced by
HELIX COMMERCE CEOs at the innovative marketing workshop.
INTERNATIONAL INC.
How can SMEs benefit from opportunities arising
2. Ron McKenzie, from new technologies? What precisely is
CEO, OCTOPZ changing? How can these advances in technology
help companies reach customers? What business
models offer the best chances for success? What
are the implications of not being Web 2.0 ready?
How can businesses prepare? Who has time for
all this?
These are questions that Dr. Cindy Gordon,
Founder and CEO of Helix Commerce International
Inc., has come to grips with on behalf of early-
stage growth companies and industry leaders such
as Amdocs, Astra Zeneca, Bell Canada, CIBC,
Microsoft and Rogers.
“Where Web 1.0 emphasized connectivity and
information retrieval, Web 2.0 stresses social
interaction,” explained Gordon. “Collaboration, in
the form of a marriage of social networking and new
media technologies, is the strongest force shaping
business practices today. It is now mission critical for
businesses to create organizational structures that
8

11. “ The next generation of workers will be
seeking a sense of ownership of their work
and will expect to have a level of input in
every segment of the company.
“
make collaboration the cornerstone of high
performance workplaces. Collaboration,
globalization and diverse teams will characterize
how and what work is done.” This Open Source
movement, as it has been called, promotes easy
collaboration and improvisation.
One of the most remarkable aspects of these
leading-edge technologies is that users can much
more easily change and re-shape the tools to meet “What this means is that you can work with
their evolving needs. One of the easiest, simplest colleagues anywhere in the world, any time,
and least expensive ways for a company to begin together or individually, without ever leaving
Web 2.0 applications is through a CEO blog. your office,” said McKenzie. “The result is
A blog (short for “web log”) is like an informal, improved decision making and accelerated
online diary or newspaper column. A blog can speed-to-market, which can create a huge
be written daily or even more often by the CEO competitive advantage in today's fast-paced
and posted on the company’s intranet where business environment.”
everyone can read it. Anyone can comment,
add information, ask a question or respond “So-called smokestack industries – financial
to a comment or question. It becomes an open, services and world-leading brands – are
ongoing conversation in which people across the adopting these technologies because they add
company can participate equally. Blogs also allow value,” added Gordon. “They link people so they
the sharing of direction, can be tracked, and can open doors both within and on behalf of
are searchable. your company.”
“One of the side benefits of blogs is that they have a For CEOs looking to grow their companies,
strong appeal for the next generation of workers,” Web 2.0 applications can provide a set of
said Gordon. “The next generation of workers will be powerful tools with far-reaching potential. Their
seeking a sense of ownership of their work and will flexibility and ease of use add to their appeal,
expect to have a level of input in every segment of especially for executives whose 24/7 schedule
the company.” is already fully booked.
Ron McKenzie, CEO of Octopz, provided workshop On the issue of online security, it should be
participants with a real-time demonstration of the kind managed and monitored like any asset in
of technology available to companies that embrace your company. The recommendation is to start
the collaborative potential of Web 2.0. From the inside your company with social networking to
workshop floor via the Internet, he contacted a see the results before launching external tool kits.
colleague at another office. They could see each In Gordon’s expert opinion, there is absolutely no
other on the screen and they could discuss and make question that, when it comes to Web 2.0, “the
changes to a document in real time. benefits far outweigh the risks.”
9

12. A curious thing happened with the shift to
Organizational knowledge workers and team-focused environments.
Companies realized that how people felt about their
work and how co-workers related to each other had
excellence: a direct, bottom-line impact. Emotions in the
Wisdom Exchange 2007 WORKSHOP
workplace could no longer be ignored. The
challenge was what to do about them.
the seven keys
The concept of emotional intelligence, defined as
the ability to understand and manage the emotions
to making your of oneself, of others and of groups, began to gain
traction among people who were trying to build
high performance organizations. Some people,
organization Steven Stein, CEO of Multi-Health Systems, among
them, came to believe that great organizations
thrive by winning the hearts and minds of their
great people. “It was a tough sell for about 10 years,”
said Stein, a leading expert on psychological
assessment and emotional intelligence.
Dr. Steven Stein,
CEO, MULTI-HEALTH SYSTEMS Multi-Health recently completed a study involving
more than 2,000 employees from a variety of
organizations in several countries. One of the core
questions was “what makes a workplace great?”
In Stein’s analysis of the survey results, three core
elements emerged:
• The fit between a specific individual and a
particular job: “There are a lot of square pegs
trying to fit into round holes,” said Stein.
• The importance of good relationships in the
workplace: “The most productive people are the
ones who have a best friend or friends at work.”
• Having a sense of purpose and feeling that what
your company does is important.
Organizations can boost their performance
dramatically by improving one or more of
those elements.
The U.S. Air Force, for example, came to Multi-
Health with a serious employee issue. It was under
10

13. “ Connecting people with the right jobs, connecting
co-workers together, and connecting all of them
“
to a sense of purpose is the path to building
a great workplace.
pressure to increase recruitment. One of its biggest
challenges was that the turnover rate among
recruiters was very high – about 50 per cent
retention rate after one year. Multi-Health studied
the emotional intelligence of high-performing
recruiters. They found that the Air Force’s best and
happiest recruiters had, among other attributes,
high levels of empathy. The Air Force started
screening potential new recruiters for empathy and
other key attributes linked to emotional intelligence. fewer hours than their colleagues and that
The retention rate is now 92 per cent, generating people who put in long hours – workaholics –
$2.7 million annually in savings because the Air can be less productive than you would think.
Force no longer has to find, train and replace so Again, match people to the workload.
many recruiters.
4. Build strong teams with shared purpose and
“Connecting people with the right jobs, connecting visible goals: Recognizing and celebrating
co-workers together, and connecting all of them to measurable achievements helps to validate
a sense of purpose is the path to building a great relationships and a sense of purpose.
workplace,” Stein told delegates at the Wisdom
Exchange. “What we want our employees to feel 5. Make sure managers can manage: Ensure
is TGIM – Thank God it’s Monday.” managers have the right skills. Employee surveys
show that only about 50 per cent of managers
The links between emotional intelligence and and supervisors are seen to be dealing
success can be adapted and applied to effectively with underperforming team members.
organizations, resulting in higher performing teams
and workplaces. Stein has identified seven keys to 6. Treat people with respect and leverage their
creating a more emotionally intelligent unique talents: Studies have shown a link
organization: between lack of respect for diversity and anger
in the workplace.
1. Hire capable people who love their work:
Match people to the job and show them how 7. Be proactively responsive by doing the right
they can be part of something larger than things to win the hearts and minds of your
the organization. people: Stay in touch with the issues that are
important to your employees. Pub nights, bagel
2. Compensate people fairly: Since “fairness” is a breakfasts and town halls can all help to identify
perceived value, paying people more money is staff issues – and solutions.
not always the answer. Sometimes job flexibility
or training opportunities are valued more highly These insights are explored further in Stein’s latest
than a raise. book, Make Your Workplace Great: The 7 Keys to
an Emotionally Intelligent Organization, along with
3. Don't overwork (or underwork) people: Studies strategies that organizations can adapt to take their
have shown that high performers often work performance to the next level.
11

14. Companies searching for ways to sharpen their
Lean culture: competitive edge are looking closely at lean
manufacturing techniques, and for good reason.
Pioneered by Toyota, then spreading to aerospace
techniques for and other industries, lean processes have been
Wisdom Exchange 2007 WORKSHOP
credited with helping some companies gain huge
efficiencies. Reductions of 50 per cent or more
business growth in such areas as manufacturing lead times,
inventory and overhead costs and improved quality
and productivity have been reported.
Scott Smith,
PRESIDENT, Improvements of that magnitude have caught the
HIGH PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS INC. attention of business leaders everywhere, including
Wisdom Exchange delegates who participated in
the Strategies for a Lean Culture workshop. One
company was eager to adapt lean strategies but
lacked a coherent plan. Another company was
moving to a new plant and wanted to set it up as
a lean facility. A third firm wanted to learn how to
sustain its lean approach after initial successes.
Scott Smith, President of High Performance
Solutions Inc., brought 20 years’ experience
in lean implementation, continuous improvement
and supply chain management to help workshop
participants understand what “lean” really means
and how they could start or expand their lean
approaches to manufacturing.
One of the myths that many people (especially
nervous employees) believe about lean production
is that it is just another euphemism for cutbacks.
Nothing could be further from the truth. “Lean is
about growth, not about reducing head count,”
said Smith. “Lean is about eliminating waste. If
employees come to believe it’s about head-count
reduction, the lean program is dead.”
The main drivers of ‘Lean’ are people (to foster lean
thinking), processes (to eliminate waste), technology
(to provide tools that support people and
processes, and the end-result (customer success).
12

15. “ More than 95 per cent of opportunities for cutting
waste are found in production activities that don’t
directly add value from the customer’s perspective such
“
as downtime, too much inventory, overproduction and
product defects.
First and foremost, the lean approach is holistic.
“It’s a whole enterprise tool that encompasses a
company’s entire business, from preparing the
quote to collecting the cash,” said Smith. “It shapes
both the manufacturing value stream [things that
directly add value] and the customer value stream
[what the customer is willing to pay for].”
Secondly, because the lean approach involves the
entire company, responsibility for implementing it is Finally, energizing the lean culture is an unwavering
shared throughout the organization. Everyone has commitment to continuous improvement. Smith
a responsibility to spot where waste is occurring. suggested that companies focus on four improvement
Everyone has a responsibility to identify objectives in their order of importance:
opportunities for improvement. • Increased safety, which removes waste,
avoids injury costs and fosters employee
“More than 95 per cent of opportunities for cutting commitment to lean processes. Increased safety
waste are found in production activities that don’t leads to . . .
directly add value from the customer’s perspective • Increased through put, by reducing downtime.
such as downtime, too much inventory, Slowing down to get the job done right
overproduction and product defects,” said Smith. increases safety and also leads to . . .
• Increased product quality. Higher product quality
This company-wide sharing of responsibility leads to . . .
and hands-on involvement needs to be • Lower costs, by reducing the need for rework to
championed, supported, rewarded and sustained correct flaws.
by management. It requires learning new
skills. It involves significant investments of time Adopting lean manufacturing approaches is not a
and money. quick fix. “Changing to a lean culture can be
challenging and can’t be accomplished overnight,”
For many firms, adopting lean techniques means a said Smith. “Your company should plan on
dramatic change in corporate culture. “Company devoting three to 10 years to the effort.”
culture plays a key role in moving toward lean,”
Smith said. Creating and sustaining a successful In fact, the job of creating a lean production system
lean culture requires company commitment in five is never complete. The most advanced lean
key areas: practitioners (such as Toyota) continue to seek
• Vision: Without vision, there will be confusion. improvements, even after many years of
• Skills: Without skills, there will be employee implementing lean.
anxiety.
• Incentives: Without incentives, change will be On the other hand, the benefits continue to grow.
at best gradual. Lean techniques helped Toyota become one of the
• Resources: Without adequate resources, there world’s largest and most profitable companies. And
will be frustration. that is a pretty solid endorsement of the power of
• A plan: Without a plan, there will be false starts. thinking lean.
13

16. 2.
1. 3.
“There’s more money and more sources of money
Financing growth: available to Ontario businesses than ever before,”
said moderator Rick Spence in setting the tone for
the Financing Growth workshop, a crash course
some capital in how to identify the right type of capital for
Wisdom Exchange 2007 WORKSHOP
growing businesses.
ideas Spence offered a few recent statistics to show
why capital is more abundant than many
entrepreneurs think:
1. Moderator: Rick Spence,
• According to the Canadian Venture Capital
SMALL-BUSINESS CONSULTANT and Private Equity Association, private capital
2. Dennis Ensing, Director, invested $5.1 billion in 36 disclosed buyout
WISE MENTOR CAPITAL transactions in the first quarter of 2007, nearly
3. Ryan Kovac, Vice-President, half of the total amount invested in all of 2006.
MMV FINANCIAL INC. • Venture-capital investment in the first quarter of
2007 totaled $598 million, a 61% increase over
the first quarter of 2006. The growth in dollars
invested was even stronger in Ontario, where
$302 million was invested in 42 companies.
• The Toronto Stock Exchange’s Venture Exchange
facilitated $590 million in business financing in
2006, more than double the 2005 total.
The new PROFIT 100 list of Canada’s Fastest-
Growing Companies shows today’s top growth
companies tap many kinds of financing. According
to the June 2007 issue of PROFIT magazine, many
PROFIT 100 companies use the following sources
of financing:
• Banks (76%)
• Leasing (60%)
• Friends or relatives (35%)
• Public stock issues (28%)
• Private investors (25%)
• Venture capital (23%)
• Foreign banks (17%)
• Angel investors (16%)
• Asset-based lending (9%)
• Employees (8%)
• Supplier (6%)
• Commercial paper (4%)
• Bond issues (2%)
14

17. “ When pitching investors, enterpreneurs
should focus on three key areas in the
business plan: management, the market
opportunity and your product or business.
“
Another theme from this year’s Profit 100 list was
explored: many growth firms advocate conservative
financing. These companies try hard to minimize
expenses and boost cash flow, so they are less
dependent on outside financing. Some companies
keep business plans and financial plans up-to-date
and meet regularly with bankers, venture capitalists
and other financial sources in order to understand
what capital is available to them should they ever
decide to use it.
These penalties could be as severe as forced
In the workshop discussion, detailed questions sale of the company or replacement of the
about financial alternatives were answered by management team.
Ryan Kovac, a former venture capitalist who now • How long should your business plan be? “
supplies “venture debt” as vice-president of MMV As a marketing document,” said Ensing,
Financial Inc., and Dennis Ensing, an experienced “20 pages should be enough. In fact, he said
CFO who now helps other companies raise money it is your one- or two-page executive summary
as director of finance with Wise Mentor Capital. that will (or won’t) earn you a meeting with
potential investors.
Here are some of their key observations: • “When pitching investors, entrepreneurs
• Web 2.0, health care and “clean tech” should focus on three key areas in the
(environmental technologies) are currently business plan: management, the market
considered “hot” by investors. opportunity and what’s unique about your
• In discussing the cost of capital, Ensing plotted a product or business,” Kovac advised.
chart of financial alternatives based on • To identify investors most likely to be receptive
anticipated annual rates of return and the risks and interested in your business, Ensing advised:
investors are willing to assume. He said angel “Do your research. Use a rifle, not a shotgun, to
investors (private individuals making high-risk, find investors,” added Ensing. Don’t go to an IT
early-stage venture investments) usually target venture-capital firm if you’ve got a biotech deal.”
50% to 60%, venture capitalists expect about • Kovac offered more details on venture debt, a
40%, while private equity about 25%. Expect to growing form of financing that is secured against
pay 18% to 19% for venture debt (subordinated a company’s assets and intellectual property.
debt for growth companies). The banks look for Mainly targeted to growth firms in technology
5% to 6% a year. and life sciences, venture debt includes an
• There is another price to be paid for equity, equity kicker, but no financial covenants, says
Ensing noted: “The higher you go on this Kovac. “We just want you to pay us back
curve, the more intervention is sought by your every month.”
financial partners.” • “Going public ideally should be an event
• Ensing emphasized that business owners should of liquidity [i.e., cashing out of a company],
focus more on the terms of a deal (and the not a financing event,” said Ensing. “Because
shareholder’s agreement) than the cost of of the cost and complexity, going public
financing. Conditions could include penalties for is the option of last resort; however, it can
failure to achieve a “liquidity event” within a generate financing where other options have
designated time period or for poor performance. been exhausted.”
15

18. Defining Success:
learning from the best
practices of Ontario’s high
performance firms
The Ministry of Small Business and than 12 ‘best practice’ business activities.
Wisdom Exchange 2007 MINISTRY PUBLICATION
Entrepreneurship released a new report at Respondents also provided insights into focus
the Wisdom Exchange on June 5, 2007. areas such as the nature of innovation,
challenges for the future and important
Defining Success: Learning from the Best business lessons learned.
Practices of Ontario’s High Performance
Firms provides an overview of the importance Notably, of the four best practices that
of Ontario’s small and medium enterprises more than two-thirds of the CEOs rated as
(SMEs) that employ 2.8 million people in most important, three were people-focused.
Ontario and generate $120 billion in annual Having empowered employees with the
economic activity. right skills and winning their commitment
to growth were seen as key reasons for
The report then focuses on high performance their success.
SMEs as major contributors to Ontario’s
economic vitality. High performance SMEs, have: The other top-ranked factor was the
• Sales growth of at least 50 per cent in importance of developing and implementing
three of the past five years; product- or service-innovation strategies.
• Between 10 and 500 employees; and Many of the respondents said that
• A global head office in Ontario. government programs had helped them
conduct research and develop innovative
To determine what critical business products and services.
approaches led to high performance and
growth of Ontario firms in today’s global To read more about the success factors of
marketplace, Defining Success measures high performance firms in the Defining
best practices used by leading SMEs to Success report, and to access Wisdom
successfully grow their businesses. For this Exchange program updates, all of the
study, Deloitte interviewed 130 business publications in the Leading Growth Firm
owners, presidents, CEOs and other senior Series, the Ontario Business Program Guide,
leaders in a variety of sectors across the and more, visit the Ministry’s new and
province and identified the impact of more improved website at www.sbe.gov.on.ca.
16

20. Contact:
Ministry of Small Business
and Entrepreneurship
Business Advisory Services Branch
Partnership and Business Development
56 Wellesley Street West, 4th Floor
Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2E7
www.sbe.gov.on.ca
Printed in Ontario, Canada on recycled paper © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2007