Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       With the holidays upon us, and likely a white Christmas due to London’s recent “snowmageddon,” it’s the time of year when many people give thanks. And companies too! Recently, local law firm Harrison Pensa released their 2010 holiday video. It’s a treat and definitely worth the watch, especially to hear Claude Pensa sing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” HP’s video got me thinking about how we give thanks here at ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       What if I told you there’s a way for you to get advice from mentors (or at least from those you people look up to), learn from their hard lessons, and take away new ideas that might help improve your business or career? What if I told you, on top of all that, it wouldn’t be time consuming or cost you much. Cheap professional development — it is possible. This kind of professional development doesn’t come from seminars or conferences (though those ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       This week, Scott Stratten (Twitter alias @unmarketing) made a stop in London, Ontario as part of his UnBook tour. I’ve blogged about Scott before, which was mostly on my excitement about his then upcoming appearance in the forest city. So what did I learn from Scott — aside from the fact that he’s quite funny, self-effacing and downright honest? (Proof: watch his TEDxOakville video or one of his many UnMarketing presentations) Here’s just ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       I know it’s hard to believe, but before we know it the Holiday Season will be here. Between now and then, our daily routines and schedules continue, but we now have the added stress of getting ready for that “one” day. I try and follow some tips I’ve received from friends and family, or have learned myself over the years. I am sure you have some you could add to the following list. Holiday Shopping: Start early. (Remember this for next ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Having been in business for 21 years, the school of hard knocks has taught me more than a few things. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that anybody can beat you on price but not everyone can beat you on value. Changing your price to be cheaper than your competitor is easy to do, but it’s a practice usually followed by large organizations that sell huge volumes of goods. For many types of companies, competing on price alone can be a dangerous ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Don’t hate me, it’s true: The holiday season is around the corner. Even Starbucks had their snowy decorations up, and winter flavours and cups out, starting November 1! In the spirit of giving, as this season so often brings, why not participate in one (or more!) of the many initiatives coming up around our area? Living in London, Ontario, I’ve seen the great strides and efforts many local companies take to support the communities in which they ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       Tradeshow and conference season is ramping up and the CoreSolutions team is heading out on the road over the next couple of months, attending events throughout Ontario, in Alberta and in Atlanta, Georgia. Below is a short list of the conferences we’re exhibiting at or participating in. Maybe you’ve heard of some, maybe you’re even registered to attend. Come on by and say ‘hello.’ We’d love to connect with you. ATLE (November ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       We’ve all been there — just one of those mornings where everything goes wrong. You lock yourself out of your home (raise your hand if you did this today!), run out of gas on the way to the office, spill your coffee down the front of your shirt. I could go on and on. So how do you shake the funk that develops when all these little mishaps pile up on your shoulders? First things first: You have to let it go. Holding on to the frustration of a tough ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       It’s important for companies to understand generational differences in today’s working environment. After all, the person sitting next to you could be old enough to be your mother or young enough to be your daughter. I think this understanding not only helps the overall company, but the employees within individual work units or departments. So you’ve probably heard of Gen X, Baby Boomers or Millennials. What do they all mean, and which generation do ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       You read that right — the art of doing nothing. It does exist! In today’s fast paced society, where it’s easy to be overwhelmed by choice (25 types of ketchup, hundreds of TV channels, etc.) how can we slow down, and in the case of this blog, work smarter? One of my co-worker’s James likes to make to-do lists to keep on top of his many projects. Assigning priorities and the act of crossing off tasks can really work for some. Others I know like to keep their ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Some of you may have heard of Scott Stratten before – he’s well-known in the marketing and social media world. If not, you can find his bio here. I promise, he’s worth getting to know. As one of today’s most influential social marketers, with more than 60,000 followers on Twitter and over 60 million views of his clients’ viral videos, Scott has a lot to say, and I for one am happy to listen. In fact, I had the chance to when I ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       I’m just back from taking a two-week vacation with my sons to Normandy, France where we visited a lot of the D-Day sites and museums. It was a fantastic experience for all and left us with memories that’ll last a very long time. We started planning our trip back in February and kept adjusting it over the following months, to a point where we filled each day with exciting sites and time to travel around. Unfortunately, as with a lot of plans, circumstances ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       My typical morning routine: Alarm goes off — the alarm function on my BlackBerry that is Brush teeth, with BlackBerry in other hand; check emails, Twitter, Facebook and BBC’s mobile site Get coffee and breakfast going, and turn on my laptop to read over local news, blogs, et al. and respond to emails Does this sound like you? If so, you’re obviously not alone. (I also forgot to mention that while my BlackBerry is the first thing in my hand ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       The leaves are falling One by one Summer’s over And school’s begun I love the first day of school; I even get my kids (albeit, reluctantly) to stand on the front porch for their annual ’1st day of school’ picture. Routines begin again, bedtimes change and sleeping ’til noon stops. I always consider this time to be an opportunity for me to do something from a professional development standpoint, too, whether it be a course at the local college or ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Now I know you summer fans will not like me saying this, but it’s around the corner and we can’t ignore it– fall is coming. While many think spring is the time for renewal and change, I also consider fall to be the start of something new. Kids go back to school, summer holidays are over, and a regular work schedule returns (says the one who enjoyed an extended European holiday in August). With this new season fast approaching, I figured it would ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       I was recently reading over professional development blogs (some great ones here, here and here) and came across a post that really resonated with me: “Become Unnoticeable to Be Noticed.” It’s not something you tend to hear when referring to catching someone’s attention (be it a co-worker, manager, potentia­­l client, or otherwise), and it got me thinking: What are a few simple ways to get noticed for being unnoticeable? In Janna’s blog ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       Communication is very important in all aspects of a project – from discovery and requirements gathering, to the final implementation. A Project Status Report is just one tool that CoreSolutions has as an avenue for providing a formal communication of the current status of a project, not only to our clients, but our own management staff. There are basically three main components of a Project Status Report: Overall – starting with the over-arching health of ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Confidence – it’s one of life’s most useful (and at times, hard to muster) traits, and is one of the most important aspects of being a good sales representative. While it’s true that I’m new to the sales game, it’s also true that I know the secret to being a confident salesperson. I didn’t read it in a book though; it came from within me. I love taking on new challenges and experiencing new things; however, I also have a profound need to be ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       Packing for the family’s north-bound cottage vacation last week, my company laptop was part of the “stuff” that we had to squeeze into the trunk. My husband, who also brought his, understood and just packed my laptop along with everything else. That’s the way it has been for years in our house, even with my daughter saying, “Mom, you’re on vacation, leave it home.” Like most things I got my way, and the laptop sure helped with the long drive along ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       People often interchange price and cost, but it’s important to recognize the significant difference between the two. Remember the old adage, “Beware the cost of the lowest price”? Well, it rings true. Just because a product is less expensive than its competitors’, doesn’t mean you (or your business) save money in the long run. Sometimes, perhaps most times, you end up spending more in part because of time and efficiency lost to a mediocre product. Or, ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       If you’ve ever had the opportunity to attend the FileMaker Developer Conference (this year from August 15 to 18 in San Diego), you’ll know that it’s more than scripts, schema, calculations and relational database modeling – quite simply, the conference is all about the music. Database developers are a talented lot, and each year the conference holds an unofficial jam session that showcases the musical finesse of developers from around the globe. It’s ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       Here at CoreSolutions, I feel very privileged to be part of what I call a great team. Why? Well let’s look at some common characteristics of what makes a great team: Good and Open Communication – having frequent meetings with the team allows each individual to share their thoughts and ideas and learn from others openly. Shared Common Goal – we have adopted a company mission and vision statement that helps drive all team members towards a common goal for the ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       Many of us set personal and professional goals for ourselves revolving around our careers.  Not only is it satisfying to be able to tell family and friends what your new (and most likely improved) job title is, but it’s the challenge and chance to learn and grow that really motivates me. Recently I accomplished a career goal, one I set for myself last summer when I first joined the CoreSolutions team, as I was promoted from Inside Sales Representative to Account ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       All work and no play… Can make your business a pretty dull place. Planning social gatherings for your employees outside of work is one of the best ways to encourage a healthy work environment where team morale can thrive.  If your organization hasn’t done an outing in a while, consider planning an office event and lock it in the company calendar! It’s been a trend for employers to organize social activities outside the workplace for employees and ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       Since the release of the iPad in the US on April 3, 2010, Apple has sold over 2 million units. That’s pretty impressive. The release of most new Apple products, especially one as sleek and sexy as the iPad, always causes excitement and sensation spurred on by the Apple faithful that’s the envy of most other companies. Lots of content has already been written about the iPad and there is certainly no shortage of expert opinions and forecasts. Some experts ... Read More