Guelph Chamber of Commerce Connection

Golf and the Art of Business

18 Lessons from the Golf Course to the Office:

1)      If you don’t have time to play, you are too busy.  Playing is your decision.

2)      Carry a full set of clubs to the first tee, and be ready to use them all.

3)      Carry an umbrella, ball retriever, first aid kit, rain jacket, and compass.  You just never know.

4)      Only you can hit the ball, nobody will hit it for you. 

5)      Head down, relax, and follow through.  Breathe in and breathe out.

6)      Swinging harder doesn’t make the ball go farther and straighter.

7)      Point of impact is everything.  Arnold Palmer and Lee Travino had weird swings.

8)      Consistency is good.  Change balls and clubs but keep the swing the same.  If it works.

9)      You learn a lot about a person when they hit a bad shot.  Or a good shot.

10)   No pros hit all the fairways.  They just get creative when they are in the rough.

11)   Getting into the rough is easier than getting out of it. 

12)   If you think you will put the ball in the water, you probably will.  Count one penalty stroke.

13)   The short game will kill you.  But it sure feels good to use a driver.

14)   The sand trap can be your friend.  Sometimes we are coming in too fast.

15)   The beer cart will not improve your game, regardless of what your buddies tell you.

16)   It’s all in your head.  And it shows. 

17)   The game isn’t over until you pick the ball out of the 18^th hole and shake hands.

18)   The people that played before you are waiting at the 19^th hole to review your game.

Any others you can suggest?

Tooling Up to Compete One On One Around the World

It has been a busy 10 days since the last post to the blog.  Our Career Toolbox has been launched to list associations that help develop, change, or start the careers of all people in business or wanting to get into business in Guelph.  Flyers are now available at City Hall, Frank Valeriote's office, Liz Sandals' office, the Library, and at many service agencies around Guelph helping people with employment.  The collaborative event with the Salvation Army and Guelph Chamber included display booths and attendents from 15 support agencies and educational institutions.  Fifty for breakfast on a Saturday morning was a great start to reaching out to recently unemployed to let them know the community wants to help get things back on track for them.

The next project of our Workplace Development Committee is a Nine Essential Skills Toolbox.  The goal is to have the local workforce functioning at a level 3 out of 5 in three critical essential skills: reading, numeracy, and document use.  Currently 21% of University grads, 26% of College grads and 40% of high school grads are NOT functioning at a 3-3-3.  There are free resources available to practice and upgrade these skills.  In a recent Maclean’s magazine, an article entitled “Canada’s Smartest Cities” ranks Guelph fourth out of 4,719 communities based on a Composite Learning Index developed by the Canadian Council on Learning.  Guelph business will be focusing on the fundamentals to blast our way into the new economy.

Collaboration is key.  At Together09 on June 16th, Guelph had the first joint AGM of five service agencies.  Paul Born challenged us to bring community to everything we do, to break down isolation, and draw on each other's strengths.  Looking at the collaborative efforts of the Volunteer Centre, Trellis, Guelph Community Health Centre, Family and Children's Services, and Family Counceling and Support Services showed us the power of "we". 

Next Thursday at the 10th annual Guelph Awards of Excellence we celebrate excellence in Guelph to learn from and be inspired by those around us that have achieved excellence in the past year.  These awards are not just for the people being recognized.  Excellence does tend to rub off when you bump up against it.  We hope to see you there for one of the most positive nights Guelph has each year.

Guelph Business Builds Community

For a lot of business it has been a year of rethinking, retooling, and responding to the changes in the market.  The Guelph Chamber of Commerce has been a part of many discussions, using the vast range of expertise our members bring to any table. 

Workplace development is a major focus for the Chamber of Commerce.  Our new Workplace Development Committee has developed an excellent Career Toolbox that lists all of the major education and support programs for people changing or developing their careers.  The next project is to address the nine essential business skills as identified by the federal government, starting with reading text, document use, and numeracy.  Sharpening the skills of our workplaces starts with the fundamentals, and improving competitiveness flows from there.   Improving our talent base and preparing people to re-enter the workforce will position Guelph well for the coming upswing in the economy.

The Chamber of Commerce Membership Committee has some aggressive plans for the coming year that include increasing our industrial and retail activities.  Our Program Committee has set out an excellent program that starts in September and runs through to next June.  The Advocacy Committee has expanded, and is preparing positions on key issues facing the business community.  The Industrial Committee is working hard on developing best practices for the manufacturers in Guelph.  Our under 40 YPN group is also becoming more active, looking at leadership development topics for the fall.  And of course, our Board of Directors ties it all together to develop our plans moving forward.

A lot goes into building a resilient community, and Guelph continues to be a leader in many areas nationally and internationally.  Your continued involvement in the Guelph Chamber of Commerce will provide the community the benefit only you can bring.  Please let us know your thoughts.

Career Connection Community Breakfast

The Salvation Army is hosting an event on Saturday, June 13 with the support of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and the City of Guelph for people who have recently become unemployed in our community.  Mayor Karen Farbridge will be the keynote speaker.  Chamber president Lloyd Longfield will introduce the Career Toolbox developed by the Chamber Workplace Development Committee.  Public and private employment agencies and career counseling agencies will have display booths set up.  Breakfast is at 9:00am and the event runs to 11am at the Salvation Army, 1320 Gordon St, Guelph.  Tickets and child care are free, but registration is required by June 10^th.

To register or for more information, please call 519-836-9360.  Please pass the word on.

Essential Skills for Canadian Business

What are the nine essential skills for Canadian business?  Human Resources and Social Development Canada define them as "skills that people need for work, learning, and life.  They are used in the community and the workplace, in different forms and at different levels of complexity".  The nine skills are:

1) Reading: Understanding materials written in sentences or paragraphs

2) Document Use: Finding, understanding, or entering information

3) Numeracy: Using numbers and thinking in quantitative terms to complete tasks

Conestoga College pjadischke@conestogac.on.ca administers Towes Testing (Testing of Workplace Essential Skills http://www.towes.com/testtakersguide.aspx) as outlined by the Government of Canada to determine levels 1-5 in these top three areas of performance: The Guelph Chamber of Commerce Workplace Development Committee has set the goal for our workplace to be at level 3 in all three primary areas.  In general, 42% of Canadians are functioning at less than level 3 in these areas, and the workplace requires level 3 to be competitive globally.  In the weeks ahead we will be developing a strategy for Guelph business to work with our educational institutions to help business to achieve this goal.

 The other six essential skills are: Writing, Oral Communications, Working with Others, Thinking, Computer Use, Continuous Learning.  For more information on Essential Skills and related resources, including job profiles, assessments, learning, and training supports visit: www.hrsdc.gc.ca/essentialskills.

Last week's MacLean's ranked Guelph as Canada's 4th smartest city, against a field of more than 4,700 cities across Canada.  Calgary, Victoria, and Saskatoon are ahead of us. Guelph can do better.

Free Energy Exchange Event during Energy Conservation Week

Please join us

Friday, May 22, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

at The Cutten Club, Guelph

 

Featuring:

Guelph’s Community Energy Plan

Mayor Karen Farbridge and

Rob Kerr, CEP Manager, City of Guelph

 

Eco Industrial Network: Partners in Project Green

Chris Rickett, Toronto Conservation Authority

Learn about the Experience at Toronto Pearson Airport

 

Guelph Hydro Successes and Green Energy Act

Art Stokman, President, Guelph Hydro Electric System Inc.

 

Metering, Accounting, Metrics

Owens Corning

 

Water Conservation

Wayne Galliher of the City of Guelph

 

OPA Count Me In Initiative

OPA speaker

 

Energy Exchange – Sharing of Ideas

Lloyd Longfield, President, Guelph Chamber of Commerce

 

There is no cost to attend this event.

Please let us know if you will be attending to that we can have a complimentary Energy Conservation Week Kit ready for you.

Please Email Jennifer Thorne at jthorne@guelphhydro.com

 

Annual Commuter Challenge: Getting the Bikes out of the Garage

Commuter Challenge

Workplace Coordinator Information Session

FRIDAY MAY 15th @ 12 noon and 1 pm

Refreshments Provided

Attend the Workplace Coordinator Information Session at the new City Hall on

*FRIDAY May 15, 2009*

Learn how the new Commuter Challenge website works, and meet your competitors!

Are you familiar with the Commuter Challenge? The Commuter Challenge is a national program that aims to increase awareness about the benefits of walking, cycling, taking transit, carpooling or tele-working instead of driving alone to get work.

Each year, the City of Guelph coordinates this event in partnership with local businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals, and encourages your organization to become involved in the Challenge. Make a difference for our environment!

Getting involved doesn’t take a lot of time but it can make a fantastic difference for our community and our environment. It’s easy as 1, 2, 3...

1. Volunteer, or volunteer someone from your organization, to be a Workplace Coordinator
2. Attend the information session on May 15th
3. Coordinate the Commuter Challenge for your workplace - We’ll provide you with everything you need to make your event a success!

There are two sessions being held at the New City Hall, 1 Carden Street in Meeting Room B.
Session A:      12 pm—12:45 pm
Session B:      1 pm — 1:45 pm.

Please RSVP by May 13th by email to Jennifer.mcdowell@guelph.ca or phone 519-822-1260 ext 2651. Don’t forget to include which session you would like to attend!

If you are unable to attend the Information Session but you are interested in participating in the Challenge, please contact Jennifer McDowell at 519-822-1260 x. 2651 to make alternate arrangements.

Ontario Chamber of Commerce 97th AGM

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce just completed its AGM following an exeptionally busy 97th year. Policy committees worked on issues to help with a competitive tax and regulatory regime for Ontario business, including work on both the provincial and federal budgets, and creating an "Open for Business" culture.  Modernizing our energy and infrastructure was debated, with policy resolutions going forward to government.  Other resolutions were discussed relating to developing our skilled workforce, addressing physician shortages, and competing across Canada and around the world.  The Guelph Chamber of Commerce tabled a resolution from our Advocacy Committee encouraging the provincial government to adopt an agressive stance in promoting water conservation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce infrastructure spending, and to protect our water resources.  Overall, 18 new policy resolutions were passed, bringing our total number of active policy resolutions at the Ontario Chamber to 135.  These can be found at http://occ.on.ca/Policy/Resolutions/. In attendance and presenting were Tim Hudak, finance critic of the Conservative Party of Ontario; The Hon. Tony Clement, from the federal Ministry of Industry; The Hon. George Smitherman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; as well as 60 Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade from across the province.  The Guelph Chamber of Commerce is a founding member of both the Ontario and Canadian Chambers of Commerce. 

Chamber Learning Opportunities Continue

The Guelph Chamber of Commerce continues to provide opportunities for self development through our seminars and lunch and learn program.  May's themes focus on sales development:  how to gain new customers, and how to retain your existing valued customers.  Competition for business is much tighter and comes from farther away every year.  May 14 Issy Nochomovitz from Think It Innovative Training will be presenting Expanding Your Client Base, and May 28 Peter Barrow of Petrona Associates will be presenting Retaining Your Customers.  Both seminars run from 8:30am to 11:30am at the Chamber office.  Seating is limited: to register call 519-822-8081.  Our Lunch and Learn this month features Patsy Marshall from Train on Track discussing High Performing Teams, May 6 at the Cutten Club.  Friday May 15 our Breakfast Series features Fran Gregory, professor of public relations at Conestoga College who will provide participants with tips and tools on Media Relations to determine what is newsworthy and how to conduct message-driven pitches and interviews with journalists.  To register, or to find information on any of our events please go to http://www.guelphchamber.com/irmevents.aspx.

The Guelph Chamber of Commerce has been committed to helping Guelph businesses succeed for over 140 years.  We operate as a not for profit, with membership open to all businesses in Guelph. Membership fees start at just over $300 per year including taxes and administration fees.  The Guelph Chamber of Commerce represents the voice of business contributing to economic growth, profitability, competitiveness and community involvement for all types of businesses and business people in Guelph.

Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington Open House May 9

The newly named Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington (formerly Guelph and District Multicultural Center) is now at Paisley and Imperial Rd beside M&M Meats.  The centre has moved from the little basement apartment on Speedvale to a 3800 square foot high ceiling facility, and added three more settlement workers, a new executive director, and administration staff thanks to new funding from Citizenship Immigration Canada and continued funding from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Newcomer Settlement Program.  Services include language assessment and training, employment services, and counceling from the immigration settlement adaptation program.  Please drop by Saturday May 9 between 11 and 12 for a tour of the facility, lunch from 12 to 1 and entertainment from 1 to 2. For more information on the agency please go to http://www.gdmc.org/.

The Guelph Chamber of Commerce sits on the Board of Directors, as do many of our member companies and organizations including Conestoga College, Lutherwood, Naylor MacLeod, English Language Consultants, TD Waterhouse, the City of Guelph, and the Ignatius Centre.  Our chair was the past executive director of a similar agency in York District.  Guelph is looking to add 31,000 jobs and 50,000 residents by 2031, and this agency will play a key role in helping people to make Guelph their new home.