Boiling Point Podcast

Introducing Mel Norton 

Sometimes the best way to tackle an issue is to stop perceiving it as a problem but as an opportunity to make things better.  This is the approach that Mayor Mel Norton has decided to take while attempting to steer Saint John, New Brunswick in the right direction.  Saint John has lots to be proud of; it houses two of the largest IT firms in Atlantic Canada, as well as having Canada’s only liquid natural gas plant and its largest oil refinery.  However, Saint John has a number of social issues including a very high child poverty rate, and some of the oldest housing stock in North America.  Mel’s solution to some of these types of problems is to get people involved, and to stay positive. 

About three years ago, Mel visited a conference in New York City that was honoring seven of innovative cities in the world of which Saint John was one of them.  During the conference, one speaker discussed taking cities into a new renaissance.   This was a concept that Mel has taken and ran with in Saint John.  So how does Mel plan on changing the city for the better?  He plans to use a shift in mindset.  No longer will Saint John be going to “war” with issues, but embracing opportunity.  There will always be problems, but embracing them as opportunities cuts out finger pointing or grand-standing, and instead of being critical the plan is to be cooperative and constructive.  This approach allows a “living lab” where changes can be tried and modified if needed.  Mel suggests that Saint John should look at the positives and what it is doing right and this will help the city to see how some of the problems it faces can find solutions.

In this episode

Mel tells us the importance of staying positive and to manage the amount of negative influences you experience.   He tells us how framing problems as opportunities changes the way you think about an issue.  Mel talks about the importance in people-centered leadership and we hear of a fateful journey he took as a child to underground Saint John.  Greg and Dave both find appreciation for the approach the mayor is taking and the direction the city is headed.

Links

- City of Saint John

- Mel's Twitter

- Mel's Email

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Introducing Glenn Cox 

So often, innovation is inspired through the day-to-day lives of people.  However, these innovative people are stopped from pursuing an idea because of fear of the unknown.  Our guest this week, Glenn Cox, didn’t allow anything to stop him from pursuing his innovation that can save money, people, and the environment.

In his previous life, Glenn was an RCMP officer stationed out of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  He received a call that a tanker truck had been in an accident and was spilling diesel fuel onto the highway and it was threatening to pour into a nearby river.  Arriving on the scene, Glenn felt somewhat helpless, as he had to wait almost two hours for someone from the Department of Environment to arrive from Victoria to plug the gash.  After leaving the force, Glenn came to the understanding that the process for fixing ruptured tanks hadn’t changed much.  So, he formulated a design and started a business from his home.  The product that was developed was the Rupture Seal.  Essentially, the rupture seal fixes leaks in a matter of seconds saving costly chemicals and the environment.  Now the Rupture Seal is sold in 35 countries and what was originally a home based business for Glenn has had to move into three different buildings in the last four years due to the business’s growth.

To kick his growth up a notch, Glenn decided to take his product and his pitch to the CBC television show “Dragon’s Den”.  (For our non-Canadian friends, “Dragon’s Den” was the Canadian pre-cursor to the popular ABC television show “Shark Tank”.)  While in the “den”, Glenn gave a 45-minute presentation and was offered three different deals from the “dragons”.  Glenn ended up picking the deal for $500,000 for a 25% equity stake offered by former RCMP officer and franchise baron Jim Treliving.  Glenn pictured his pitch to the “dragons” the same way as he did while offering evidence to a court as an RCMP officer.  He emphasizes to all entrepreneurs that they need to be ready in a moments notice to offer their “elevator pitch”.  He believes that you need to know your product and your pitch because you never know when an opportunity will strike. 

In this episode

Glenn tells us how his training with the RCMP aided him as an entrepreneur and how no matter what your background your previous experiences can prove valuable as you enter the unknown world of entrepreneurship.  Glenn also tells us that it is never too late if you have a great idea that is meaningful and unique.  Glenn reminds us that success is so often on the other side of fear and the only one stopping you from doing what you want with your life is YOU.  Greg expands on this notion by saying that dispelling fear allows you to live a passionate life based on love.  Dave is truly inspired by the notion that there is always the opportunity to take the leap to be an entrepreneur and that their will always be lessons you have learned from your past experiences that will aid you in your journey.

Links and References

- Rupture Seal's Website

- Rupture Seal's Twitter

- Glenn's Linked in

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Commander Hadfield expresses the lessons he has learned from floating around our little blue dot that we call home.  Greg is struck by the idea that the higher you get into space the more you can understand humanity.  Dave notes that in the commander’s case the message and messenger are totally aligned. Dave is also impressed with Chris Hadfield’s comfort in expressing the lessons from his success.  Greg recalls a moment he felt connected to how astronauts feel looking down on humanity.

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Introducing Andrew Tidby 

Andrew Tidby is a filmmaker, explorer, space worshiper, and our host Greg’s BFF.  Through the course of events, Andrew has many amazing experiences and stories to tell.  For example, he and Greg produced a show called “Planet Luxury” which showcased the world’s most expensive luxury items and the people who own them.  Andrew has had over a decade of experiences while traveling the world and telling stories, but some of his greatest life lessons come from the past year or so working and learning with astronauts.

A little over a year ago, Andrew was thinking up new shows he could pitch to networks around the world.  He decided to try and pitch a show for kids on one of his greatest passions, space.  So, at 2 am one morning, he started to film a pilot episode of his new show.  He brought the idea to Canada’s National Film Board, who loved the idea and wanted to produce a series called NFB’s Space School.  Space School would lead to schools ditching boring textbooks on space and give students to learn from an interactive online experience.  The government paired Andrew with one of Canada’s most famous astronauts, Chris Hadfield, as he trained to become the commander of the International Space Station.  Andrew followed Chris and a number of other astronauts around for a year and what he learned from these “rocket men” was how humble, happy they were and that they had a passion for continuous learning.

Andrew was astounded by their lack of “showiness” for all they have accomplished and have seen.  Andrew remembers them asking him about his life and experiences, but often they were quite quiet about themselves.  One example of this was astronaut Jeremy Hansen.  Though Andrew has spoken with Jeremy a number of times, he didn’t know about some of his most harrowing experiences until Jeremy’s mother told him.  Jeremy works as a test pilot for the Canadian Forces when not preparing for space, and one of his jobs is to figure out how to stabilize planes that go into uncontrollable spins while in flight.  Jeremy would put himself into an uncontrollable spin and calmly communicate with the tower, “code 13”.  Though Jeremy was seconds from death, he would always calmly pull out of his situation.  Andrew was struck by how so an amazing man with such an amazing story could be so humble.

After Andrew spent a year shadowing Chris Hadfield, the commander went into space for his mission.  Then Andrew gets a call from the International Space Station, one of the most memorable calls of his life.  It was Chris Hadfield and conference called with David Bowie, and they want Andrew to produce the world’s first music video filmed in space, “Space Oddity”.  Within weeks the video that was produced had millions of hits and became a viral sensation.

In this episode

Andrew tells such how his NASA experience changed the way he thinks about life.  He also reflects on the steps he took throughout his life to get to the point of producing the world’s highest music video and what he thinks about those who think they deserve instant gratification in their career paths.  Greg and Dave are reminded of the importance of listening for the stories of others and the difference of having humble pride and “showiness”. 

Links and References

Tidby Pictures

Andrew's Email

Andrew's Twitter

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Introducing DJ Waldow

It is coming upon that time of year again where many assess changes that need to be made in their lives. A course of action is taken where we vow to make these changes and we call them New Year’s resolutions. Many will choose to lose some weight; others will choose to quit smoking. Perhaps for your next New Year’s resolution, you might consider a plan to follow your passions. Our guest this week is just the guy to get the ball rolling for you.

DJ Waldow was formerly an email marketer and a product evangelist for Marketo. A little over six months ago, DJ came to a crossroads in his life. He just didn’t have the passion for what he was doing anymore. This is particularly difficult when one of the most important parts of his job was to show a passion for the company’s products and services. So in June 2014, DJ quit his job and focused all of his energy into finding work that he was passionate about. In this process, DJ decided to write a blog post about what he was doing and why, which received a lot of attention and reaction online. 80% of those who got in touch with DJ commended him on his choice and commiserated to him about how much they hated their own job. Another 20% congratulated him and shared with him how they decided to follow their own passions.  

DJ had always had a passion for helping others, and due to the response from his blog post, he decided to pursue a career as a career transition coach. DJ also wanted to tell the stories of people working their passion and started the Living Your Passion Podcast. DJ now helps people that were in a very similar position he was in only months ago. 

In this episode

DJ tells us how and why he made the leap from a well-paying job and tells us the common threads he sees with people who live their passion. He explains his coaching process and tells us what he has learned from people who have already found their passion. Greg is reminded of a documentary he made with Dave on coaching titled, Airplane Journals. Dave is reminded of the many people that are wasting their time by being in a job they hate or have lost a passion for. Greg is inspired by DJ’s ability to quickly jump careers and find success. Both Dave and Greg are thankful to be in positions to be able to follow their own passions.

Links

DJ's Twitter

DJ's Linkedin

DJ's Favourite Episode of Living Your Passion

Marketer's With Beards

Airplane Journals

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Introducing Lauchlan Ough

Sometimes the most effective form of leadership involves empowering the people who work for you to be leaders themselves.  A lot can be said enabling leaders, as well as getting them to jump right into unfamiliar tasks.  This is exactly the approach Greg Hemmings takes with the people who work for him.  One of the greatest examples of this is Greg’s employee, Lauchlan Ough.  Lauchlan was one of the original employees at Hemmings House, and the youngest at the time.   Lauchlan was around for the humble beginnings, where the production company was working out of the basement of Greg’s home.  Fast forward to 2014; Lauchlan is now an experienced director, cinematographer, photographer, and editor, running shoots with a number of people under him.

Coming out of high school, Lauchlan had a passion for the process of filmmaking.  He knew that he wanted to work with morally good people, he wanted to learn on the job, and he enjoyed the process of filmmaking more so then its end goal.  Upon joining Hemmings House, he could feel that every step the small company made was a step toward building something much larger and greater.  The company and its employees had help along the way, such as executive coaching from Dave Veale, but Lauchlan and the other HHP employees were actively in a constant state of evolution, aiming to achieve the vision Greg and they all set for the company. 

One of the mental hurdles that Lauchlan needed to overcome was a belief that he could only achieve to a level his age would allow him.  For a while, he didn’t question the barrier he set up in his own mind that he couldn’t do certain things because of his age.  During a coaching session with Dave, he had an epiphany when considering how far he had already came at his age, and that he was just limiting what he could achieve.  He credits coaching and it’s outsider perspective with its ability to unlock mental blocks and just make everything click.

Lauchlan now uses the approach Greg had with him when working on film sets.  Instead of trying to be on top of everything and micromanaging, he empowers others to do their work.  This allows creativity to flourish amongst the group, and allows him to focus on his process.  He now has an enhanced confidence when working with other filmmakers from bigger centers such as California or Toronto. Lauchlan knows that Hemmings House can create at high level, and he now learns as much from what others are doing wrong as what they are doing right. 

In this episode

Lauchlan speaks to his experience of working in a creative industry with creative people.  We hear about the evolution of Greg, Dave, Lauchlan, and Hemmings House.  Lauchlan also tells us how jumping right into work has helped him evolve.  Greg is inspired by how far Lauchlan has come over the years and his ability to throw himself into uncomfortable places.  Dave is wowed by Lauchlan’s wisdom beyond his years.

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Introducing Jeff Roach

These days most businesses try to get with the times and engage people through social media with mixed results.  Many take the route of duplicating the ads they use in traditional marketing and posting them to social media.  Jeff Roach would tell these people they are going about social media marketing all wrong.

Jeff is the founder of Sociallogical, a company that works with other businesses to embed social media tools and practices into their operations.  His company helps those having trouble understanding how social media can be an asset to them by initiating a strategy, training their people, and developing and managing content.  Jeff’s main beef with how many companies use social media is that they are using it for advertising and not sharing the stories that the company has to tell.  Jeff tells us that social media is NOT another advertising channel.  In fact, using social media this way many companies turn their customers off.  Consider what a customer might be likely to do if they become annoyed by ads.  They are likely to block the company from their social media feed.  People don’t go to social media to be bombarded with ads; they use social media to connect, interact, and to be engaged. 

So what is the correct approach?  You need to make people feel like they are connected to you.  Jeff uses the analogy of a Christmas parties.  Every December countless businesses pull in clients, employees, contractors, associates, etc. to have a few drinks or a meal and to connect on a personal level.  Everyone finds out what each other have been up to and many see others they haven’t seen in quite some time.  Generally, big deals or sales are not struck during the Christmas party, just general conversations.  Using social media marketing should be just like having a Christmas party all-year-long.  You want your clients to know what you have been up to, and what is new, but without the sales.  The sales will come as you engage with your customers, by telling them the great stories of success you have made for others, and by becoming a trust agent.

In this episode

Jeff tells us his story of how he fell in love with online marketing and his experiences with entrepreneurship.  Greg tells us about the three different types of people every business needs.  Jeff gives his impressions of how marketing has changed drastically in even the last 10 years.  Greg concludes that you can never feel like you know everything you need to know about social media and Dave warns us to beware of the coach that doesn’t have a coach.

Links

Sociallogical's Facebook

Sociallogical's Twitter

Sociallogical's Linked In

Jeff's Website

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Introducing Peter Stoddart

It is the dream of many to open their own restaurant, café, or pub.  However, the food and beverage industry is not an easy business to succeed within.  Most restaurants fail within a few years of opening, so what can you do to stand out and atop the rest?  Peter Stoddart is an entrepreneur that did just this.  Peter is the owner of The Saint John Ale House in beautiful uptown Saint John, New Brunswick.  Peter opened the Ale House in 2004, but had the inspiration to open such a business for much longer.

Peter was amongst the first in his local market to focus on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients for a pub environment.  Even his chef, Jesse, runs his own farm to help grow the ingredients they need on a daily basis.  Beyond taste, there are other reasons to consider sourcing locally and seasonally.  First off, you get to know the people and places that your ingredients come from.  You also have the opportunity to spend your money so that it stays within the local economy.  Not to mention, your vendors become your evangelists and customers. 

Beyond great food, the Saint John Ale House focuses on personal service and a fun, social atmosphere.  They seek to build and support a community atmosphere that lets their patrons feel like they are apart of something special.  Connecting with his customers is Peter’s greatest joy in the business, as well as offering a product that he can be proud of.  This is especially true, when Peter sees visitors from other parts of the world return wearing a SJAH t-shirt.  By creating and showing loyalty and developing a connection to his customers and community, he has created an institution.  It isn’t easy to do what Peter has done, but with passion and persistence Peter believes you can achieve like he has.

In this episode

Peter tells us about the Saint John Ale House and the steps he has taken to make it the success it currently is.  We hear how he generates buzz through social media by creating great content.  We hear how Dave went to the Ale House prior to his wedding and almost got married with chicken wing sauce on his face.  Greg loves Peter’s approach to local business and how buying from local vendors turns them into your customers and quasi-marketers.

Links

- SJAH Twitter

- SJAH Facebook

- SJAH Youtube

Peter throwing pumpkins from the roof of the SJAH

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Introducing David Meerman Scott

Sometimes you can learn aspects of business from obscure and seemingly unrelated places and people.  Like learning lessons of marketing from the Grateful Dead.  David Meerman Scott did just that.  David is an international best-selling author of several books and speaks routinely around the world.   David doesn’t like to write typical, boring marketing books though.  He looks to write about things he enjoys.

David came up with the idea of taking business concepts from the jam band, while working with his friend and CEO of Hubspot, Brian Halligan.  Hubspot is a leading online provider of marketing and sales software, but they offer a ton of free digital content as well.  Brian and David, both huge dead heads, decided to try making a fun marking webinar on the Grateful Dead.  The webinar they produced became the most popular one Hubspot had to that point, and so together they decided to write the book version. 

For those of you not in the know, the Grateful Dead was a band started in 1965 known for their eclectic style, fusing a number of different genres and using an improvisational style when preforming.  Also, The Dead were one of the few bands that allowed their fans to record their live performances, make tapes, and trade them amongst other fans.  Unlike most bands, their fans would tend to go to multiple performances because no two shows were alike.  Instead of treating their fans like consumers, the band treated them like a community and considered those in the audience part of the show.  Essentially, more than trying to suck money out of their fans, they wanted to do right by them.  They trusted the fan base like they were another member of the band, and that is why they would let them do things like tape live shows.

So what can we learn from the “Dead”, and how can we implement some of the ideas they championed in our businesses?  First, you have to be willing to let go of some content to your customers for free.  The idea is that if you give away useful information, you will generate more customers.  Second, you want to build a community around your business, not just a grouping of customers.  Your customers should feel like they are apart of the business, not just numbers or dollar signs.  You must build your community, and then serve your community, and the community will share further.  In some ways, the Grateful Dead were pioneers of viral marketing.

David doesn’t just spout these ideas; he lives by them.  To promote one of his most recent books, The New Rules of Sales and Service, David made a 180-slide power point presentation, which had the majority of the concepts he talks about in his book.  He then shared the power point for free on slide share.  By doing this, the sales of his books increased to find out the rest of the story.

In this episode

We hear how Greg met David at a speaking engagement, and how Greg one the first thing in his life just for being a hippy.  Dave has a “light bulb” moment as it comes to removing some of the barriers to service.   Also, David tells us about his book, Selling the Moon, about marketing the Apollo program, and how David recently sold its rights for a documentary.  We also hear of a few companies who had unintentionally practiced some marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead to “grate” success.

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Introducing Jason MacLean

Jason MacLean is the type of entrepreneur that just goes for it.  This includes opening a health and lifestyle business in an industrial town not known for patronizing such businesses.  However, Jay’s huge personality, passion, and work ethic have made his yoga studio, The Yoga Haus, a great success.

Jay originally worked with big corporate in their marketing division.  He credits a number of learning opportunities and lessons to the time he worked under someone else.  However, Jay is an entrepreneur and needed to follow his passions.  This led him to opening other businesses in the past, which emerged from his love of cooking.  Always the marketer, Jay called one such business Awful Falafel, Not so Bad Waffle, and the other Sterno Inferno.

However, the yoga business didn’t come to Jay as easily and required a bit of serendipity.  His love from yoga came from a soul searching trip when he was 23-years-old.  Jay had decided that he was going to travel to Mexico via the Pacific coast.  While traveling through Santa Barbara, California, Jay was approached by a lady who noticed Jay and his posture.   The lady said that she knew Jay had problems with his back, which he did.   She invited him to come to her yoga class in order to help correct his issues.  At first, Jay was skeptical.  He gave the lady all the reasons why he didn’t want to go to her yoga class, finally saying that he wasn’t flexible.  She took a look back at him and said that his attitude certainly wasn’t flexible.   Jay took the class and his life was forever changed.  It opened his eyes to the opportunities that are given during everyday life through serendipity. 

Yoga for Jay is about living in the present.  So many people focus all of their attention on the past or the future, and tempo of many people’s lives has sped up so much.  Yoga, according to Jay, allows for an outlet and rebalancing of your energies.

In this episode

Jay tells us what yoga teaches us and how it’s teachings can be applied to our business lives.  Dave appreciates how Jay embodies what he teaches and Greg points out Jay’s ability to live those slices of life to the max.  Greg also notes Jay’s passion for helping people live better.  We also hear how sous chef Greg almost burnt down a restaurant when assisting Jay’s catering business.

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