Fine Tune with Corby Fine

Tony Chapman won a multi-million dollar agency pitch with 40 pictures and a monologue. I was there to witness it, and ever since, have marveled at this marketing guru who is also one of Canada’s leading communication experts and one of the youngest members inducted into the Marketing Hall of Legends (2008). 

In this episode, Tony and I discuss the best ways to succeed, whether you are a large multinational or a small, local entrepreneur. Some of Tony's most important pieces of advice resonate across all verticals and businesses. He has many insights and thoughts on culture, the role of digital, and which brands are winning in today's world competing for customers and their constant attention.

Some highlights of Tony's advice include:

"Stop telling your story, become part of theirs" 

"Give the customer more of what matters to them, their life, their livelihood, their family, and do it with less friction"

"I think you can, especially with digital nowadays, have an incredibly purposeful career that will bring profit to you versus a profitable career that lacks purpose"

Listen in to Tony Chapman as he shares his stories and opinions as an authority on how to build brands and sell strategically and profitably in today’s volatile marketplace. Then, listen to the rest of my podcast and let me know what you think about it by subscribing to my email list. I hope you enjoy listening. If you have any ideas for other interviews or topics, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Ivan Pehar is the Country Manager for Spotify Canada. After spending a number of years at another digital goliath, he made the move to conquer one of most people's passions, the music business. In this episode, I talk with Ivan about the Spotify platform, and how it has become such an important and influential player in Canada's digital media and content landscape. It is not just for music creators and music lovers, rather it is a place for all kinds of audio content both for those who want to consume it, as well as for those that want to build a business with Spotify using audio as a key tactic.

Spotify has a few sides to its business. One is obviously tied to consumer entertainment and streaming of content, with the other being focused on advertisers and marketers trying to reach specific audiences. We discuss how Spotify thinks about these two sides of the business and how content producers, like myself, can take advantage of the platform to help build a business with Spotify. It's not just for music producers anymore.

If you are a business, a content producer, or just a fan of great music and audio content, you must listen in!

Listen to the rest of my podcast as well and let me know what you think by subscribing to my email list. I hope you enjoy listening. If you have any ideas for other interviews or topics, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

If you are in Canada then you have probably spent a good portion of your grocery, drug and other living expenses at a store owned, operated or franchised by Loblaw.

Loblaw Companies Limited is the largest Canadian food retailer operating under 22 different brand banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. They are massive. With over 136,000 full-time and part-time employees they are the second largest employer in the country. They also have their own private label products under brands include President's Choice, No Name and others.

So other than their size, what makes them so interesting? Well, they are in the middle of a massive transformation, helping millions of customers transition from using a shopping cart in their stores, to using a different kind of shopping cart from their homes, work or anywhere on their phone.  Yes, we are talking about migrating from those metal and plastic shopping carts used in physical stores, to the digital carts on the different e-commerce websites for each of the brands.  How big of a transformation?  Well they hit $1 Billion in e-commerce revenue, in 2019, doubling from their 2018 results.

In order to handle this transformation, the digital team has to manage changing customer expectations, massive performance needs and incredibly complex relationships with their retails stores, distribution centers and supplier partners.  Lauren Steinberg, VP Product, UX and Digital Marketing spends some time with me talking about all of these challenges and how Loblaw is changing the face of retail in Canada, and getting noticed around the world.

It’s completely natural to be nervous when starting a new job. New people, new office, new commute, new culture... new coffee. But in the age of the pandemic, more and more people are starting their new jobs from home. Alone. With no direct connection to their new team other than through screens.

So what happens when your first day is remote? What if many days, weeks and even months after that are also remote? What if you aren’t able to meet your boss, your colleagues and your own team for a while? How will you get to know your coworkers, get up to speed on how to do your job, or even know who to contact when you have questions?

Remote work and remote onboarding are the current norm and it just might be that way for the long term. In this episode I talk about my own experience starting my new job in March, and also speak to two others who went through their own remote onboarding experiences. Len Ball and Dean Guest have some great insights and recommendations on succeeding through a remote job start. Key to remember, you aren't the only one adapting to the new way of work. It's important to remember that your team, your boss and your customers are too.

I also had the chance to speak to Evan Hallward, co-founder of a new startup, Aboard, which is focused on assisting organizations in creating virtual onboarding programs. Given the current transition of the workplace, they just might be onto something big!

Listen to the rest of my podcast as well and let me know what you think by subscribing to my email list. I hope you enjoy listening. If you have any ideas for other interviews or topics, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

A recent poll posted to 2,200 Americans by Statistica asked one simple question to try and see the impact of the coronavirus on consumer sentiment about going back to the gym. The results weren't all that surprising. 69% of respondents said they were much less likely to go to the gym and a combined 75% somewhat or much less likely.  That's a pretty scary set of numbers for studio owners.

Given those numbers I decided to ask someone in the industry how they are preparing for a post coronavirus world. That someone is Jonathan Fagg, head of Digital and Media for GoodLife Fitness, the largest fitness company in Canada and the fourth largest in the world with 1,500,000 members, over 400 clubs across Canada, and over 13,000 associates.

Jonathan and I discuss the convergence of digital and physical in the new world of fitness, and how the definition of a customer is changing and will include members that might never step foot inside one of their studios. This digital only customer is a new phenomenon for GoodLife, but not for companies like Peloton and newer entrants like Tonal.

As part of GoodLife's initial foray into a more digital first approach, they have launched a new digital gym called #GoodLifeAtHome to help Canadians discover new and different ways to live a healthy life and stay #CanadianStrong while staying in. As part of this initiative, all Canadians will have access to the weekly schedule of free workouts, wellness tips and free live classes on GoodLife’s social channels (@GoodLifeFitness), designed to keep everyone active from the safety of their own home. Check them out at www.goodlifefitness.com.

Find the story at https://corbyfine.com/gym-post-coronavirus/

It was 1999 and I was early in my career, VERY early in my career. I had started as a product manager at a "stealthy startup" and found myself working for a really smart and charismatic individual, Michael Tamblyn. Michael was in charge of product and I was there to learn.

Flash forward a decade or two, and I now sit at my computer with a microphone and headphones, and in my screen is a slightly more mature Michael Tamblyn in a much different role. This time, as the CEO of Rakuten Kobo, Michael and I sit down to talk about his experiences leading and growing a Toronto startup through a global expansion and acquisition by a not so likely suitor. Not a venture fund, not a valley power-house, not a wealthy family...but the largest e-commerce player in Japan, Rakuten.

Michael gives some great tips for leaders in any business to consider. First, use your competitors as your distribution channel. Imagine, books being sold electronically through retailers that sold the traditional print versions of the same product. Second, remember it is a lot easier and cost effective to find a market adjacency for your existing customer base than to build a new customer base from scratch. Third, taking the physical out of the mix of your business can simplify and create new opportunities for expansion. And fourth, if you can get your customers to build your product and content...well the outcomes are obvious.

How would Michael's tips from his experience at Kobo apply to your business? Why not listen and try to figure it out.

Listen to the rest of my podcast as well and let me know what you think buy subscribing to my email list. I hope you enjoy listening. If you have any ideas for other interviews or topics, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

I consider myself a "power user" on the LinkedIn platform, having had my profile used in sales pitches by LinkedIn sales representatives over the years. I love the platform, it's power and it's ability to maintain my professional identity. I have used it to get jobs, make meaningful and valuable connections, to help others in their own career endeavours, among many other useful purposes. 

I had the opportunity to speak with Diana Luu, Head of Marketing Solutions Canada & Business Services North America at LinkedIn about LinkedIn and some useful tips and tricks we can all use (and should).  Here is a quick synopsis of some of our discussion.

Tip 1 - Update your profile as you accomplish things, your LinkedIn profile should always be changing.

Tip 2 - Accept anyone credible even if you haven’t met them - you never know when you might need that connection.

Tip 3 - Have a completed profile (don’t forget the pic as it makes you 21 times more likely to get a view).

Tip 4 - Personalize the background image - it says something about YOU!

Tip 5 - Add personal elements to your summary and see what happens (PS I like funky socks). 

And the NEVER do’s

1. Don’t lie - this is your professional identity of record.

2. Don’t have an incomplete profile.

3. Don’t overshare (and make what you share relevant).

4. Don’t share for the sake of sharing, have an opinion even if it isn’t that of others - be authentic.

5. Don’t be negative and derogatory

 …and don’t forget my tips on using LinkedIn as a business development and research tool - listen in for the secrets.

For fourteen years Erica Ehm has been developing her craft as an entrepreneur and CEO, after spending the first part of her career as an icon in Canadian television and music.  From interviewing rock bands, to informing and educating parents on being their best, Erica has used her skills as a creator, innovator and disruptor to turn all of her endeavours into incredible success stories.

In this episode, Erica gives us tips and advice on how to be successful in whatever it is you want to do. Some of the fundamentals in her arsenal include never take "no" personally, always listen to your staff, your customers, your competitors, your numbers and your heart....and be persistent until you find your yes! All you need is one yes to be successful.

Oh, and never ignore those random Tweets or messages on social media. For Erica, it led to a new partnership, a government grant and shout outs from Senators!

Don't forget to watch Kurt Cobain and Erica Ehm as well in her self declared favourite interview - https://youtu.be/PDgP4hN4OA4 (PS listen to the last 15 seconds - it's very timely)

I recently posted a single question on Linkedin and Twitter asking a very simple question. What’s your number one tip for staying motivated while working at home? It was a popular post and I wanted to dig in further, so I recruited a panel of 5 executives to discuss the topic and at the same time, answer some fun and embarrassing questions along the way.

If you are looking for motivation to get out of bed in the morning, ideas on how to work from home with teams scattered across locations, or just a good laugh to questions like "have you taken a conference call into the bathroom", or "what's your most embarrassing moment so far working from home", then listen in.

My panelists include:

Alex Panousis – CEO, Carat
Gabe Dunlop – CMO, Diply.com
Mark Jordan – Former VP Brand Strategy & Chief Communications Officer, Kids Help Phone
Daniela Dighi - Director, Analytics Innovation Program, Enterprise Analytics, CIBC -
Luvleen Sidhu - Co-Founder & CEO, BankMobile

Remember to subscribe to this Podcast on your favorite platform and visit me at http://www.corbyfine.com

Small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMEs) which includes startups, now represent just under 90% of employment in North America.  They are hungry for talent but often lack the revenue base to support having highly qualified, experienced employees work for them – especially at the leadership level.

Along comes Fractional Employment.

So what is fractional employment?

The term “fractional employment” has been around for several years, but it is emerging as the new model for employment – especially in SMEs and startups.

Under the fractional employment model, an employee spends a discrete amount of time out of each week with multiple employers.  In its ideal form, it could be 2 days each with 2 different employers plus one day to spend with a third company.....this would net out as a full work week for the employee.

Well, today, I have the luxury of having two seasoned executives to talk about their transition from corporate, full time employment to the new world of the fractional employment, as fractional executives. Rory Capern (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorycapern/) and Chris Hodgson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherhodgson/) both ex-Google executives, join me to discuss their own transitions while giving great advice on how to make the jump if you are considering fractional work for yourself.

Key to their collective advice:

1. Focus on the impact you can make for your clients
2. Set expectations with your clients to focus on the output or risk spending too much time measuring the inputs (like time, etc.)
3. Know yourself, and therefore the kinds of companies you want to take on as clients to ensure the best chance at success
4. Leverage your network, trusted connections make it a lot easier to find that first client

Remember to subscribe to this Podcast and visit me at https://www.corbyfine.com.