Canadian Failures Quotes

“A head of corporate communications at a large public organization once shared his belief that the major organizational change sometimes begins innocuously at the level of vocabulary: "People start using words that suggest change has happened, even if it hasn't happened yet. That's the first step," he said.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“When the government delivers a service, it is typically a monopoly provider, and focus in the past was on administration. It is not inconceivable that a monopoly provider may be blind and deaf to evidence of the need to change, because absence of competition dampens an important incentive for paying attention to users.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“It is organizational culture, not administrative process, that underlies successful risk management programs. The chief executive is responsible for establishing a culture that is not risk averse and the encourages novel approaches to problem solving. Calculated risks that advance the organization are supported, while unavoidable risks are managed. Resourceful employees who pursue bold initiatives are recognized and rewarded. Complacency and disregard of safety, on the other hand, are not tolerated.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“However, as you are about to learn, as I am about to prove, "failure" is not a rock-solid moment frozen in time, but a metamorphous beast that fluidly changes forms and loses potency throughout its lifespan.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“How much harder could it be to index the Web, which at the time was about one gigabyte? [...] At the time, there were only twenty-five thousand Web pages. [circa 1991]”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“Because we are a northern people living in a vast country, we have learned that taking a risk in the middle of winter and failing lands you in big trouble. You can even die. In many other countries where the climate is more moderate and the distance between points is much less, a failure does not readily lead to a life-or-death situation. We are a product of our geography and our climate.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“To use a baseball analogy: Canadians don't swing for a home run; we're very happy to get to first base. You will argue that many baseball players have had Hall of Fame careers by getting on base all the time. It's not as flashy as being a big home run hitter, but big home run hitters also strike out a lot.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“In my experience, venture capitalists regularly report that Canadians come to the marketplace with ideas that are just as good their American counterparts' ideas. However, we aim too low. We ask for $10 million to own the Canadian market or to own a niche in the global market, whereas the Americans always ask for $100 million because they want to dominate the world. Venture capitalists repeatedly comment on the cultural difference between Canadian and American entrepreneurs. Canadians are very practical people. We generally do enough to get results, but we are not maniacal about it. Our attitude is that for us to win, others don't have to lose. Canadians are concerned about everyone winning. In other cultures, though, for them to win, not only do they have to win, but also their competitors have to lose.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“There were a whole bunch of things I had to change. I like to say it wasn't a silver bullet, but a dozen bronze bullets.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success

“You know you’ve become a true company executive when you start treating every company dollar like it’s your own.”
― Alex Benay, Canadian Failures: Stories of Building Toward Success