New from Boardroom Metrics - Business Expert Directory

Boardroom Metrics has launched a new web service called ExpertBusinessResources.com.

ExpertBusinessResources.com is a web directory where consultants, coaches, trainers, speakers and executive job seekers can profile the services they provide and link searchers to their website and other social media.

The mission of ExpertBusinessResources.com is to help independent practitioners and others increase their on-line visibility.

A strong directory listing is a great way to be found by someone looking for a particular service or expertise. 

Also, the links that can be created from a directory like ExpertBusinessResources.com are important inputs that Google and other search engines use to increase the visibility of a company's website.

Searchers on ExpertBusinessResources.com can sort for business experts by keyword, geography and specialty, for example ‘Leadership Coach Chicago’. They can also see what else you are doing on-line, including websites, other social media like LinkedIn, Twitter and others. Using the contact information and on-line forms provided, potential clients can contact you directly by email and phone.

A listing on ExpertBusinessResources.com complements – and strengthens - whatever you are doing on-line already – even if all you are doing is LinkedIn.

If all you are doing is LinkedIn, then ExpertBusinessResources.com provides another search engine optimized outlet for your information to appear. You can even have your profile highlighted and promoted for better visibility. ExpertBusinessResources.com provides different levels of on-line visibility depending on the package. Packages range from free to $29/month.

For those who already have a strong on-line presence – and want to make it even stronger, then the links and added visibility that ExpertBusinessResources.com creates will be highly appreciated.

More information is available by visiting the ExpertBusinessResources.com website.

The site is still in Beta and any/all feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Early adopters who join ExpertBusinessResources.com in the month of September 2012 receive access to the Associate level package free for a year. 

Boardroom Metrics Accomplished Executives

I've been gone for a while as Boardroom Metrics continues to grow rapidly.

We now have 14 Accomplished Executives and Advisors. They are located in Toronto, Waterloo, Guelph and Ottawa.  There are several more currently in the selection process including two in Montreal.

The mission of Boardroom Metrics is to help others make money.

We provide a unique outlet for individual talent – by maintaining a strong, respected brand umbrella; proactively driving business opportunities; and, providing the platform to team up with other, like-minded, accomplished achievers.

For organizations, we provide a ready source of select leaders, subject matter experts, business tools and processes.

“Measure, plan, do” is our credo and we have assembled the people, tools and processes that client owners and leaders can tap instantly to build value in their enterprises.

Each of our Accomplished Executives is screened and chosen based on achievement, attitude and contribution.

They come from diverse backgrounds – retail, broadcasting, engineering, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, pharma, not-for-profit and others.

Their expertise includes corporate and non-profit governance, leadership, marketing, sales, social media, communications, facilitation, coaching international business and more.

Over time, our pool of exclusive talent keeps growing – providing unique opportunities for select individuals and outstanding resources for successful organizations.

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On a regular basis we feature blog posts written by one of our Accomplished Executives. The posts can be found on the Boardroom Metrics news page, here. 

Boardroom Metrics Announces New Services, Web Site

Every business has to evolve with the times and the opportunities that are put in front of it. Boardroom Metrics is doing that.


First, we have expanded our geographic service offering beyond Toronto to include Ottawa and Montreal.

Second, we are providing new advisory expertise in employee health and well-being, and corporate learning and training.


Employee health and well-being is rapidly becoming a top priority for all forward thinking organizations. Linking employee health and well-being with corporate performance – not just benefits cost containment - is an important competitive advantage we believe our clients are going to be increasingly interested in.

Corporate learning is another rapidly evolving field. The days of standing up in front of 200 people and ‘teaching’ them are gone – thanks to much better insight on how people learn and rapidly advancing technology – whether it be in the classroom or on a Blackberry. Again, our intent is to help our clients more clearly make the connection between learning, training strategy, training execution and significant improvements in corporate performance.

Third, we have expanded our tools offering to include the Chairman’s View System.

Chairman’s View enables private business owners who are committed to transferring their businesses in some fashion down the road, to measure, visualize and increase the sustainable and transferable value in their businesses.

Most private businesses owners in the US and Canada intend to transfer their businesses to new ownership in some fashion over the next ten years. Unfortunately, a large majority won’t come close to receiving the value they anticipate unless their focus changes from day to day management to sustainable value creation.

Fourth, we have significantly upgraded our interim management capabilities. The goal of our ‘Accomplished Executives’ program is two-fold:

• First – to provide a comprehensive marketing umbrella so that senior, experienced management talent can be promoted and become known and findable to the broad, business market place.

• Second – to seamlessly provide outstanding talent in conjunction with our advisory and tools practices to clients requiring short or long term executive support – whether it be for advisory, professional Chairman, senior executive or specialist roles.

Fifth, we have launched a new website that describes our services in more detail and encourages prospective clients and accomplished executive talent to start a dialogue with us.

All of us at Boardroom Metrics are passionate about business and in that regard we hold some simple but clear beliefs.

• EVERY business has the potential to be a spectacular success.

• NO business succeeds without strong leadership.

• PEOPLE are the only competitive advantage that can’t be duplicated.

If you’re interested in spectacular success and looking for a passionate, skilled and experienced partner we would love to work with you.

Jim Crocker, CEO

Introducing Boardroom Metrics Chairman's View

Three out of four private businesses will not sell when they are put on the market.

For the past six months, Boardroom Metrics been working with and completing due diligence around a unique private business tool called Chairman's View.

Chairman's View is a software and industry data-based approach for assessing a private company's key value drivers, ranking them, quantifying their impact on the company's value and implementing plans for improving the highest priority drivers.

Here are some key elements of the Chairman's View approach:

• focus on value, not just profits: designed to ensure owners create strong options for sustaining and transferring their businesses - currently, three of four private businesses DO NOT SELL when they are put on the market
• outputs: include research-based quantitative ratings for 8 business drivers, 9 value drivers and almost 50 associated categories
• Value Dashboard: enables business owners to visualize company value, how key drivers are performing, and the impact on company value of making improvements to sub-performing drivers
• Performance Dashboard: enables business owners to visualize company operating data and the impact of making improvements to business drivers
  
• software-as-a-service: means Chairman's View is client-accessible and includes industry data, evaluation criteria, templates, dashboards, action plans and progress monitoring tools
• three phased approach - Phase 1 is the upfront driver and value assessment; Phase 2 is the improvement plan for the weakest value drivers; Phase 3 is transaction based - selling, merging, transferring or continuing to build value in the business based on the owners goals
• Phase 1 pricing: including full access to the tools, outputs and action plans is $20,000

Giving owners great options for their business - and frankly, seeing them get rich - has always been a primary driver of Boardroom Metrics. Therefore, I'm truly excited about Chairman's View because I believe it will significantly enhance business owners' perspective on value and how to maximize it.

Any private business owner or those advising private business owners - such as accountants, wealth advisors, insurance brokers, M&A specialists - will likely find that Chairman's View is a very helpful for discussions on succession planning, business sale or transfer.

This link to Slideshare provides more detail on the Boardroom Metrics Chairman's View offering. 

Fortune Magazine Article on LinkedIn

"You Google other people, so don't you think they're Googling you?" LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman asks. "Part of a networked world is that people will be looking you up, and when they do, you want to control what they find." Helping you present yourself well online is just the start.

Feels like I should say "I told you so".

I won't, but I am glad to see I'm in good company.

A few days ago I posted this personal branding presentation. Today, the latest Fortune magazine showed up. With this article in it. It's titled 'How LinkedIn Will Fire up Your Career'.

Ironically, two seconds before I saw this I hung up from a great recruiter and good friend who was telling me how he'd just landed a recruiting contract with a high profile business organization here in Canada. You know how they found him? LinkedIn. You know how they picked him? On the basis of the quality of his profile. His LinkedIn profile proved to them 'he got it'. Does yours?

It works!! Get on it (yeah you. Stop acting like this stuff doesn't matter!)!!

Really Stand Out - The 5 P's Personal Brand Planner

Here's a presentation based on the advice I'm passing on to clients and contacts. Lots of people are starting to get this: branding transcends jobs (it's too late when you've been fired)and the internet means regardless of whether you choose to proactively participate or not, others are. Students. Business leaders. Those interested in 'encore' careers.

The simple steps here work. First use the basic planner. I guarantee it will send you straight to your LinkedIn and Twitter pages!

Really Stand Out - The 5 P's Personal Brand Planner

View more presentations from Jim Crocker.

Learning to Speak

"If you had to pick someone as a public speaking role model, who would it be?" my instructor asked.

"Public speaking role model?" I said."Ummm..."

"You say umm too much", she said.

"Gee, you sound like my wife."

I've gone back to school - to become a great public speaker.
 
Step back a bunch of years. First I was a consultant for a traditional, study-report-and-present consulting company. Then, I became a public company CEO. Doing those jobs well was a non-stop diet of public speaking - to clients, Boards, at annual meetings and trade shows, speaking to analysts, fund managers and others. I loved public speaking. A great day was a day I had to give a speech.

Fast forward a few years. Ummm...not so much.

First, I don't get the opportunities like I used to. I stopped doing client reports after I left my first consulting job. And my current key shareholder says she hears enough from me already. There's no need for an annual meeting.

But that's about to change (role, not shareholder). So it's time for an upgrade.

What did I learn today?

Well, get this. My instructor rated me a -1(that's minus 1) out of 5 for my 'gestures'. Eye contact, posture, confidence and sense of humor (sense of humor?) did a whole bunch better - she gave me a one. ONE!! Geez, I guess I'm gonna get a lot for my money!

But....and this shows I really am in the wrong career - she gave me a 4 out of 5 (four!) for vocal technique. Out of five!

According to my amazing instructor, who's worked with lots of amazing people....like Al Gore....four out of five is unheard of for some schmo walking in off the street (actually I called first). She told me I have a "broadcaster quality" voice.

Too bad I didn't know that before the Olympics.

From there we moved on to fixing some of the basics. Stooping and slouching is bad. It makes your audience want to kick your ass. I need to get my shoulders back. Plant myself squarely on center stage. "Be in charge of my space. Like Mick Jagger". Oh. Right! Have you seen me on Guitar Hero?

Then I learned how to move. From center stage, left to my 'humour box' and right to my 'empathy box'. I found moving from box to box easy - the real challenge is actually being empathetic or funny. Learning that comes in week 14.

Then we beat the 'umm' out of me. It went like this.

"Jim, start speaking".

"Blah, blah, ummmm, blah."

STOP.

"Blah. Ummm." STOP.

"Ummm." STOP.

Ok. I get it!

But you know, something interesting happened along the way. My public speaking came back. Oh, I'm not perfect...there's at least $10,000 between me and a public appearance...but the comfort and feel of a few years ago started to creep back.

It turns out I'm not a podium person. Get me moving and I start making eye contact and being passionate. And change those other scores too. I gesture and laugh.Who knew??!

It was a terrific first session. Definitely worthwhile.

And, as I was leaving all she kept talking about was how I could become a broadcaster.

Have they filled Lou Dobbs' job yet?

Lessons from PodCamp Toronto 2010 #pcto2010

Lesson 1: there is no better time to know a little or a lot about 'social media' - you're in demand. There were something like 1600 people signed up in Toronto yesterday. I didn't check, but I'll bet the first podcamp had something like 12 people show up.

Lesson 2: business is catching on, catching up - a couple of jammed sessions I sat in on included:

Chris Barger, Director of Social Media for General Motors (who knew?) discussing the role of his group during GM's Chapter 11 meltdown and relaunch.

Donna Marie Antoniadis of co-founder and COO of ShesConnected Multimedia Corp discussing the power of Facebook and throwing up cool Facebook promotions from Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts, Jet Blue, McDonalds and others as great examples of business-building through community building on-line.

David Bradfield, Senior Partner, Global Chair, Digital at Fleishman-Hillard tackling the issue of how to deal with social media when it turns against your brand (and there was also a 'boob' story but it didn't translate very well at the back of the room) - a decidedly PR approach to social media (David is a very knowledgeable, great speaker) that unfortunately left me cold.

Lesson 3: the 'unconference' approach to topics has huge value - experts in the crowd, relevant conversation, questions and answers - but not everyone gets it yet (any presentation longer than 10-15 minutes is too long) and it's tricky if there is only one expert in the room (which doesn't happen often).

Lesson 4: I'll never pay $1200 for a conference again. Podcamp Toronto is FREE (as are any huge number of meetups, mixups and mashups going on all the time now all over Toronto on any and every topic). Not only did Podcamp Toronto include first class facilities, topics and presenters, the sessions were live-casted on the web, and podcamp has its own great website, facebook, twitter, etc, etc. It's been a while since I've read Chris Andersons book called Free, but clearly the FREE pricing model extends  beyond the on-line world - at least to conferences about the on-line world! Gotta be a big thanks to heavy-hitter sponsors like Social Media Group, Chevrolet and Rogers for making it possible.

Bottom line on Podcamp Toronto. Great value. The world is still changing fast. Business is hanging in there. It's a good time to be an unexpert.

Instant Value from Twitter - Twitter Search

Although Twitter awareness has broken through almost everywhere in the business world, there's still lots of people questioning its value.

Here's some advice I find myself giving that frequently seems to be a surprise - don't worry about broadcasting on Twitter - use it for search.  

Search for anything - companies I know are using it to track announcements in their industry, competitors, sales leads, interesting content and knowledge. They're using it combination with other tools like Google alerts to stay in real-time touch with what's going on.

Twitter's natural interface is all about broadcasting, so it doesn't appear to lend itself well to search.

But lots of other Twitter interfaces are set up to enable real-time search. I use Tweetdeck - which also integrates my Facebook and Linkedin feeds.

There are lots of others.

To search Twitter from the web, go to search.twitter.com, which is awkward but is in the process of being integrated better into Twitter itself.

Video Branding Follow-up and Example

Last night I got this email from an ex-client and good friend Flavio Gomes. Flav is co-founder and President of Logisense Corporation. EngageIP, Logisense's IP billing platform is used by customers worldwide. It's a great example of the use of video for both personal and professional branding.

Personal Branding - To Video or Not to Video

Over a year ago now I threw this video up on YouTube to prove I had a sense of humor. It's a silly video. I did it to offset the feedback on my other videos that I look way too serious. Some just misinterpreted it as a demonstration of my skills with a felt marker.

 Video is becoming a big part of personal branding.  Having watched the evolution that's going on, here are some thoughts:

1) The personal brand video revolution is going to accelerate. It's not quite main stream yet but it will be. From resumes to blogs, vlogs and websites, people on video is going to be everywhere. Check out this video clip that can be inserted into a Twitter profile. The rationale is simple: to personalize content. It's not just Jim's thoughts - it's Jim.

2) Not everyone is going to embrace the move to video. The biggest concern is privacy. It's a big leap to go from content-only to video. Especially for women, just having a profile picture is cause for concern. Taking that to video is very scary.

3) Video adds a whole new dimension to on-line personal branding - appearance. Now, instead of being judged simply on experience, expertise, content and thinking, be prepared to be judged -and judged instantly - on LOOKS. While individual appearance may in many cases enhance other content (isn't that the point?), adding video WILL DILUTE everything else, at least at the first impression stage.

4) Video production is important...and confusing. Up until now at least, the web has put a premium on 'genuine' vs. 'produced'. Video that is professionally shot and edited hasn't necessarily been viewed as being real, and therefore tended to be viewed as a somewhat negative branding technique. However, with services springing up everywhere to produce personal on-line videos it's not clear there won't be growing acceptance of better produced content.

5) Content is still king. The purpose of most personal video is simple - put a face to the name. So, talking for 5 minutes about resume details is boring and unnecessary - there are better ways to do that. However, video is perfectly suited for other tasks - like demonstrating a skill, or a personality trait, or credibility. There are 1000's of YouTube (and Google) videos of pros presenting their material in various settings. That's effective.

6) Smart personal marketers are and will continue to evolve the art of personal video to create personal competitive advantage. That's going to put pressure on all the rest of us to figure out where we stand and what role personal video plays in our marketing mix.

I don't believe it's much of a stretch to suggest that within less than 2 years, all resumes will include personal videos. And 'Extreme Makeover - Personal Branding Edition' will be a huge hit.

John Keep Your Eye on This One: Foursquare

A couple of months ago I started noticing a couple of Facebook friends enthusiastically posting their latest accomplishments on Foursquare. I paid no attention. But they stayed enthusiastic and kept updating. I noticed that.

Then I started noticing Foursquare's name showing up in the early and not-so-early adopter press. Hmmm.

So, yesterday I downloaded the iPhone app (about 12 seconds, amazing interface) and the Blackberry app (beta, go to the website, copy the link, blah, blah, blah, not 12 seconds - come on BB, apps are killing you but I digress).

Foursquare is game/twitter/crowdsourcing/yelp/tripadvisor all rolled into one. You visit places. Check in on your smartphone to let your friends know where you are. See who's nearby. Write a review. Collect points. Get famous. Move on.

If necessary, in the morning, you can even figure out where you've been.

From a business perspective Foursquare's got some pretty mighty business implications. Slow night? $2 off promotion for Foursquare users. Just show them your iPhone. Get listed in the what's hot. Get dissed in the reviews.

It's early days but Foursquare clearly foreshadows more of what's coming as mobile and other social technologies keep moving forward. Together. Fast.

The founders of Foursquare are moving forward too. It's clear that content, advertising and (from a business perspective this is big) analytics are going to be key new elements of the Foursquare platform.

Check out this Slide presentation if you want a better feel for Foursquare

Foursquare For Businesses

View more presentations from 6S Marketing.

Personal Branding Plan Presentation, The 5 P's

Personal branding is a way of communicating the unique value you offer.

Working with clients and talking to managers, employees and others, I've found the 5 P's to be a simple, yet effective way to organize thinking and planning around personal branding. Here's a simple presentation providing some basic insight into the 5 P's. With a bit of thought (finish the sentences) you can build a simple personal branding plan.

The 5 P’S Of Personal Branding

View more presentations from Jim Crocker.

#Recruitfest09

Quick thanks to the organizers and passionate leaders of #Recruitfest09. Met some great people. The sessions today were spirited, co-operative and useful. At first the unconference approach takes some adjustment but once the flow starts it's a great way to learn and contribute (and U of T isn't a bad place to do it).

Some thoughts coming out of today.

1. managing the talent puddle - forget the pool it's too big (and sounds like most are struggling with basic talent management - when WAS the last time anyone took a candidate for lunch?)
   
2. Twitter - um, not so much - despite experts to the contrary I still say that brand and audience relationship building (never mind sound search optimization) requires a multi-platform approach, not just one (I use Twitter to get you to this post, not to write it)
   
3. maybe a little too much talking to ourselves? - next time let's get some users in the room (clients and candidates) - it would be fun to hear their side of the conversation
   
4. finally, yes it's been a tough year and competition is getting worse but...the most sustainable competitive advantage any company has is it's people - so hang in there. And even though the pricing of bits and bytes is going to zero so a lot of the process crap has no value any more, if you give me the BEST person for the position I'll always be happy to pay you a fair price (it's when I don't want the best - goodbye competitive advantage, or you can't provide it, then...we're both in trouble.)
   

Bottom line. Productive way to spend a day. Lots of opportunity going forward. Hope everyone enjoys Toronto.

Donalda Club Gets it Right

Quick thanks to Martyn B. for hosting us at Donalda yesterday.

The latest improvements to the Club are impressive and well done.

Donalda has been true to its mission of "providing a high quality, well managed, family oriented golf and multi-activity country club in the city of Toronto that provides year round recreational and social activities to meet the needs of its members".

Keeping a club like Donalda on track isn't easy. With volunteer Boards of Directors and Presidents being elected directly from the membership (independent directors? it's more like having your employees be your Board) - frequently from a population that is aging, and not necessarily with any experience in strategic or long range planning - leadership and decision making can be daunting. Who wants to be the President who raises fees to build the new club house, then golfs with his/her buddies on Tuesday mornings?

Like any organization, having a clear mission is clearly helpful. Donalda's mission to be both family oriented and to provide other activities besides golf has helped ensure a young, vibrant and capable membership with strong vested interests in looking to the future. It's paid off in terms of membership and revenue. Downturn? There hasn't been one.

Donalda's experience probably makes an interesting case study in private club governance, direction setting and execution. I know a Director or two who would benefit from a quick drive down the Don Valley to check it out.

Wired Wednesday Non-post

Here are the notes I took on Blackberry at last night's Wired Wednesday event in Toronto. Overall a very worthwhile, well-run and informative networking event.

• green my apple
• power maps
• invoke the hero
• content as raw material for remixing
• before: send a message
• now: connect two people who want to cure cancer
• what can you learn from Grand Theft Auto? Paris Hilton?
• see the theme - don't get moralistic
• not-for-profits are good business too

There was way more. Questions I didn't ask but wanted to: 1) what's the org structure look like - where do the 'web' guys go? 2) it's nice that passion has got you where you are - how will you overcome being entrepreneurs to run your businesses at the next level?

Toronto Gas Prices

With retail gas prices rising again to almost $1/litre I did some quick digging to try and understand how that compares to crude pricing and margins in the past. What the #'s say is what we're all feeling - compared to a year ago, current retail pricing is being inflated significantly beyond the price of crude.

Some simple numbers.

This year 2009, retail prices/litre were 2.87 x the price of crude/litre in January, 2.84 x in February, 2.24 x in March and 2.27 x in April.

For the same four months last year, retail prices to crude prices were 1.71 x, 1.75 x, 1.6 x and 1.56 x the price of crude.

So, in January 2009 retail to crude prices were 1.16 x more expensive than in January 2008, 1. 09 x more than in February 2008, .64 x more than in March 2008 and .71 x more than in April 2008.

That's what you're noticing at the pumps.

Interestingingly, taxes on gasoline have only varied a couple of cent's/litre from 2008 to 2009 - which given the difference in retail prices, seems surprising but reflects the system of taxation.

In January through April this year 2009, the average taxes/litre in Toronto were 28.65 cents on an average retail price of 82.5 cents (34.7%).

In January through April 2008, the average taxes/litre were 29.82 cents on an average retail price of 106.75 (27.8%).

To increase margins, gas retailers have all the incentive in the world to increase prices - which seems logical. However, that doesn't mean more $ to government, especially if demand drops.

Interesting business. Oil companies are doing really well.

Keep bending over.

Not a Gossip Girl Fan

Sunday night. Everyone but me is into Gossip Girl. Then those Desperate Housewives.

It's a decent opportunity to reflect on a terrific past week skiing/boarding out west with my two twenty-something kids. Although the timing may seem surprising, spring skiing at Whistler seems like a bit of a hidden gem. This is our third year. No crowds. Amazing conditions (we skied top to bottom every day; the weather was cloudless). Big discounts (passes for the week were $200).

Some observations.

1) We flew Westjet. There were no surprises and the laid-back Westjet approach is pretty easy to take. Having said that, I got the sense of a tiring brand. The jokes were kind of flat. While the crews were friendly and helpful, they too appear to be tiring of the schtick. All in all, I didn't get the sense of much differentiation from the competition. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

2) All week, the endless swine flu pandemic noise felt (and still feels) like a dangerous case of crying wolf. One day, almost without a doubt, there will be a serious pandemic. Scaring the world population now over something that appears to be less lethal than standard flu, probably ensures that when the big one actually hits fewer people will take it seriously.

3) Whistler/Blackcomb knows service. I've noticed this before. The staff everywhere at Whistler/Blackcomb are helpful, yakkitive, polite and friendly. From the kids in the grocery store and the waitresses at Longhorns, to the lifties all over the hill, I don't recall one that didn't seem engaged and feeling pretty good about what they were doing. It's a nice atmosphere. It gets bigger tips.

4) The domestic portion of YVR, Vancouver's airport, is under renovation - still - and pretty much sucks. The lounges are small and the services are limited. A couple of the gates (the ones I've flown out of, my last four times there) are out-of-the-way, down seemingly endless ugly hallways of renovation, far from shops and restaurants, and easily overcrowded. Vancouver is a beautiful city and the airport is a major Canadian gateway. It always surprises me how the domestic portion seems like a second thought.

5) I wonder about the future of Toronto. My kids have both been to Vancouver before. Both had the same reaction again - "this is so much better than Toronto"(we didn't talk gang wars). The next day I saw an interview with a Much Music DJ on some kind of assignment in Paris. His first comment "this city is so much better than Toronto". It's probably just a coincidince to see the same reaction 2x in 24 hours, but it got me wondering whether Toronto can stay competitive with other top cities in the world. Probably it can. Other cities are far from perfect - especially when you live there. But it would be nice to see more dollars flowing to keeping Toronto clean, updating it's infrastructure and revitalizing it's key attractions. A winning sports team would be an unbelievable - and probably unachievable? - bonus.

5) Expedia rocks. I booked the entire trip including transfers to Whistler in less than an hour. The prices were very, very good.

6) Just do it. I was hesitating on this trip for a few reasons. I was crazy. I had the time of my life - again - traveling with my kids. Every time we do this, they're a little older. A little more worldly. A lot more knowledgeable and competent. Our conversations ranged from drunk driving to American torture. From John Stewart to The Hills. We had a bunch of laughs and shared experiences we'll remember forever.

The big question now is where next?

A Breath of Fresh Air

Yesterday's visit to the Toronto Auto Show had a surreal feel to it.

The crowds.

The GM workers picketing outside complaining about...what were they complaining about?

The Cadillac Escalade - all $90,000 of it - wrapped in some 'designed for the environment' packaging.

The goofy GM stage announcer promoting the 'new GM'. This is a company that is what?...less than a week away from declaring bankruptcy? That will certainly be new.

The $40,000+ price tags on anything larger than a Smart car.

The blatant use of the environment as a marketing ploy.

The almost complete lack of anything new, creative, practical, fun, safe, environmental...or whatever. As someone with me said....'they were cars'. Almost....

Tucked on the second level of the Rogers Center (why don't they just call it the Skydome?) was a cool display by a company called Electro Wheels.

Disguised as 'scooters', these electric bicycles have everything going for them. Get this - because they are 'bicycles' - NO INSURANCE AND NO LICENSE. Electric, SO NO GAS. Ride them anywhere LEGALLY THAT A BICYCLE GOES. Lease one for the summer FOR $600. Buy one FOR $1200.

Other than the significant risk of getting killed by someone driving an environmentally friendly Escalade, I got the distinct sense of a company and a product that is going places.

Josh, the very knowledgeable sales rep pointed out that although Electo Wheels are everything a tree-hugger would crave, it's not what sells them. What sells them is the no cost and the fun. He kept saying "get one and I guarantee it won't stay in the garage".

Sounds like a gas.

Who's Got Gas?