It’s the start of a new year. 

Sure, many were back to work on the 4th of January, but in our industry things get back to “normal” the second week of January.  So, here we are.  Like most people, I believe that what’s ahead will be better than the journey just travelled.  However, to be totally candid, 2015 was a very good year for me.  On all fronts, be it personal or professional.  Having a better year will be a challenge, but that’s life.  You push, you strive, and you never settle.  Frame of mind is critical, and over the last six months I’ve been working on just that.

Not to get all Tony Robbins on you, “awake the giant within…love yourself…blah, blah, blah”, your state of mind plays an import part of all your outcomes.  We all have to fight against a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you think it sucks, it may not actually suck, but it will eventually suck.  In this day and age it can be challenge to stay positive.  We are constantly bombarded with predictions of doom and gloom.  Take this week for an example, the Canadian dollar dipped below 70 cents U.S., and a very respected economist is predicting it could drop to 59 cents U.S.  And as every info-commercial says, “but wait, there’s more”.  It’s now being suggested that oil could drop to $20 USD a barrel.  All this in the second week of January.  So, how does one pushback against all the white noise?

Here’s what I did.  Firstly, I was finally honest with myself, and I admitted that I was an information and news junkie.  I became obsessed, and needed my daily fix of bad news.  Trust me; it’s not hard to find bad news.  In today’s world it’s everywhere.  It takes a lot more work today to dodge the bad news assault.  Given the reality that we all live in an information world, I came to the conclusion that I had to change my information gathering habits. So no more Fox News, no CNN, and no MSNBC.  I would actually turn to MSNBC, knowing full well that within minutes I would want to throw something at the screen.   Like I said, I was addicted.  Here’s another thing, no more talk radio in the car.  Doesn’t matter if it’s sports or news.  I came to the conclusions that on too many occasions I would arrive at work with a less than pleasant disposition.  Why?  Because I invited mindless babbling into my car, which more often than not would just piss me off.  So things had to change.  There’s no excuse for waltzing through life being willfully ignorant, but given that news is readily available everywhere, I decided that I would control when and where I received my news.  The first real sign that my new approach was working was when someone asked me, “what do you think about David Price signing with the Boston Red Sox, and not the Toronto Blue Jays?”  I was relieved that I didn’t even know it happened. Me, not knowing about something that happened in sports?  That was big!

Here’s what else I did, I replaced information with music.  I know that may sound schmaltzy, but it works.  Truth be told my car played a major role in my musical listening pleasures.  The car has a feature that when you push a button, and say play “artist and song”, it searches the net and finds the song.  It also creates a custom radio station for me.  For example, Rolling Stones Start Me Up radio station.  From there it searches for songs from the same genre.  If I don’t like the song it found, I press next.  The cool thing about this is that it’s taken me out of my 70’s and 80’s musical time machine.  I didn’t know there were so many new artists out there, well, at least new to me.   Bands like O.A.R., James Morrison (not the old guy who sings like he’s got a mouth full of marbles) and Augustana.  Really talented bands and I love the fact that our 14 year old is shocked that I know who they are. 

This may not work for everyone, but I find that I’m in a better mood more often because I’m listening to more music, and not mindless chatter.  I still get my fill of information, but in a much more condensed fashion. More importantly, I decide when I’m ready for the info download.  My new approach doesn’t change the facts, and what’s happening around me.  But it will no longer control me.  Based on what’s happening in the real world, and how the year is starting off, I got my music cranked.  I also customized a new radio station in my car, David Bowie Ashes to Ashes.  Seemed appropriate.

Until next time.

Cheers!

So, what’s Santa bringing you this year?  Have you been naughty or nice? I guess the real question should be, how naughty have you been? Everyone is naughty; it’s a matter of to what degree. I wish I could say that I was angelic throughout 2015, but alas, I can’t. Look, I tried but I’m being completely honest. Yes, my potty mouth ran miles when encountering bicyclists on the road, listening to politicians, watching the Blue Jays lose; sometimes at work, sometimes at home, while driving, while walking on the sidewalk, while watching the Vancouver Canucks,  while shopping, while parking my car, while watching soccer,  while dealing with contractors, while awake. Damn, maybe I should work on my colourful language? That’s exactly what I’m going to do, starting with the next paragraph.  I’m still pissed at Santa. I left the fat bastard milk and cookies last year, you know, to be nice. But did he eat the cookies and drink the milk? Nooooo. What he did do is help himself to some of my Remy Martin XO Cognac. I know it’s true because everyone in my household said so. With the exception of our 14 year old. He said it was his sister.

Yes, it’s the season to be nice or at least pretend you are. It’s a bit of a challenge getting into the spirit this year. Here I am in Toronto, Wednesday, December 23^rd and its plus 14° today. This reminds me of when I lived in Vancouver, no snow but plenty of rain. That makes some people sad because Christmas just doesn’t seem like Christmas for them without snow on the ground. Really? These same people get pissed, (damn, I just broke my promise above) when they have to drudge through slush and snow on the 26^th. The mind is such a terrible thing to waste. I can’t really even complain about the hustle and bustle of shopping this year. I think I purchased 95% of my gifts on-line, as did everyone else in our household.  You’re Welcome, FedEx.  One final note (more…)

It looks like our neighbours south of the border will get something “special” this holiday season; like an interest rate hike. After almost nine years the U.S Federal Reserve rate is about to be increased.  Chairwoman, Janet Yellen, has been itching to raise rates for a while now, and the latest economic data from the U.S. gives her an opportunity scratch that itch. A rate hike is a signal to Americans, and the global economy, that worst is behind them, and the need for government to stimulate the economy is in the rear view mirror.

Or is it? The U.S. November job report indicated that over 200k jobs were added to the work force, their dollar is soaring, the unemployment rate has been cut almost in half to where it stood in 2008, so what’s not to be giddy about? Well, there is data to support that consumer spending, housing starts, and job creation have flattened. So the question is what happens if their economy has flattened, while at the same time the overnight lending rate is going up? Some pundits are actually suggesting that raising the rates now gives the Fed some wiggle room if they have to lower rate, yet again, to stimulate the economy. It’s not as if this hasn’t happened before.  Like back in 1930′s, a rate hike, followed by a quick rate drop, all the while knee deep in the Great Depression. Yeah – that little historical nuisance.

So what does the Fed’s move to increase rates mean for us here in Canada? For the time being, not much. We normally walk in lockstep with the U.S. Fed, but we’re about to decouple from that standard practice, and continue on the path we are on today. The reality is that our economy is still too fragile to mimic the Fed’s move. The oil sector in this country has been hammered, and the fallout has been far reaching. Some are suggesting (more…)

We clearly don’t care – and yet we should. Not only should we care but we should be very concerned about the direction and mandate we gave our governments. Ontario’s Auditor General, Bonnie Lysyk, just delivered a scathing report on the Ontario Liberal parties attempt to better the environment, and more to the point, manage electrical power in the province of Ontario; as well as their handling of all government agencies. The Auditor General took the Ontario Liberal government to the verbal woodshed, and gave them a spanking that was rightly deserved. There was no sugar-coating the truth or leaving room for spin.

Most of us are accustomed to hearing about government waste. Regrettably, government waste has become like death and taxes. Fight it all you want, rile against it, but you’ll always finish in second. But when an audit is released, which rivals that of FIFA’s (international governing body of football), all of us should be very worried about finishing second. Here’s an excerpt from today’s National Post:

“By ignoring their own energy planning legislation, the Liberal government has cost consumers billions on their hydro bills. The average electricity bill rose 70% between 2006 and 2014, at least in part because the government ignored its own expert advice, the report notes. That has already cost consumers $37 billion in payments to power generators under what the government calls Global Adjustment.  By 2032 they will pay another $133 billion or $170 billion over 26 years”. 

It’s almost impossible to square those numbers, and to rationalize it because it’s so outlandish.  To make matters worse, when your own experts have been telling you not to do this and that your plan is horribly flawed, but you chose to ignore the council for ideological reasons, it is the highest form of tax payer contempt. (more…)

One of my highlights of the year takes place next week. We have the privilege of hosting our top supporters at the World Business Forum in New York City.  This is will be the third year in a row that MERIX along with a number of our loyal supporters, gather to listen to successful people speak of their personal and business knowledge. My experience at this event is that there is always a “ah-ha” moment for me.  There’s always a pearl that either provides me with clarity on a matter that I have struggled to properly articulate or a viewpoint that I never considered before. It’s funny what happens when you allow yourself to be a sponge and enjoy the process of being mentally stimulated.

After the first year of hosting our loyal supporters at this event, we surveyed them to gauge their satisfaction and value of attending. One of the questions we asked was, and I’m paraphrasing, “would you like MERIX to change events and location for their recognition awards trip?” The answer was a resounding NO! We were blown away by the response, but in retrospect we shouldn’t have been. For over a decade, Merix has gone to great efforts to establish that it is not the “party” brand. There’s nothing wrong that and I’m not passing judgement on what others do. It’s just not us. MERIX has always held onto the belief that the greatest gift we can give to our supporters is the gift of knowledge. Therefore, everything we do is based on that principal. This mind set clearly appeals to a number of our supporters, and they dispel the old theory that opposites attract. (more…)