Money Matters Toronto

OSCAR NIGHT

While flipping TV channels on Oscar night this year, I heard that the star of the film “Das Boot” (The Boat) had died. The news brought back memories about the co-star of that movie, Klaus Wennemann, with whom I went to school as a boy in Germany. It also heightened my interest in the annual Hollywood spectacle that was about to begin because of another film star’s connection to my place of birth.

Valentine

When I returned at year end from my trip to South America the Christmas mail was still waiting to be read. Nowadays, when daily mail consists mainly of advertising flyers and bills, the hand addressed envelopes, colorful foreign and “special edition” Canadian stamps create a charged air of curiosity and expectation. I was not disappointed.

BLACK SWANS

On December 27 I found myself hitchhiking in Tierra Del Fuego at the tip of South America, on the Argentine side oft the border with Chile, hoping for a ride to take me the remaining 190 km to the Magellan Strait ferry.

A few days earlier I had completed a 7 day trip in one of Chile’s national parks, “Torres del Paine”, hiking with a group of eight strangers from far flung places, in the majestic world of glaciers and snow capped mountains, the home of pumas, condors, foxes, and a variety of wild llamas. It is a wonderful place and I was very happy to fulfill an old ambition to hike in this part of the world.

LESSONS FROM THE GEESE

There is an interdependence in the ways geese function.

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an “up lift” for the bird following. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling together.

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag of trying to fly alone. It quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the “lifting power” of the bird immediately in front.

Lesson: It pays to stay in formation with those who are headed where we want to go.

When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position.

Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership – people, as with geese, are interdependent with each other.

The geese, in formation, honk from behind to encourage those in front.

Lesson: We need to make sure our “honking” from behind is encouraging, not something less helpful.

When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation to follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly again or dies. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with their flock.

Lesson: Expect our comrades to stand by us when we need help; we must be prepared to do the same.

(Reprinted from “By Referral Only" Main Event, Toronto, June 1995)

PASSING ON THE BATON

Recently, at a celebrity roast, Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey together with his victorious 4 x 100 metre relay team members were honoured for their achievements at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

In 1996, Donovan Bailey, who was already the reigning World Champion, ran the 100 metres in 9.84 seconds. In addition to winning the Gold Medal for Canada his time also set a new world record. Following that success, Donovan Bailey went on to anchor the 4 x 100 metre relay team that won another Gold Medal for Canada in a time of 37.69 seconds.

It is interesting to note that, dividing this time by four we find the average time of the four relay sprinters to be 9.42 seconds, which is significantly less than Bailey’s world record individual 100 metre time of 9.84 seconds. How can this be?

No doubt you have quickly figured out that, while the 100 metre runner has to explode from the starting position in order to accelerate to maximum speed, only the first runner in a relay has to do so, and the others take the baton while already running at near maximum speed. Here we have an example of good team work getting better results than even brilliant individual effort.

While I have long embraced the team work concept, a really big team change occurred recently when my son Christopher, who graduated in September with a degree in business from York University, became the latest addition to the Tridac team. I have no plans to retire but, who knows, one day he might "take the baton" while we are both in full flight.

You are aware that I subscribe to the ‘By Referral Only’ philosophy of serving my client not as salesman but in the capacity as consultant to save you time and money in the mortgage game. As soon as Christopher joined me he went to the USA for training in the principles of the ‘By Referral Only’ approach to business. Last week, we went together to San Diego, California to attend a special Forum with hundreds of ‘By Referral Only’ members from across North America to tune into the latest trends in our rapidly changing world. We realized that mass marketing, as we have come to know it in the past, is finally going to be replaced by the more responsive new communication tools of bloging, podcasting and youtubing. (Don’t worry if these new concepts are not yet part of your vocabulary – we will all get used to the new lingo)

I try to view life and all its parts as an adventure, and my business is one of the most important parts. It is therefore natural for me to be exited by all the new interactive communication tools that are becoming available. As an example, in the last several months, we have created a customized database/marketing system in order to stay in touch with you in a more individual and timely manner. Of course, I have to admit that having a "with it" young person like Christopher on board, makes it easier for an old fogey like me to embrace the latest trends in communication technology.

Another sign of change is a new illuminated sign on the front of our building on Danforth Avenue. If you happen to be in the area, please drop in to our spruced up offices and join us for a cup of coffee. You will also find a new and interesting store on the ground floor, specializing in rosewood furniture, hand painted silk screen lamps, high quality lacquered accessories imported from Vietnam. They will be happy to see you! I recommend the business to simply share with you by word of mouth how we can benefit from our interdependent community when we reach out and recommend the person we care about to the person we trust.

THE GREATEST GAME

In June, my wife Adriana and I went to Germany for a short holiday. Our son Christopher, who had already been traveling in Europe, joined us for a hectic week of family re-unions to celebrate two birthdays, two anniversaries and the highlight, my niece’s wedding.

Of course, it just so happened that the soccer World Cup was beginning at the same time. Although we had entered our names in various draws we were not lucky enough to get tickets for any of the matches. But, visiting the World Cup cities of Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund and Berlin made us feel connected to this special event, which was featured in the June edition of the National Geographic magazine under the heading “Soccer: The Greatest Game in the World”.

I remember the time when Germany, now a three time Cup winner, won for the first time in 1954. In those days Germans were glued to their radios listening to the games, in the same way that Canadians followed hockey. Television was new and only few restaurants showed the games from Bern, Switzerland, on small black and white screens. Not much was expected of the German team, so the early sober mood changed slowly to disbelief as the team won its games and then to wild excitement when they won the Cup. When the victorious team returned by train a few days later, traffic came to a halt, and enthusiastic crowds turned out to greet the players in each city en route. How the world has changed!

When Germany played Poland in the qualifying round, Christopher and I decided to get close to the action by taking the train 20 km from my home town to the city of Dortmund where the game was being played. Efficient railways have long connected all the major cities of Europe with frequent high speed trains. Arriving at one of more than 20 platforms with hordes of other fans from near and far, we joined the throng, marching in a steady stream toward the city centre. Accompanied by the sounds of drums, whistles, horns and the chants of “Aleoleoleole”, we joined the licensed anarchy of “Fanfest”.

The vast majority of the more than 100,000 fans roaming the city were, happy, decent folks decked out in their favorite team colors in search of a bit of fun and, if possible, one of the giant screens that had been installed in the city squares. There were many other smaller screens in the bars, restaurants, in store windows and at street corners. To avoid an excessive crush, the authorities had closed off the routes to the main squares before we arrived so, like many others, we were happily obliged to watch the game in a restaurant, enjoying a beer in the company of like-minded fans.

It is said that soccer fans have three teams to cheer for. Most, of course, will give pride of place to their own national team, but many hold the inspiring, individual artistry of the Brazilian players in such high esteem that they are always happy to see them do well. Everyone loves Brazil! Then there is the third choice! The first German players to play for an Italian team joined Catania in 1958. Such players were called “legionnaires”, but they created a situation in which fans came to support often “foreign” teams, to which their favourite players had moved. This accounts for the global enthusiasm for such teams as Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona, AC Milan and Bayern Munich.

What struck me about this year’s World Cup, in contrast to 1954, was the preponderance of young people, from every corner of the globe, connected by a passion for this simple game that has only 17 rules. The environment is also made very different by globalization and the incredible progress we have made in information technology. From HDTV giant colour screens to cellular phone displays, every corner of the world tuned in to watch the games live. While the opening ceremonies of the last Olympics were watched by more than 1.05 Billion people, it is anticipated that close to 2.45 Billion people will be watching the World Cup final on July 9th.

The German team was not considered to have great prospects but they did go further than many expected. All but the core European teams were knocked out and now we can look forward to a very exciting final between Italy and France. In these games we have seen that, even very skilful star players, have not been able to bring success to their teams. The most successful teams have been those that have exemplified team spirit and co-operation.

I may be overly optimistic, but when we see the success of team spirit over individual flamboyance and when I think of the preponderance of, “appreciation for the game”, over raw nationalism, among the young people that I rubbed shoulders with in the crowds, I think perhaps we may be seeing the beginning of a hopeful trend. The change in Europe in my lifetime has been fantastic! After centuries of competition, conflict and war, the people of Europe have concluded that co-operation and working together for the benefit of all, rather than just fighting for parochial interests, is much better for everyone. This notion has yet to spread everywhere and there are still powerful business and other forces that still believe in unrestrained self interest. Surely we need a fresh approach if we are to deal effectively with the problems of global warming, poverty and third world disease that threaten the future of the world.

While I am in this optimistic and philosophical frame of mind, perhaps I should send a letter to another Arnold in California suggesting that it might be timely to build a “Statue of Mutual Responsibility” in San Francisco Bay, as a modern enhancement to that beautiful “Statue of Liberty” in New York harbour whose official name happens to be “Liberty Enlightening the World

Here is a video from Torino that Christopher took this summer. Enjoy!