Tag Archives: Breast Cancer

What doesn’t kill you can make you stronger…

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This has certainly been one of the most emotional weeks of my career. The death of our neighbor puts the whole week into perspective. To sum it all up, I’ve paraphrased an e-mail that I sent to my company today.

Team,

Our organizational changes and the impact it will have on all of us is significant. Now more than ever we need to pull together as a team. We have an unbelievable opportunity in front of us. I’ve been working closely with sales on both the new and existing customer opportunities. There is business to be had folks! We also have some tremendous opportunities with our Touch Screen POS and WebConnector product.

But back to putting life into perspective for a moment, the death of our neighbor here in Stuart brings to mind the fact that we lost someone in our “Exuma family” less than six months ago. Like our neighbor, she died of breast cancer. When I passed her surviving husband in the hall the other day he said (after just hearing about the changes) with a smile, “tough day huh Cam”? I said “yes”. He said “It can’t be fun to announce things like that but we will be Ok”. This came from a guy that just lost his wife six months ago! He has the ability to put things into perspective.

I also wanted to share with the team the e-mail I received from someone in our development group. I’ve paraphrased it below:

“From the very first few weeks of working here, back in the middle of March, I told my wife that this company seemed more like a family instead of just a company. I told her that I enjoyed being apart of this company because of that particular reason. I still feel that way even today. I think that like a family, this company has an ultimate goal to see all of us as a whole succeed and excel in all that we do and stand for. I understand the sacrifices that have to be made for the improvement of this family and stand behind it with my head held high in belief that we can make this happen. Thank you for keeping us all together. I’m definitely willing to put my best foot forward to see this Exuma vessel reach its destination and more.”

I couldn’t have said it better. We have Linchpins among us folks. We have people on this team who given a chance can to rise to heights they’ve never reached before. When life hands you lemons, time to make lemonade. Put life into perspective. Whenever I bring an issue to my mom who is a psychotherapist she always asks me “will it kill you?”. Once we establish that whatever issue I’ve brought to her is not life threatening, we work backwards through less devastating outcomes until she helps me arrive at a solution. It’s called Rational Thinking. You can read more about it here: www.refusetobeupset.com.

Anyway, I am proud of this team. I am proud of the way that we’ve been able to stick together. If we can stick together and give our co-workers and teams something to work towards, Exuma will continue to be a place of inspiration and creative output. Money is important. But it’s not the only motivation to do your best.

Reasons to work (excerpt from www.sethgodin.com)

1. For the money

2. To be challenged

3. For the pleasure/calling of doing the work

4. For the impact it makes on the world

5. For the reputation you build in the community

6. To solve interesting problems

7. To be part of a group and to experience the mission

8. To be appreciated

Why do we always focus on the first? Why do we advertise jobs or promotions as being generic on items 2 through 8 and differentiated only by #1?

In fact, unless you’re a drug kingpin or a Wall Street trader, my guess is that the other factors are at work every time you think about your work.

Promote A Cause You Believe In and Everyone Wins

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Last week I received an e-mail from Paul Nickel, the President of Pride Marine Group in Ontario entitled “Boating for the Cure“. Most of the e-mail I receive from Pride pertains to DockMaster, so I must admit that I was intrigued. In the e-mail, Paul describes a fund raiser they are having on June 27th, 2009 to help fight breast cancer and prostate cancer. What I found refreshing was that Paul’s message did not come off as a promotional gimmick that masked a sales event inside of a fund raiser. Sure Pride Marine will benefit from the promotion they will receive by sponsoring this event. But the delivery was heartfelt and Paul openly described this in his e-mail by saying that he wants “to give back to those that are less fortunate or suffering”.

So here is my take on how promoting a cause and one that truly his meaning for you can be a win-win for everyone.

Find a cause you truly believe in and tell the story

Picking a cause to get behind simply because you think it will help sell boats or whatever it is you are marketing is a recipe for disaster. You’ve got to get behind something you are passionate about. Promote a cause that has affected you personally or someone you know. Your passion and drive will show through in not only how you promote your event or fundraiser, but your sincerity will come through during the process, stimulating creative ideas that will make the event meaningful.

Connect with people

Once you decide the cause you want to support, you’ve got to connect with your customers, friends, and the community at large; especially those effected by the affliction that you are trying to raise awareness for. In the case of Pride Marine Group, they partnered with Edgewater Boats and the Town of Gravenhurst.

Lead the Movement

To get the word out and generate excitement you’ve got to do what Paul did and make a personal commitment to the cause and the event. This goes beyond “marketing” whether you use traditional or web-based techniques, but it means that the business owner truly puts some skin in the game. In the case of Pride Marine Group, Boating for the Cure will be a one day event held on June 27th, 2009 in the format of a family boating rally around Lake Muskoka. Participants will be collecting treasure maps to guide their journey and tokens which will be turned in at the end of the day at an awards ceremony and reception. All monies raised by pledges from supporters will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and Prostate Cancer Research Foundation in support of cancer research. The event is being paid for by Pride Marine, with sponsorship from Edgewater and the Town of Gravenhurst.

Make a compelling offer that truly adds value to your customers, the charity and the community

On top of the fund raiser being held on June 27th, Edgewater Boats will be running two special editions of their 145cc boat – one pink, one blue, to represent the fight against cancer. For every special edition “Boating for the Cure” 145cc sold, $1000 will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (pink boats) or the Canadian Prostate Research Foundation (blue boats). I am a prostate cancer survivor. If I were in the market for a 15′ boat, you’d better believe Edgewater would be at the top of my list. This is an enduring statement on the part of Edgewater in that once June 27th, 2009 has come and gone, these themed boats will live on as a symbol of one’s desire to stamp out a tragic illness.

If you are having a fund raiser that is tied to your business and would like us to promote it on www.marinemanagementtoday.com, please e-mail camsblog@dockmaster.com with more details.