Toronto

Fifth Annual Corporate State Canada
A Women’s CEO and Senior Management Summit
October 22, 2008

KEYNOTE & ROUNDTABLE SUMMARIES
FROM THE CORPORATE STATE CANADA 2008

Morning Keynote: Dr. Sherry Cooper
Executive Vice President & Global Economic Strategist
BMO Financial Group,
Chief Economist, BMO Financial Markets

1. The credit crisis is a viral contagion that is both pervasive and protracted. Although the Canada economy is in a better position than most countries in the world, it is not immune from the effects of the subprime mortgage crisis. A financial system dependent upon trust is now broken. If banks no longer want to lend, then businesses will collapse and households will lose money.
2. Governments, too, are facing increased pressure to address the crisis. In the past two months, economies around the world have teetered on the “abyss of calamity.” Many governments have built a firewall to prevent their economies from falling into this abyss. And yet countries like Pakistan, Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Iceland and Estonia have shown the difficulty of such a task.
3. Had AIG gone under, it would have taken so many pieces with it. The U.S. housing market was not the cause of the current credit crisis, but rather, a symptom of an imbalanced global economy. While American consumers used their homes as “piggy banks,” investors bought stocks on margin.
4. Most of the debt is funded by China and the Middle East. Today, both countries own about 40 per cent of U.S. debt. China – a primarily export-driven nation – is currently bearing the brunt of shattered U.S. consumer confidence. Because most of the Chinese lack access to pensions, mortgages and other forms of credit, they save 30 per cent of their income. For China to sustain its economy, the country must grow at an annual rate of at least 6 per cent. China must also stimulate domestic consumption by increasing wages and developing credit.
5. In the Western world, commodity prices have plummeted, dragging the Australian and Canadian dollars with it. The U.S. job market is facing its own dilemma, as states like New York continue to shed a large portion of its jobs. Twenty per cent of the revenue that goes to the state comes from Wall Street. New York is now grappling with potential losses in property and income taxes.
6. All across the U.S., housing prices have fallen dramatically, especially in California, Florida and Arizona. Investors are now seeking a safe haven in the U.S. bond market, thereby strengthening the U.S. dollar.
7. In Canada, Ontario is already facing a recession. The Ontario budget will most likely slide into a deficit. Next year, global GDP will grow by a mere 2 per cent, while the Canadian economy will grow at a pace of 0.5 per cent.
8. In comparison to global exchange markets, however, the TSX has shown greater resilience than Russia, China and India.
9. Dr. Cooper’s advice to the U.S. Federal Reserve? Bail out the housing market, offer a big fiscal package and help out local governments.  

Luncheon Keynote: Tamara Erickson
Executive Vice President, nGenera
& Author, Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work

Ever heard of the generation gap? Ask Tamara Erickson, Executive Vice President of nGenera. As an award-winning author and expert on organizations and innovation, Erickson knows best. In her luncheon keynote speech, Erikson introduced her audience to four different generations: Traditionalist, Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.

Traditionalists:

1. They are children who grew up during the Depression.
2. Entered the workforce with enthusiasm and respect to hierarchy, institutions and authority.
3. Money was an emotional marker.

Boomers:

1. They’ve witnessed war, assassinations, and strife.
2. Do they respect authority? Not a chance.
3. These events have influenced the boomers to think twice about the world in which they live.
4. Whereas traditionalists sought to join the crowd, boomers wanted to change them.
5. Boomers are idealists and anti-authoritarian.

Generation X

1. Although a small group, Gen Xs emerged as individualists who mistrust institutions.
2. Many Gen Xs also witnessed higher divorce rates, which was uncommon until the Gen X era.
3. Despite this, Gen Xs are dedicated parents, self-reliant and tech savvy.
4. The Gen X era witnessed the entry of women into the workforce.

Generation Y

1. Gen Ys are today’s potential workforce. But because the Gen Ys grew up in an era dominated by terrorism, violence in school and ubiquitous technology, they understand that inexplicable situations could happen at any time.
2. That’s why the Gen Ys live in the present. Upbeat and determined, they value co-ordination, not schedules; mum and dad, not Madonna or Marilyn Monroe; authority over no authority; family over work.
3. And the Gen Ys aren’t out to prove their worth in the workforce. The precedent has been set – a woman’s capabilities are no longer questioned.
4. Many of today’s organizations fail to offer the right options to Gen Y.
5. Her solution? Redesign organizations so that they value a family-friendly, creative and nurturing atmosphere.

Roundtable #1: Stressed for Success
Is stress good or bad? For panel moderator Sylvia Chrominska, it all depends on how effectively you deal with it. In some cases, stress is fashionable. If a worker doesn’t look stressed, she’s probably not serious. In this discussion, panelists weighed the negative and positive effects of stress, as well as addressed potential solutions to coping with stress.

1. The BlackBerry as an enabler of stress: When strapped to the body, devices like the BlackBerry increase stress the moment it vibrates.
2. Important to manage technology, rather than allow technology to manage you.
3. Companies lacking in social virtues tend to increase office tensions.
4. Many workers go into the office, do their work and then leave without any real form of social interaction.
5. Many work environments are dominated by rapid decision-making challenges, which often hinder opportunities for social connection.
6. Incumbent upon the organization to recognize different forms of stress and offer coping strategies.
7. Employees who enjoy their jobs are better able to remove stress from their lives.
8. Need for the workplace to shift focus from strengthening weaknesses to strengthening strengths. In doing so, organizations will help to alleviate workplace stress.
9. The two forms of stressors include those within our control and those out of our control. It is therefore important for organizations to create an intimate culture in which employees feel empowered.
10. Employers who focus on nurturing quality cultures by avoiding inflexible hierarchies will benefit from lower turnover rates.
11. The Obama phenomenon is in line with the current transition in today’s economic culture. Americans no longer want to tolerate a “survival of the fittest, dog-eat-dog environment.”
12. Gone are the days when employees stayed at a firm until they retired. In today’s economy, the lack of trust between organizations and individuals tend to increase the level of stress at work.
13. An increasing number of employees, as a result, choose instead to work in consulting, freelancing or entrepreneurship.
14. Lack of loyalty among younger generation. They’re expected to change organizations at least 14 times by the time they turn 38.
15. Reducing stress is about overcoming the fear or guilt of leaving early even if there is nothing to do. Focus on what is important, rather than what people think.
16. Google is a good example of an organization in which the positive stress is contagious.

Roundtable #2: The Future of Jobs
Moderator Denise Tobin-McCarthy offered her view on current employment trends in the workplace. Talent, she said, is no longer an HR issue, but a strategic one. Corporations are now experiencing seismic shifts as fewer younger workers enter the workforce. The panel discussed many challenges ahead:

1. Several industries, for instance, are dealing with local scarcities of talent. At the same time, however, the fastest growing businesses employ fewer than 10 people.
2. Difference between new and old employees: New hires are now looking for increased learning opportunities that will enable them to deliver clarity and value.
3. Organizations are responsible for attracting, retaining and maintaining talent.
4. In light of recent job cuts, it’s important for organizations to examine these sectors, profile potential candidates and focus on a useful PR campaign that will serve to attract talent.
5. The antidote to competition is innovation.
6. Gen Y’s are increasingly concerned about whether corporations offer what they’re looking for.
7. Government offers a vast resource pool of talent. Public servants are creative, think outside of the box and welcome new jobs. The government sector continues to serve as an untapped resource for potential candidates.
8. Need to bring best and brightest from public to private sector.
9. Workers are committed to life-long learning and organizations need to address this in the form of creating a culture that will encourage loyalty.
10. Commodification of the workplace: organizations are more focused on reducing costs rather than hiring knowledge workers.
11. Downward curve: employees willing to accept lower pay to stay at organizations.
12. Many workers in other parts of the world are young, dynamic and able to speak five languages.
13. Huge shift towards the hiring of consultants.
14. Important to bring different opinions to the table. This dialogue helps to create value and therefore a culture to make employees stay.

Roundtable #3: It’s Risky Business
In today’s increasingly risky workplace, why must companies manage risk differently than ever before? Will risk management become tied to the value proposition? Or new forms of innovation? Moderator Michelle Jordan, Principal of Jordan LLC, Strategic Communications began the discussion by highlighting the different forms of risk.

1. Risk: DNA of company’s success.
2. Why take the risk? To expand market share. (i.e. to be more fashion forward)
3. Increasingly important to weigh risk so that you don’t delude yourself. There are ways to embed system and skills to allow for innovation. Organizations must devise systematic ways to identify the next opportunity.
4. If the organizational antennae are turned off, then the company will risk death by commodification.
5. Identify the risk: environment, financial, organization?
6. Risk management is premised upon weighing, management, identifying and mitigating risks.
7. Ask yourself: what is the risk of not doing it?
8. Important to manage and mitigate risk by encouraging discussion in the boardroom.
9. A lot of people enter business world without understanding the risks involved. Many oversimplify complex issues.
10. U.S. credit crisis translates into a confidence crisis in Canada. The moment Canadians hear about the U.S. credit crisis, they become more cautious.
11. In the next 18 months, the world economy will experience a cyclical adjustment. At the moment, people are much more risk averse. If Canadians stop spending, the economy will suffer.
12. Need to reinvent the ways in which companies operate.
13. Challenge: allowing some level of risk to be successful; this will be much harder with the economic crisis.
14. In terms of financial innovation, we must ask ourselves: Who are we innovating for? Are we delivering the function of our product? Are we sustaining value with accountability? What do we stand for?
15. As India and China enter the market, businesses face a life-long struggle to prevent violations of intellectual property.

Roundtable #4: Marketing to the A.D.D. Generation
Moderated by Heather Ross, Senior VP and CIO of TD Bank Financial Group, this discussion focused primarily on addressing an increasingly important question: How do companies market to the new generation? Ross opened the discussion by pinpointing the importance of creating value and interaction. Here are some of the panelists’ findings:

• There is a new normal in how we reach out to the new generation. Social networks give marketing a new dynamic. When Rogers Wireless first announced the iPhone, for instance, there was a huge backlash on blogs over the pricing.
• Regardless of current model, it is crucial that we compare ours to the global marketplace.
• Therefore, we must listen to the clients to address their needs. Bloggers and e-mails have become increasingly relevant. The internet is now the new normal.
• Customers now define their own brands.
• Case study: Cineplex Entertainment tried to attract a younger audience for its opera by using multiple screens. Many seniors responded with negative complaints.
• Marketing to the new generation isn’t a case of marketing to the A.D.D. Instead, the new generation is easily bored. Businesses need to come up with new products, innovate on the inside and understand the young community.
• Gen Y always focusing and consuming so many different things at the same time: continual partial attention. The physical world is now the virtual world. Electronics are replacing toys as the new normal.
• In this era, there is a huge focus on personal space: my blog, space or page. Organizations are now faced with the challenge of customizing its products to suit individual needs. Marketing to Gen Y requires a shared platform, cross-platform collaboration and conversations with all generations.
• Concept of authenticity at a new level: products must appear genuine.
• Bullish on Gen Y: larger social conscience. Cannot assume everyone in Gen Y classifications is exactly the same. Organizations need to emphasize a genuine and real connection with their clients. Successful marketing depends upon open dialogue.
• Non-stop competition: Gen Y will encourage competition on every level.
• In light of the financial pandemic, will there be new ways to market a healthy, not luxurious trend?
• Marketing to Gen Y requires continued dialogue and the ability to drive innovation.