Canadian Business Leadership Forum 2012

I had the chance to be the luncheon speaker at the 10th annual Canadian Business Magazine Leadership Forum earlier today. It was a unique opportunity to be part of an day-long agenda with a fabulous collection of presenters. They included Dr. Roger Martin: “Canada – What it is, what it can be.” IBM Canada President John Lutz: “Unlocking Canada’s future with big data.” And Scotiabank CEO Rick Waugh: “Canada in the next decade.” I’m told that Dr. Martin gave one perspective on the venture industry, while I, predictably, provided the other. I also heard from a CB staffer that he referred to the industry’s challenges being due, in part, to there being too much venture capital in the marketplace during the last decade.

A topic for a future debate, perhaps.

Here’s how my speech started:

Canada aspires to compete with the best. And, sometimes we do. It will take leadership…that much we know. But it is ambition, and courage, that will ultimately make the difference between our success and failure as a nation.

Trends are shifting faster, and business leaders and governments have less time to react than ever before. Raw leadership won’t put food on the table, unfortunately, and the jobs of yesteryear are going to look nothing like the jobs of tomorrow. Canada needs aspirational leadership if we are to leverage our 19th century strengths and position our economy for the 21st century, let alone the 22nd.

Reach for that device you always carry with you on your belt, or rummage through your purse or wallet. You’ll be reminded that much of what you take for granted today didn’t exist a decade ago.

You couldn’t just wave your Mastercard at an unmanned parking machine if you wanted to park your hybrid car in the basement of this building. If you wanted to try out a Blackberry, you had to call Research in Motion directly; our beloved Ted Rogers didn’t yet have RIM on his wireless network.

If you were bored with my patter, you couldn’t put your head down and update your Facebook status, Google the stats I’m quoting, check Joe Castaldo’s musings on Twitter or organize the songs on your iPhone.

None of this was possible barely 10 years ago. And the impact of these innovations has been remarkable.

The market caps of Apple, Google and Facebook are almost twice the combined value of Canadian flag bearers Barrick Gold, BCE, Four Seasons Hotels, Magna, Manulife, Power Corp., Rogers, SNC Lavalin, SunLife and the big 5 Canadian banks. Wealth that took us almost 200 years to build was surpassed in a matter of months.

Where does Canada fit in this rapidly changing economic landscape? Does Canada have a start-up culture? Should governments be in the business of fostering an environment of innovation and risk-taking? Is the venture capital model “broken”? Do venture returns “suck”, making the asset class too risky for supposedly conservative Canadian pension plans?

If you care about the Innovation ecosystem, or want to read the balance, here’s the link:Canadian Business Leadership Forum Oct 23-12 I proffered some ideas for a quick fix of the ecosystems’ challenges, and took the chance to invest $800 million of our tax dollars. It’s now up to all of you to help make it, or something close to it, happen.

MRM
(disclosure: this blog, as always, reflects a personal view and is not meant to represent the views of the TPA, its Board/Staff or the federal government)