November 2008

Curb Appeal: The Street Comes Indoors

Despite municipal anti-graffiti campaigns, don’t expect Matt Amero and Jason Ritchie to scour the walls of their Icon Hair Gallery in downtown Edmonton >

Irrational Caution Kicks In

I’ve officially become an oil bull. The precise moment I became an oil bull was when I learned on Nov. 6 that Canadian Natural Resources Limited was putting the brakes on further phases of its Horizon oilsands project, due to start up before the end of the year. >

WEB EXCLUSIVE: 7 Tips for Locating Qualified Employees

Conversations in Alberta around finding qualified staff tend to take on a broken record quality, with the same line playing over and over: Too many jobs, too few workers to choose from. Here are seven tips for locating people to round out your company’s roster, courtesy of Kathryn Cox, permanent search division manager at Alberta-based Design Group Staffing Inc. >

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Winners' Circle One-on-One with Recipients of the 2008 Alberta Order of Excellence

The Winners’ Circle One-on-Ones are monthly web-exclusive Q&As that bring readers more on the stories behind some of the achievements published in the Winners’ Circle section of Alberta Venture magazine. Each month Alberta Venture salutes those individuals and companies which have been singled out for recognition of their accomplishments >

Playing the Game

Cisco Schipperheijn believes nothing is sacred. Not Einstein, Newton, nor the video game controller >

Mill Town? So Over That

Destination: Hinton >

Think: A New Idea of Alberta - A Living Legacy

Ann Cross, founder of the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area >

Hungry to Close the Deal

Would Iceland be my Waterloo? Or could I make Ripcord Chili a global success? >

Dial F for Fraud

Question: When you catch an employee stealing, should you always call the cops? >

A Value Investor’s Gamble

Old-media giant Canwest Global is down for the count. Or is it? >

Say It Like You Mean It

Sharon Edwards: president, Edwards Communications >

Winter Wonderland

The days are getting shorter and company Christmas parties are just around the corner. In no time you’ll be cursing Jack Frost. Curse not, though. Here are some reasons to look forward to winter, or at least be prepared for it >

A Shudder in the Oilpatch

By simulating earthquakes, an Edmonton company believes it can boost oil recovery >

Ys ’r’ Us

Perhaps the old regime where bosses said jump and employees asked how high will be restored. But I doubt it >

Listening to Rhodiola

The product? An enigma. The market? Uncertain. That didn’t stop this group of farmers from developing what could be the next big, all-natural antidepressant >

Surprises In Store

A sampling of retail innovations being developed in Alberta >

Street-front Revival

A comparison of rents by Calgary broker Michael Kehoe shows that Alberta lays claim to four of the 10 hottest retail streets in Canada >

The Price Isn't Right

When the gap between the loonie and the greenback closed last fall, parity presented sellers with a hard choice: sacrifice revenue for goodwill, or lose customers to online U.S. sales >

Opting Out

Stock options help glue top talent to a company, right? But as their value increases, aren’t they just as likely to aid a quick exit? >

The Grey Eminences Audio Collection

Conversations on today's business issues with retired leaders in business and public life led by Fil Fraser – Edmonton-based writer, broadcaster, film and television producer, Athabasca University professor and member of the Order of Canada. >

Eric Newell: Grey Eminences Audio Collection

Former Syncrude CEO Eric Newell Offers Life Lessons All Should Heed >

Never Saw It Coming

Three human resource landmines that could cripple your business if you don’t invest the time, energy and dollars to defuse them >

We Want You!

The wrong recruitment strategy can backfire, ruining your company’s reputation and scaring away the very employees you hoped to attract. Here’s how to add to your labour pool without getting wet  >

What Does Y Want?

The same as you, evidently. This desperately in-demand, seemingly unmanageable generation of employees just has different ways of going about it. And befuddled employers would do well to wise up >

Bob Dhillon’s Belize Adventure

Ten years ago, the Calgary landlord bought a partly submerged, 3,000-acre island in Belize. Today he’s leading a friendly Canadian invasion of this tiny Central American country >