You Have It or You Don’t

“The road to influence is the route less travelled.”

Jul 1, 2010

by Paul Marck

If you are holding this copy of Alberta Venture – as opposed to reading online – guard it carefully. Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People edition is one of our most coveted issues. And little wonder. It is not so much that bragging rights are conferred – we do not individually rank the most influential persons – but Albertans want to know who is shaping opinion, ideas and action in our province.

Being influential means a lot of things. A person of influence can tweet the masses or pick up the phone, make a cold call to somebody they do not know, and draw people towards a way of thinking or course of action they had not previously considered. It is truly the ability to change the game, individually and collectively.

To that end, I think everybody on the 2010 version of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People fits the criteria. The men and women compiled in this issue are influential, some beyond their chosen fields. They come from the world of business, government, the arts, philanthropy, and education. This is not a scorecard of achievement. Yet all have demonstrated their influence this past year.

Some were nominated by readers, others by a panel of journalists. The original list grew to more than 100 individuals. Our task was selecting those Albertans who truly set themselves apart from their peers.

Our cover subject, David Emerson, exemplifies the qualities of what it means to be influential. An economist by trade, Emerson spent his formative years in Grande Prairie and then Edmonton at the University of Alberta before embarking on a business and political career in B.C. and Ottawa. He was deputy minister to the premier and secretary to cabinet of the B.C. government, was president and chairman of the forerunner to Canadian Western Bank, and later restructured Canfor Corporation as its CEO. He was a federal cabinet minister in the business portfolios of international trade and foreign affairs.

Today, among corporate directorships and in leading some federal councils and boards, Emerson is charged with shaping Alberta’s future as chairman of the Premier’s Council for Economic Strategy, a position that will influence the shape and direction of our province’s economy for decades to come. As you will read in our profile on David Emerson, his blend of pragmatic planning and past-the-horizon vision holds a great deal of promise for Alberta’s future.

The spheres of influence among our Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People vary – some regional, others provincial, and those few who are influential across the country and beyond our borders. Yet they all share that intangible ability to make people think, to bring them into their camp, to draw to a common cause. Being influential is elusive. It does not equate to wielding political power, being wealthy or entertaining a crowd. There are elements of these things, to be sure. But why is one corporate titan, or government minister or artist more influential over another? As much as anything, a person of influence has the ability to communicate and translate ideas and philosophies into concrete action.

This year we also took a different approach. Aside from those judged to be influential, we also examined those who are in the process of gaining influence. Sort of the next generation of up-and-comers. These are among the more amazing individuals you will see making their mark in the years to come.

This issue of Alberta Venture also brings you need-to-know stuff about social media. It’s not just social anymore, as use of social media has become a marketing tool that growing numbers of businesses are embracing. Or trying to figure out how to use. It is reminiscent of the wave of web developers that swept the corridors of business over the past decade. Executives and CEOs knew they needed something to give them a web presence, but were not sure just what. It is no different in tackling social media. You want it, you need it, and we show some examples of where social media fits in today’s business world – and give you a primer on hiring or outsourcing the role. Ignore at your peril. Brave new world, bold new opportunity.