Canada vs USA - the reasons?

According to recent information, Canada’s lower productivity accounts for the largest component of the income gap between the United States and Canada.

Canada has invested less in machinery and equipment per worker since the 1980s, resulting in less capital intensity (less capital per worker). Canada’s research and development (R&D) as a proportion of GDP is lower than that of the United States and other OECD countries. Usage of information and communications technology (ICT) is also less extensive than the United States.

While Canada ranks favourably against the United States in primary and secondary educational attainment, Canadians fall behind their American counterparts in the attainment of university or advanced degrees and in opportunities for on-the-job training or continuous education.

Finally, industrial organization also plays a part. According to the Conference Board of Canada, Canadian manufacturers are more heavily concentrated in lower productivity growth industries. Smaller enterprises (SME) are generally less productive than larger ones, and SMEs are a greater share of Canadian manufacturing and employment.

So, when you see national productivity figures, you have to do quite a bit of 'unpicking' to understand them.

Books ... covers ... and performance

Tom Watson was recently runner-up in the British Open Golf Championship ... at the age of 59. The way the media went on you would think it remarkable that he could even stand at such an advanced age.

This was a reminder not to judge a book by its cover ... or a person by any the classifications of age, gender, etc ..... judge them by their behaviour and performance.

Be lucky

We have just secured a couple of high profile, excellent speakers for the European Productivity Conference in October (see http://www.epc2009.co.uk). One of these I have worked hard to secure; the other 'fell into my lap'.

Sometimes a bit of luck makes a tremendous difference ... but remember the famous quote from Gary Player, the South African golfer ... "The more I practise, the luckier I get!".

Trust me

I have spent the last few hours putting together a Memorandum of Understanding covering a joint project involving 3 parties. I anticipate no problems ... the organisations share mutual trust. But as soon as you start to put these things on paper all sorts of questions emerge .... what happens if that trust goes and we get problems ... should the MoU cover that? You end up writing lots of strange clauses that will almost certainly never be needed. Not very productive ... but I suppose most insurance isn't!

Ready to go?

Well, I'm back from vacation. Theoretically, I should be recharged, refreshed and ready to go. But I think it might take 24 hours to 'get up to speed'. The reason? email overload. Though I have been in email contact throughout my vacation, I've left a number to deal with on return ... and I am now dealing with them. This takes time and saps energy ... so many are not important, or not a priority ... but I have to work through them to find that out. So, bear with me ... I'll be my own happy, smiling - and productive - self very soon!

Temporary sign-off

I am going on holiday ... to Dubrovnik. This blog will resume when I return. The holiday will be good because I have planned well and I am going with the attitude that if I don't enjoy it, it is my own fault. Attitude is so important in lots of areas of life ... you can change your own and you can influence the attitude of others. Sometimes this is much more important than practising your technical skills!

More to learn

Well, I'm back from the Caribbean. This was my first visit and - as ever - the place was both similar to, and dissimilar from, my expectations. Talking to people tells you more than simply looking ... so I talked to as many as I could and learnt quite a lot about ... well, about lots of things.

Climate, culture, history (and each of the islands is different) mean that Western or Eastern 'standard practices' do not necessarily transpose. Yet there were astonishing examples of good practice - the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain, Trinidad is amongst the best hotel I've stayed in ... and I was very impressed with the work of the Productivity Council in Barbados.

This was a first visit - and a first lesson. I hope to go back and learn more ... then I might start to make informed judgements. In the meantime, I celebrate the friendliness of the people ... surely an important asset!