SMART city


What is your vision for Winnipeg? You have what it takes to change our city's landscape


T


he end point vision (EPV) system is perhaps best described as purposeful goal setting using enhanced visualization and mapping techniques to achieve


desired outcomes. Te essential steps are these: identi- fying your EPV, and carefully mapping the critical actions along the way that will help you visualize and realize a positive result. Doing this offers a proven


Urban Growth Marina James


methodology for attaining your most coveted aspirations. What- ever the area of your life you choose to actualize in this way – self, work, family, friends, community, etc. – adopting an EPV approach can clarify your vision in a way that makes it far more accessible even before taking your first step. This kind of thinking isn’t


new. Anthropologists argue that similar visualization tech-


niques have quite literally been around since the dawn of civilization, but that’s precisely what makes this system so compelling. Tankfully, unearthing evidence of EPV suc- cesses doesn’t necessitate going back thousands of years to a place and time foreign to modern-day prairie dwellers like us. Instead, we can find proof of EPV’s efficacy right here in Winnipeg’s present. Consider some of our city’s most prominent citizens, and


the goals they’ve envisioned and achieved in their lives, which have since served to enhance our community and to move Winnipeg forward. Each of their stories is unique, but all of these leaders consciously applied the principles inherent in EPV methodology to transform their visions into the realities we’re all experiencing today. Te Forks


Paul Jordan, chief operating officer of Te Forks Renewal


Corporation, is a prime example of someone whose efforts have incorporated these advanced goal-setting techniques. Jordan has long been among the most able advocates of Winnipeg’s deliberate transformation into an unrivalled “winter city.” Visitors to Te Forks – now numbering over four million annually – enthusiastically embrace this cool season as they engage in a plethora of activities and at- tractions at one of Canada’s most celebrated leisure spots. Jordan’s tireless work to create a place that showcases


Winnipeg’s winter climate in all its glory has substantially altered the city’s landscape in a way that gives everyone who lives here something tangible to rally around. Due in large part to Jordan’s commitment to achieving this formidable goal, our collective consciousness as proud Winnipeggers has been permanently elevated. Te return of the Jets


And ask yourself this: without Mark Chipman, would


Winnipeg again be home to an NHL team? As soon as the first incarnation of the Jets left town in 1996, Chipman set out to resurrect an NHL franchise here. Every consequen- tial hockey-related action he took up to the Jets’ return in 2011 was designed to make that moment happen. From the establishment of the Manitoba Moose in 1996,


the founding of True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd. in 2001 and the opening of MTS Centre in 2004, to the subse- quent years-long courting of NHL executives, Chipman’s


Photo courtesy of The Forks The Forks has been heightened in the minds of tourists and locals due to the vision of The Forks Renewal Corporation.


patience and humility paid off. On May 31, 2011, he an- nounced that the culmination of his fifteen-year odyssey had finally been fulfilled: Winnipeg would once more see an NHL team take to the ice and battle for hockey’s Holy Grail, the Stanley Cup. Te Canadian Museum for Human Rights


More examples abound of leading Winnipeggers whose


far-sighted end point visions have materially transformed our city in recent years. Without business magnate Israel “Izzy” Asper, would Winnipeg now be home to the much- anticipated Canadian Museum for Human Rights? With- out Arthur Mauro – lawyer, businessman and founder of the Centre for Peace and Justice at the University of Manitoba – would our city be as firmly focused on the path toward social justice as we are today? Philanthropy


And what would become of Winnipeg’s heralded


philanthropic community if affluent humanitarians like Hartley Richardson, Lawrie Pollard, and John and Bonnie Buhler didn’t lead by example whilst encouraging others to follow in their wakes? All of these forward-thinkers, in one way or another,


tapped into the various strategies touted by EPV pro- ponents. Tey painted a very clear picture of what they hoped to achieve, then set about turning that vision into a reality by taking the necessary steps toward that end – despite whatever obstacles were met along the way. And nobody experienced overnight success; in every case


Training


to be your own boss


Historically, entrepreneurship hasn’t been part of the conversation about career choices for the next


generation – but that’s changing 4 SMART TAB


the post-secondary and high school levels. When you look at our corporate icons,


I


you recognize the importance of creating an environment that spurs entrepreneurs. Who will be the next Izzy Asper, the next


John Buhler or Mark Chipman? As much as we do have great entrepre-


neurial energy, we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of promoting entrepreneurship as a career choice. There is no question we need doctors,


lawyers, teachers and accountants, but in the same breath, we need to be talking about entrepreneurship as a serious career choice. Over the past 10 years, Alberta increased


its new businesses by 32 per cent, while Manitoba lagged well behind at eight per cent. Manitoba must be more aggressive as a place to start a business, so that our young people will choose to stay. The largest percentage of new jobs is


Dave Angus


President and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce


coming from fast-growth companies. Tese “gazelles” or organizations that grow by 20 per cent per year for three straight years are the types of organizations that will drive our future. We’re seeing a lot of these kinds of businesses take


hold in Winnipeg – you just have to look at the Exchange District, which is quickly becoming a hotbed for entre- preneurs.


www.smartcareers.ca


n my 15 years at Te Chamber, I’ve never seen so much entrepreneurial energy – robust incubators and grow- ing entrepreneurship programs at both


cited above, each goal was reached over the course of years (or even decades). With local visionaries to both inspire and lead us, I


encourage everyone to ask what we can do as Winnipeg- gers to improve ourselves and our city. Have you actually taken the time to write down your own goals, your own end point visions? Studies show that those who follow through with this simple exercise will accomplish more than those who do not. And have you mapped out the required steps to achieve these aspirations? Are these individual actions as specific as they can be? Can you do something today to start moving the needle on at least one of these goals? Not tomorrow. Not next week or next month. Today. Winnipeg is a better place because some of our great-


est leaders pushed through adversity to reach – and even go beyond – their end point visions. And thanks to their efforts, the world’s taking notice of Winnipeg on a level that harkens back to the days of our forefathers. Ultimately, one by one as individuals, then collectively


as neighbourhoods, communities, and finally as a city, I’m confident we can imagine and execute even greater milestones than those we’ve witnessed to date. If we can continue to harness our outstanding potential in this way, our best is yet to come. Let’s keep the momentum going. Marina R. James, MBA, is the President & CEO of Eco- nomic Development Winnipeg Inc.


But it’s incumbent on us to provide the tools our


next generation needs to actualize its dreams. Tat’s why it’s important to start early and sup- port and expand programs such as Junior Achievement and the Career Internship Program out of Windsor Park Collegiate. Connections to Red River College and


other post-secondary schools, as well as local incubators such as the Eureka Pro- ject, Manitoba Technology Accelerator, Canadian Youth Business Foundation and AssentWorks are also critical for suc- cessful start-ups. And that’s why I believe entrepreneur-


ship training should be mandatory in every faculty at our universities and colleges. In early 2000, I had the honour to be


part of a tour to Ireland to visit the Univer- sity of Limerick, where entrepreneurship was mandatory. I remember a conversa- tion with the dean of music, who raved about such training because students looked at their craft differently and real- ized they could pursue music through an


entrepreneurial bent. Tat should be our end game: creating a path for


everyone to do what they love to do by starting a busi- ness and employing others. Our bold idea for Winnipeg is to be the entrepre-


neurial capital of Canada. Based on what I’m seeing, we are well on our way to becoming exactly that.


March 2014


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