Canada’s Biggest Barrier to Innovation... Being Canadian?

I’m 45 years young / I’m too old

I’m an entrepreneur / I’m a misfit

I’m confident, driven, capable / I’m too sharp, overly aggressive, threatening

I’m experienced, assertive / I’m opinionated

I’ve done, and can do almost anything / I’m a purple squirrel

I’m a rare combo - left side + right sided brain / I’m hard to pin down

I’m a visionary / I’m a dreamer

I’m seek only success and greatness / I’m too disruptive

I’m a decisive, fast thinker / I’m too fast, not inclusive

I’m fearless, passionate / I’m reckless

I get shit done, with a high level of quality / I overproduce

I’m a rock star, a rare find, a real talent / I’m unemployable

This list is a short, incomplete description of me. Two sides of a coin. On the left side (of the slash) are words and phrases that I, my fellow entrepreneurs, and those who know me, use to describe me. The right side of the slash are words and phrases people who don’t know me, many of whom work in mid to large sized Canadian organizations, use to describe me. The same person, perceived, in two opposing ways.  

This list is my chasm, which I don’t believe I can cross (sorry Geoffrey Moore). Crossing it means that I’m able to change the perception of those on the right. It means that Canadian business people seek out, hire, and support talent with some of the fundamental qualities of entrepreneurs.

But this list is also our chasm; because right now, Canada desperately needs people like me. Our businesses, our government, our society needs change, innovation, and fresh thinking. We need talent that is passionate, disruptive, risk on, tenacious, courageous, knows how to build, can unravel complex problems, take advantage of the digital revolution, and create truly valuable solutions that move Canada forward at a fast pace. We need experienced entrepreneurs - people that can think strategically, execute well, and are obsessed with customers. People with the knowledge, battle scars, grit and attitude to get stuff done, and done well. 

To date, innovation in Canada has been driven almost entirely by start-up entrepreneurs, not mid or large sized companies. Why is this? To distill it down to one simple statement; it’s us. 

As Canadians, we’re too nice, too comfortable; too complacent. Last month, I attended CELS, a valley-based organization dedicated to the advancement of Canadian Bio-Tech. It was a gathering of some of the best and brightest minds in Canadian Bio-Tech. The underlying message was twofold; 1. Enough talk on innovation, it’s time to do, 2. Canadians need to grow a pair (no sexism intended here). We need to be the left side.

I’ve been hearing about innovation in Canada for over 10 years. All of us agree – Canada needs innovation to transition to the new economy. But we’re doing very little (relatively) to make it happen. There are pockets of greatness; MaRSDD, Communitech, and OneEleven (to name a few). But these are few and far between. Canada’s business leaders are underinvesting in innovation, and they aren’t hiring the people to make it happen. In fact, only a few; Google, Intel, Apple, Uber and Facebook are gobbling up talent through acquihires. To demonstrate my point, see this chart on AI acquisitions in the past 24 months. AI is viewed by many as the most transformational technology to come along in the past 25 years – bigger than mobile, the internet, and the social web. AI is a once in a lifetime innovation opportunity, with the ability to revolutionize everything from driving to how we 

So what are the top 10 companies in Canada like Loblaw, RBC and Manulife doing around innovation and AI? How many acquihires have they done in the past 24 months? Crickets. If you look at the Fortune 50 in Canada, almost none have acquired, or assembled team of experienced entrepreneurs, tasked with identifying and driving innovation opportunities. What a shame. The corporate leaders of our economy today, will not be part of the economy of tomorrow. And it’s because they’re failing to innovate and forge their own path forward (and I’m a true patriot that believes Canada can and should lead). 

This gets me back to my list. The juxtaposition of perception is entirely Canadian. The right side of my list represents Canadian attitude, popular workplace culture, and one of the biggest inhibitors to innovation; our mindset. This is what James Maynard, a Globe and Mail Leadership Lab writer, and fellow entrepreneur, wrote about on May 2, 2017 in an article titled “Canada’s biggest obstacle to innovation is attitude”. In the article, James talked about how as Canadians, we need to adjust our attitude to 1) Become risk takers 2) Act more like start-ups (mentality and urgency) 3) Actively invest in true innovation 4) Think bigger. 

Like me, James believes that our Canadian mindset drives our innovation inaction. Today, in Canada, innovation spending represents less than 10% of Canadian business budgets, and we ranked 22nd in R&D expenditures among OCED countries. Another good way to determine investment is to look at job creation (or lack thereof). Here, you’ll find almost no roles related to innovation, new groups focused on innovation (within existing companies), and a general lack of new product and market investments (within existing firms). 

Why do we need innovation so desperately? It’s the only thing that will keep our country competitive, allow us to transition to a new economy, protect our jobs and our prosperity.

When talented people (who share the left side traits) become available, you’d think they’d be snapped up by players who need innovation to survive. Companies across Canada are supposedly setting up innovation funds, partnering with government and incubators, and building teams. Left side people are the ideal candidate to help companies adapt, transform, innovate, and succeed. But they don’t fit in, and are almost always overlooked.

It’s almost impossible to change our engrained Canadian mindset. The Fortune 50 don’t want me, or others like me. We are the opposite of them, but we’re exactly what they need. 

This leads me to my last point. As an entrepreneur and innovator, it’s nearly impossible to get a job. At a time when our country needs people like me most, I’ve never felt more like a misfit. I’ve been told that I’m “unemployable”. Top recruiters have called me a “purple squirrel”, told me “that people won’t know what to do with me.” Think about how absurd this is. I built a tech company from scratch to 25 people. Inspired a team to do great things. Now, I need to pretend to be something I’m not, to get a job. And I’m embarrassed (for myself) that I’m in this situation. I would have never thought in a thousand years…

For the past 12 months, I’ve been trying to fit in; find a role in a mid to large size organization (because most start-ups are unstable and have no money). I’ve tried to dumb down my CV. Understate my skills. Ignore some of my greatest work. But I feel like a fraud for doing this. And I also feel sad.

I believe, Canadian prosperity is dependent on people like me. But talent comes in all shapes, sizes and flavors. And it’s often quirky, eccentric and unlike anything people have seen before. Talent rarely fits in a box. Yet when talent is present and available, it’s often misinterpreted (right side lens), misunderstood, mismanaged, misused, and unappreciated. Maybe some of the characteristics of talent (left side of lens), simply scares the traditionally conservative Canadian persona.  

Truly talented people are visionaries, innovators, and they are often disruptive. People that create real change and make things happen. And many talented people possess the characteristics on the left side of the list. It seems like lip service – we celebrate them publicly when they succeed, but we loath them behind closed doors. 

Talented people need to spread their wings, be themselves. Yet, like me, many talented people probably feel like misfits, or are viewed as misfits by the very organizations that need us most. People aren’t incented to take risks, to do new things, to do things that make them uncomfortable. So why would they like someone (like me) who’s built this way. Someone who’s going make their job harder (in the short term), not easier. Challenge the status quo. Strive for greatness. Drive change. Make shit happen, fast.

If you truly believe that talent is the lifeblood of innovation, our economy and the success of our companies, then as Canadians, we need to change. I can’t think of a more magical combination; entrepreneurs within organizations with the people and money to truly innovate. This combination is a sure path to achieving economic leadership and prosperity. 

So next time you’re put off by a talented entrepreneur, who doesn’t fit into Canadian business cultural norms, instead of viewing them with the right lens, view them with the left. Think about what you can achieve together, if their talent is truly unleashed. Think about what you can do for them, what they will do for you, and what they will do for Canada. It’s our responsibility to innovate; set up our country and economy for success. In short, we need to act more on the left side to ensure a prosperous future for generations to come. 

I’m not expecting much from this post. It’s more therapeutic (for me) than anything else. If what I’ve written resonates with you, if you’re willing to take the left perspective, if you’re ready to unleash some talent, drop me a line - I’d love to help.