Everything I Needed to Know About Business... I Learned from a Canadian: Second Edition

Gillian Urbankiewicz is a freelance editor working out of Toronto. She is also the managing editor of an online financial community that will be launched this fall.

Leonard Brody and David Raffa have a theory that virtues often associated with Canadians, like humbleness and perseverance, allow them to not only compete, but also succeed, in global business. To explore this theory, they’ve interviewed and researched 24 Canadians who have successfully established themselves as global players. The subjects of these essays read like a who’s who of business. The fact that all of the essays’ subjects are Canadian seems almost a bonus. Bonnie Fuller (the editor of magazines like Star and Cosmopolitan), Joel Cohen (one of the producers of The Simpsons), and Geoffrey Ballard (an innovator in the creation and distribution of hydrogen fuel cells) are just some of the fascinating individuals whom Brody and Raffa profile in their book.

Each essay begins with a brief description of a business theory and principle, then the focus shifts to how an individual has used those business ideas to their advantage. Each of the pieces contains five business principles that can be taken away from the individual’s story. These points are summarized at the end of the piece, making the book not only interesting but also offering the reader the opportunity to reflect on their own career path and choices. Stories from the individual’s experience, like the one about Bliss Spa founder Marcia Kilgore sending out letters to each of her 10,000 customers apologizing and taking responsibility for a mouse that was spotted in her store to avoid negative word-of-mouth, help to keep the reader engaged. Rather than exhaustive biographical details or lists of business tips and advice, Brody and Raffa’s writing brings the reader closer to these business luminaries and inspires the reader to dream.

One of the few weaknesses in this collection is the organization, which isn’t consistent. The use of headings, pull quotes, and textboxes often seems arbitrary and can make the work difficult to follow. Also, an updated introduction for this new edition would have been appreciated.