Make your meeting better

Some great ideas on how to make meetings better from a blog post by Phil Gerbyshak. Read the whole article from bizzia.com here.

Here are ideas. Love them all!

Always have a written agenda and distribute it at least a day before the meetings. This gives all attendees the opportunity to prepare ahead of time, do any research, and ask any clarifying questions, BEFORE coming to the meeting.

Mark on the agenda who is mission critical, and who is optional, for the meeting, and reschedule if the mission critical attendees can’t attend a meeting (or if they don’t confirm their attendance 2 hours before the meeting. No meeting should happen without key decision makers present, or all you do is talk and don’t really DO anything. We use an asterisk (*) by key meeting attendees, and this works well.

Start on time/end on time – This is a pet peeve of mine. So many people show up late, or not at all, that we talk about “professional courtesy” like you’d give a college professor, 5 minutes late is okay for most folks, 10 minutes for executives. NOT OK! If you want to respect the folks that are on time for the meeting, start the meeting on time…and end the meeting on time so folks can make it to their next meeting on time. Even better: End 5 minutes early so folks can get to their next meeting on time.

Stick to the agenda – If it’s on the agenda, discuss it, and discuss it until a decision is made. If it’s not on the agenda, table it for the next meeting. Unprepared comments in a meeting, while they may seem useful, are often made without proper research or consultation of key decision makers.

Distribute meeting minutes (with action items) promptly – Before folks forget what was discussed, distribute the meeting minutes for all to review. Include non-attendees and others that need to be in the loop. Distribute within 1 day for max effectiveness.

If you see this guy, don't let him in. Promotional material for Apex.

Some great graphics and promotional material we produced for Apex Industries for their bullet and physical resistant security doors. Completed for a recent trade show.

Graphic from the front of the promo card and also used as the backdrop for the booth (picture this 8' x 10'!!!) :


Promo video:


A fun project.

Max Mallard at the movies

A while ago we produced a bilingual comic for Commissioner of Official Languages For N.B called "The Adventures of Max Mallard, the boy with ducks for hands / Les aventures de Max Mallard le garcon des canards pour mains." As part of the Frye Festival we brought Max to life and showed a bilingual "reading" of the comic to over 800 kids at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton. Finally now getting around to posting the original bilingual version and the other versions on line.

Thanks to Eggs Films who helped pull it all together and to everyone at the the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages For N.B. who made Max possible.

For more on Max Mallard (includging his orgins) go to 2tongues.ca and click on the ducks or here to view it in French. You can also download the original comic from the site as well.


Max Mallard the boy with ducks for hands. English version.


Max Mallard - Le garcon avec des canards pour mains (French version)


Max Mallard the boy with ducks for hands. PART 1. Bilingual version.


Max Mallard the boy with ducks for hands. PART 2. Bilingual version.

How do you build trust?

Being Trustworthy Does Not Build Trust

This is a great article from Business Week by Keith Ayers, President, Integro Leadership Institute Sydney, Australia

The idea that being trustworthy does not necessarily build trust may seem like a ridiculous concept to you. But haven’t you had the experience of people questioning your motives or credibility without justification? It is behavior that builds trust, not intentions. Other people don’t know your intentions, they only know what you do.

Every interaction you have with another person either enhances trust or diminishes it. The same applies to the managers and employees in your organization. Every interaction your managers have with their team members builds trust, or diminishes it. Every interaction that an individual in your organization has with a customer either builds trust or diminishes it, too.

It would make sense, then, to ensure that all managers and employees are mindful of the behaviors that build trust. Our research at Integro Leadership Institute has identified four elements that must be present for trust to develop:

1. Reliability is the most obvious element. We need to deliver what we say we’ll deliver, keep commitments, and perform the best we can in every situation.

2. Congruence is the behavior that lets people know you are trustworthy. Partly it is how we communicate—saying what you mean and meaning what you say. The other part of congruence is walking your talk—operating by your personal and organizational values.

3. Openness is essential for innovation to flourish. Encouraging employees to speak up with ideas, even to disagree with the way things are done, provides a spark for new ways to create value. Being receptive and listening to employees and customers builds trust and loyalty.

4. Acceptance is the least understood element, but everyone needs to be respected and valued. Your employees and customers are the most valuable assets your company has—are they treated accordingly?

All four elements of trust must be present for trust to build, and be sustained. When even one is missing, trust is diminished, if not destroyed. Take these four elements and discuss them with your team. Which ones are you doing well at, and where could your team improve?

Blues on the Boulevard: Sneak Peak

Last March we helped The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra promote it's Blues on the Boulevard concert featuring Matt Andersen. Here's a sneak peek from the upcoming DVD of the event.

Bold and Beaten from Hemmings House Pictures on Vimeo.

The live show was amazing -- can't wait to see the complete DVD. More information.

Sistema NB is making a difference through music

"What could New Brunswick and Canada learn from the barrios of poverty-stricken Venezuela about social change... and music? Well, a week ago the NBYO launched Sistema NB, a program aimed at inspiring children to achieve their full potential, to impact their lives and society through music. Sistema NB is a New Brunswick and Canadian first and next month, a prototype centre will open in Moncton... stay tuned for more information. On the Sistema NB site, be sure to see the movie of the Caracas, Venezuela visit (produced by Hemmings House Pictures) and the great branding done by our friends at Razor Creative. Outstanding!"

- NBYO President Ken MacLeod

The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra is doing a lot of great and wonderful things, the launch of Sistema NB is just another fantastic example. Hats off the Ken MacLeod, Don Matheson, David Hawkins and the team from the NBYO who have brought this program to Canada and New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra hopes to change children's lives through music and we hope the new Brand Identity, Website and Promotional Material we developed helps them achieve this very worthy goal.

Visit the new website here to find out more. Or, if you have a child and wish to participate, download the brochure by clicking here.





From the Sistema Learning Tour produced by Hemmings HousePictures:



Sampling of the excellent media coverage:

Article in the Daily Gleaner

Press release about the launch.

More coverage here and here .

Lotto Max is launched - Razor helps it "land" in Moncton and Halifax.

If you live in Canada, you no doubt have heard and seen all about the new Lotto Max Lottery game - in print, online, TV, outdoor and more. It's the first new national lottery in over a decade, and replaces the recently retired SUPER7.

It's a pretty big deal.

So Razor was quite excited when we were asked in play a part here in Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Lottery (ALC) was looking for a way to create maximum impact on launch day. So we thought... what better way to communicate that "Max has landed" than with giant 8 foot Lotto Max balls crushing vehicles parked around town.

ALC agreed.

Late at night, or should I say early Saturday morning (launch day) we installed two "Max has landed" displays. One in Dieppe (Ultramar at the corner of Champlain and Acadie) and one in Halifax (Lacewood Drive Ultramar).

Starting from the second the displays showed up, there has been a steady and constant stream of people at both locations taking pictures and video. Obviously, exactly what we wanted.

It was a huge challenge to pull everything together so quickly -- but we love it when a plan comes together.

A huge "tip of the hat" to Maureen, Courtney and the team at ALC for believing in the idea and letting us run with it, and mucho thanks to Dennis and his talented group at Hansen Signs and to Dan who helped make it all happen.

Watch for the "making of" story, (and it's a good one) coming soon.

Other side:



In Halifax:

Industry Education Council's new brand identity.

The newly formed Southeast New Brunswick Industry Education Council, brings together representatives from the public school system, universities, community colleges, specialty colleges and various industries with a goal to provide better opportunities for students and a stable workforce for the province's growing economy in the future.

Razor developed the new brand identity for the organization which was recently launched at a press conference. We are quite thrilled with how it turned out.

The council includes representatives from education and industry, including NBCC Moncton and Dieppe, School Districts 1 and 2, l'Universite de Moncton, Oulton College, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Fantech, Atlantic Industries, Imperial Manufacturing Group, Enterprise South East, Enterprise Greater Moncton, and Moneris Solutions of Sackville.

Read more about the launch and the Education and Industry Council in this article.

A joint project of Razor and C2, watch for more communications currently in development.

Jolicure Cats: "a delightful book for all cat lovers"

Jolicure Cats is a new book by local author and friend Lorrie Hawkins. It features twelve stories (mini-biographies) of real cats, told with love, humour, tenderness and sometimes heartbreaking sorrow. They are accompanied by realistic portraits by illustrator, Dwight Kirkland. We had the honour to be asked to develop the website for the book and were thrilled to see our names in the acknowledgements of the actual book (cool).

At the book launch at the Capitol Theatre the other night, Lorrie read exerts from the book that were both funny and moving. Looking forward to diving in and reading the whole thing.




Visit the Razor created Jolicure Cats website.

Purchase Jolicure Cats online.

Join the Jolicure Cats Facebook group.

Great job Lorrie.