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Jim Stewart

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Partner, ProfitPATH

216 points

Jim is the founding Partner at ProfitPATH, a Toronto-based growth strategy consulting firm. ProfitPATH’s focus and expertise is in developing effective business growth strategies and then turning those strategies into action.

Jim has spent the last 11 years helping ...

Jim is the founding Partner at ProfitPATH, a Toronto-based growth strategy consulting firm. ProfitPATH’s focus and expertise is in developing effective business growth strategies and then turning those strategies into action.

Jim has spent the last 11 years helping business owners to increase profits and add value to their companies.

Jim speaks and writes on a number of topics related to business growth. He has also been interviewed on TV on the challenges facing growing companies.

Jim completed his corporate career as the CEO of the Canadian subsidiary of a multi-national. He worked for a number of companies (including subsidiaries of Pitney Bowes, Xerox and ITT) in Canada and Internationally.

You can contact Jim at 416-487-0276 or jimstewart@profitpath.com.

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Sept. 27, 2011

Jim Stewart and 8 other people answered this question

Is poor performance contagious?

I think Jim Brennan is absolutely correct. Employees know when one of their colleagues isn't pulling their weight and leaders who ignore poor performance sacrifice their own credibility. more

General Management

Human Resources

Performance Management

Poor Performance

Sept. 27, 2011

Jim Stewart and 33 other people answered this question

If you can't give an employee a raise, what are other ways to reward them?

There's a technique I saw used very successfully a few years ago which puts a different spin on recognition. The business owners bought a stack of blue poker chips. The first time they thought someone did something well, they presented the employee with a blue ... more

Human Resources

Employee Engagement

March 17, 2011

Jim Stewart and 18 other people answered this question

When working from home, how do you manage your day? Do you have a schedule you follow? Breaks?

I've worked from a home office for over 10 years. I can be out all day, out for part of the day or in all day depending on what's going on.
If I know I'm not going out I'll let myself wear jeans and a ... more

Work Life Balance

March 14, 2011

Jim Stewart and 8 other people answered this question

What are (5) key leadership traits for business leaders in small companies?

In no particular order
1. Decisiveness
2. Trust in their Intuition
3. Persistence
4. Trust the people they hire
5. Flexibility

General Management

Management Skills

March 14, 2011

Jim Stewart recommends this answer by Marie McIntyre

Three things to tell your staff if you knew tomorrow was your last day at work

1. How proud I am of what we have been able to accomplish together.
2. That they need to make every effort to adjust to the leadership style of their next manager. Different people do things differently, and their success will depend upon getting along with ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Feb. 17, 2011

Jim Stewart recommends this answer by Eric Britten

Would you hope for a mediocre employee to quit rather than face the unpleasant task of termination?

Christine: I like what the others have said. Collectively, there is some excellent advice in what they have posted. Cultural fit is important when hiring. Corporate culture often dictates whether situations such as this are allowed to fester. If you find one situation such as ... more

Human Resources

Business Ownership

Employee Management

Feb. 6, 2011

Jim Stewart and 11 other people answered this question

Is it possible to become good friends with your staff while maintaining your position of leadership?

Interesting question! It had me reaching for the dictionary and Wikipedia to get a definiton of the word "friend".
The dictionary says a friend is a person with whom you have mutual affection and regard. The key word, I think, is mutual. Wikipedia says that ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Jan. 27, 2011

Jim Stewart and 2 other people answered this question

Why don't more leaders admit their mistakes?

I think one of the reasons why many leaders find it hard to admit mistakes is that suffer from the "imposter syndrome" - see http://blogs.hbr.org/corkindale/2008/04/embrace_your_inner_imposter.html If your deepest belief is that you don't deserve to have the position you hold and that someone is going ... more

General Management

Jan. 27, 2011

Jim Stewart and 4 other people answered this question

What are the qualities of a good business executive?

I'd add that a good executive thinks strategically and understands that leading people is the key to success. In "Execution" Larry Bossidy talks about spending between 30% and 40% of his time on people leadership more

General Management

Jan. 27, 2011

Jim Stewart and 2 other people answered this question

Getting Additional Financing for a Startup Company

Patrick, first I have some questions about your existing investors. The first 2 are about your statement that they put up "enough seed money to get us to market." How did you/they calculate what would be "enough"? And what does "get to market" mean - ... more

Business Finance

Jan. 17, 2011

Jim Stewart and 7 other people answered this question

Is it better to offer a wide range of services or only one service, that you are amazing at?

The answer must depend, to some extent, on the extent of the resources you have available. You don't want to stretch yourself too thin. But, on the other hand, you need to hedge your bets a little. I'd agree with Joe and say 3 core ... more

Jan. 17, 2011

Jim Stewart and 9 other people answered this question

What's the one thing preventing "good" leaders from being "great" leaders?

Having absolute trust in the people she/he works with. Which implies hiring people who are a good "fit". more

General Management

Jan. 17, 2011

Jim Stewart and 6 other people answered this question

Performance Management Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for managing employee performance?

I'd add one. A person will perform well, with minimal coaching, when asked to do something for which they have experience. However the same person will require more coaching if asked to do something for the first time. Hersey and Blanchard captured this concept in ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Employee Performance Management

Jan. 17, 2011

Jim Stewart and 1 other person answered this question

What are some ways to improve my managing skills?

Justin, there are a lot of great books out there. A couple of my own favourites are "Execution" by Bossidy and Charan, "The Great Game of Business" by Jack Stack and "CEO Tools" by Kraig Kramers. Then there's Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective ... more

General Management

Jan. 17, 2011

Jim Stewart recommends this answer by Charlie Alter

What do you see as the top 3 skills that an effective small business leader should have?

Based on working with owners and presidents of small and mid size businesses for many years, here are my suggestions on the three most important skills to cultivate and develop as a leader:
1. Strategic Vision: Develop the ability to think long-term about the business and ... more

General Management

Focus Interactive Summit

Dec. 22, 2010

Jim Stewart and 4 other people answered this question

What factors of a business are more likely to attract venture capital?

There's some great advice above. The only thing that I would add is to be able to show you have access to a team of expereienced advisors or an Advisory Board in place. more

Financial Advice

Financial Services

Dec. 22, 2010

Jim Stewart and 5 other people answered this question

Small Business Best Practices: What are your 3 tips for a successful annual ‘kickoff’ meeting?

1. Give everyone 4 - 6 questions to answer before they come to the event. Tell them to work alone, not to worry about coming up with earth shattering answers and to bring the answers to the meeting. Build a session or sessions around the ... more

General Management

Annual Kickoff Meeting

Dec. 22, 2010

Jim Stewart and 2 other people answered this question

How long should you wait after making a change to properly evaluate the impact of that change?

One way to cope might be to figure out what the signals are that the change may be having it's desired effect. To use an analogy - a patient may begin to show signs of getting better before the cure prescibed by her/his doctor is ... more

General Management

Business Strategy

Change and Strategy Facilitation

Dec. 14, 2010

Jim Stewart and 12 other people answered this question

What is more beneficial: creating a separate website for our blog, or adding it to our current site?

I'd add my voice to the blog as a part of your web site. We moved to this configuration about 4 months ago and we're very satisfied with the results. To Ian's point, our entire web site, including the blog, runs on WordPress and we ... more

Blog Best Practices

Dec. 12, 2010

Jim Stewart and 4 other people answered this question

What is the definition of "shared success"?

I agree with what's been said but let me try to add another dimension to the discussion by building on Barry's opening statement.
Many years ago I heard someone use this definition of a leader. "A good leader takes more than her/his share of the ... more

General Management

Leadership Development

Dec. 12, 2010

Jim Stewart and 5 other people answered this question

What are some of the most important things that you do as a company in order to retain your clients?

It is true, unfortunately, that people forget. So, while I think Diane and Nicole have pretty much covered it, there can be no success without Bob's point - staying in touch. We certainly find that in our consulting business. One way to do that is ... more

Client Retention/development

Customer Loyalty

Small Business Strategies

Nov. 30, 2010

Jim Stewart and 5 other people answered this question

How can you get people interested in thinking strategically?

Harvard Business Press published a great little book in their Pocket Mentor series called "Thinking Strategically". It's for anyone who is in a position in which they have to begin thinking strategically for the first time. The book contains lots of advice on why thinking ... more

General Management

Information Technology

Nov. 30, 2010

Jim Stewart and 23 other people answered this question

If a person wishes to become an effective senior leader, what traits should they develop?

I've just finished reading a great book "Sacred Hoops" by Phil Jackson the basketball coach.I've always believed that to be an effective leader you have to manage yourself first. Jackson talks about how he applied his - obviously successful - philosophy to himself before he ... more

General Management

Leadership Development

Leadership Excellence

Leadership Qualities

Nov. 21, 2010

Jim Stewart and 15 other people answered this question

How should we approach customer service in the current economy?

I support the view that the level of service a company provides its customers must remain very high regardless of the economy. You cannot grow a company if you are losing existing customers at the same - or a faster rate - than you are ... more

Customer Service

Consumer Behavior

Customer Loyalty

Customer Service Best Practices

Nov. 16, 2010

Jim Stewart and 8 other people answered this question

What can you do to protect your ownership from venture capitalists?

There's some really excellent advice in the posts above. one thing I'd add is to understand what your VCs want and how they think. Realistically they rarely want the same thing as the founder. To the VC it's an investment, to the founder it's their ... more

Business Finance

Financial Services

Nov. 11, 2010

Jim Stewart and 7 other people answered this question

What is the best approach to informing customers they will now pay a fee for a service that was free

Michelle raises an interesting point. What is the service that was free but which will now attract the fee? Knowing that would help us give you more focused advice. more

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