Neil C. Gagne

Digital Strategist

Helping your business reach its full potential

Hi, I’m Neil.

Your digital assets should add to your business, not distract, frustrate, aggravate or drain valuable resources. Don’t you think?

My Story

I spent 20 years a a Commercial Pilot Western and Northern Canada. I have had opportunities to experience the places and people of Canada from East to West to Arctic coast of this great country. Serving First Nations communities is as Canadian as maple syrup yet few people actually do. In my time working withe the Cree in Northern Alberta, I even took a conversational Cree course to better understanding of the people and their culture. In many ways that personifies my approach to being in service to someone else. Immerse, participate, understand, then seek to add value.

Of the 20 years I spent in the Aviation Industry, 12 of those years were spent in aviation management having served in roles as Chief Pilot, Manager of Training and Standards and Operations Manager. While it did take away from hands on flying, the experience was invaluable for building knowledge and skills in a highly regulated, highly structured business.

In 2012, I took off my flying boots for family reasons and decided to apply the lessons learned to helping small businesses navigate the rapidly changing world of digital marketing. I have always been a technology geek and while it may not seem to overlap, many of the principals of aviation structures can be directly modified and applied to other businesses to gain control and produce predictable results even under rapidly changing circumstances.

My Values & Beliefs

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Your technology should serve your business

In the words of the late great Steven Covey, “Technology is a wonderful slave but a horrible master.” All too often the addition of technology into creates demands which can be higher than using conventional methods. I believe that technology can be provide a competitive advantage but only within the capacity of those using it.

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Know your customer

Who is your ideal customer? Where do you find them? What do they read? How do they consume information? Which type of customer do you normally attract? Why? Which customers should you send your competitors? When? The better you can answer these questions, the more intentional you will be about building your business.

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Your data is YOUR data

In this day and age of cloud computing, you can get some pretty spectacular functionality and services from the multitude of platforms available. However, sharecropping comes at a price. Many of these services help themselves to our customer anlytics and data which you agreed to when you clicked that little “accept” box on their terms of service. In some cases, you may not be able to get your data out of their platform making you dependant on their services. Do not build systems that are dependant on any one individual product, service or person that you don’t have control over and cannot be replaced.

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Healthy local businesses are the key to healthy communities

Most Canadians are employeed by small or medum sized businesses. When a local business thrives, its employees, profits and taxes stay local to strengthen the community. Big US based box stores have infultrated our Canadian society. As much they provide a larger selection of products at pricing at attractive pricing, by in large they remove resources from the local econemy and weaken communities by trading convienience for local sovergnty.

My Approach

Every business owner who has grown past their first employee, knows how hard it is to find good people. But is the problem really with the employee? (ouch!) How is it that some companies can seemingly get almost anyone to adapt to their way of thinking? (Yes, it does exist.)

The problem with many growing businesses is typically not the entrepreneurs vision or model of conduct. In fact, that is what usually leads to early success. The problem to sustained business growth is the ability to replicate that unique signature beyond that of the entrepreneur, into their employees and thus into the fabric of their business.

My goal is to is to reach into an owners head and the soul of an organization, sift through and identify the key components of their vision, values and way of doing things. Then capture that information in ways that can be replicated, provide the structures needed to disseminate that information in ways that produce consistent and predictable results within the identity of the organization. Well implemented digital adoption is often a part of that plan.

Henry Ford was asked when he was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $100000. He responded, “Fire him?!?! I just spent $100000 training him.”

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Featured Publications

Favorite Podcasts

The Way I Heard It – Mike Rowe
Tides of History – Patrick Wyman
Web 3.0 – Sam Kamani
I Love Marketing – Dean Jackson & Joe Polish

Recommended Books

5 Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert B. Cialdini PhD
E-Myth Mastery – Micheal E. Gerber
The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership – Steven B. Sample
The Law – Frederic Bastiat