Posts By: Hazel Anaka

Hazel Anaka

From Where I Sit – Thanks Oilers

Over the last several weeks, gallons of ink have been spilled writing about the Stanley Cup playoffs in general and the Oilers’ Cinderella story in particular. That’s not counting tattoo ink for the truly obsessed fan. How to adequately describe what’s gone without resorting to cliché? I’m most grateful for what this run for the… Read more »

From Where I Sit – An Opportunity Lost

Conventional wisdom in business circles says it takes at least six times as much money to attract a new customer as it does to hang onto an old one. This is not a state secret or rocket science. It makes sense to address customer complaints promptly and mitigate the damage an unhappy customer can do…. Read more »

From Where I Sit – It’s All in the Patterns

After you’ve been around for more than a couple of decades, and I have, you begin to notice patterns, repetitions, and cycles. You discover that you can set your calendar to the occurrence of certain events. You could place bets and win. You begin to feel clairvoyant. In truth, you’re not. You’ve just been paying… Read more »

From Where I Sit – Build It and They Will Come

In the movie Field of Dreams (1989) we heard “build it and they will come.” And in fact, baseball legends did come. Those words have come to mean an act of faith. If only they were true in the world of commerce. It doesn’t matter whether the venture is the traditional bricks and mortar type… Read more »

From Where I Sit – The Best I Can Do

I’ve been writing this column for several years now. Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes the words come spilling onto the page and the biggest job becomes pruning and shaping until only the best five hundred words I can muster that week are left. Sometimes, in passing, I think about you dear reader… Read more »

From Where I Sit – Fail Often to Succeed Sooner

I had the privilege of attending a national conference in Vancouver this past week. The city’s hardly changed a bit since my honeymoon trip back in August 1973! Sun-filled days; lush, fragrant landscaping around the exquisite Westin Bayshore; mouth-watering cuisine; team-building with colleagues; and a husband who actually joined me for the trip : ahhh…. Read more »

From Where I Sit – GameBoy or Real Life?

As a baby boomer who happens to count my brain as one of my finer assets, I was intrigued by a recent new product announcement. It seems Nintendo has developed a new program called Brain Age to be played on their dual screen GameBoy. Journal Technology writer Steve Makris describes it as “a program for… Read more »

From Where I Sit – #@%$#@ Telus

Every so often people are horrified by a disgruntled employee who goes postal. Let’s just say, I’m one disgruntled customer who could go telus at any moment. Let me set the stage. While I’ve been slower than some to embrace the technology, I’ve accepted the fact that I can either get onto the information highway… Read more »

From Where I Sit – Challenge Yourself

For nearly nine years, I’ve sat as a Director on my Credit Union board. It’s been both a challenge and a commitment. Most importantly, it’s been a wonderful learning opportunity. Perhaps the best part of the whole experience was exposure to some of North America’s best speakers at the Credit Union provincial conference and annual… Read more »