If you go to www.bnn.ca/PassionCapitalist you will find the brand new website where you can learn more about what a Passion Capitalist is and nominate your favourite Passion Capitalist for this incredible award. There will be 25 finalists across six regions of Canada, or 150 finalists recognized for Canada’s Passion Capitalist Award. From the 150 finalists, 10 National Award winners will be chosen in the fall. So, think about who is your favourite Passion Capitalist and nominate them now. They can be from the private sector or the public sector or the not-for-profit sector from a large or a small organization, and from any region in Canada. So, nominate someone after you have checked out this website, which is being hosted by BNN. Also, Saturday May 12th, the National Post will carry an excerpt from the book as well as a full-page photo spread from the book launch party. Thanks to Knightsbridge, to Global Governance Advisors, to Torys, to BNN and to the National Post, and good luck to all of Canada’s thousands and thousands of Passion Capitalists.

My incredible Passion Capitalist wife Sheila surprised all the staff at The Foundation this morning with dozens and dozens of cupcakes with the book cover printed on top.  So, all of us got our sugar fix and literally “ate the book up”!  I want to thank all my colleagues at The Foundation for their encouragement and support as I have launched ‘Passion Capital’ this week.  The early sales results on Amazon.ca are very encouraging and the buzz (not the sugar buzz) is good.  Here is a picture of the cupcakes and I hope they don’t make you hungry!  Also, Click here to view the Canada AM interview from May 8^th on Passion Capital.  The interview starts with footage from the Ride to Conquer Cancer which is just around the corner.  Tomorrow, we have a very special monument unveiling dedicated to the Ride and all the Passion Capitalists that have made it one of the world’s most successful cycling fundraising events.  So, thanks Sheila and thanks to all the staff of PMHF!

You can’t buy Passion Capital.  You can’t get Passion Capital at a bank.  BUT…..as of today you can now buy the book “Passion Capital” and learn how to build this incredible asset for your career, company or cause.  I have the extreme good fortune to work with a dedicated and talented group of “Passion Capitalists” every day at the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.  I discovered many of the 7 principles or building blocks of Passion Capital while working at PMH.  I am excited and hopeful my new book will inspire and educate people about how to put their passion to work.  Passion with a plan, Passion built into Passion Capital with the 7 principles in place.  The book answers the question: What is the world’s most valuable asset?  My answer is Passion Capital.  My very good fortune is to work with people who exemplify the best of being Passion Capitalists. So the book is now launched and we put our Passion Capital to work to raise $1 Billion for Personalized Cancer Medicine at PMH.  $1 Billion in financial capital? Believe it!  Because we have the Passion Capital!!! Thanks to all my colleagues at PMHF, PMH and UHN!!!

Richard Blackwell of The Globe and Mail did an informative profile piece in today’s ROB section of The Globe and Mail.  It was an interview he did with me where we talked about the $1 Billion Challenge for Personalized Cancer Medicine, Passion Capital, Social Profit and the need for the not-for-profit sector to be more entrepreneurial in the face of government cutbacks.  Here’s the link to the article and hope that it inspires you to think about how you can support The Princess Margaret and other Social Profit enterprises you are involved with.  Thanks to Kevin Shea for working with The Globe and Mail to get this piece done.

Click Here to read the article.

Volunteers are some of the great Passion Capitalists in the world.  Without financial reward or any other financial incentive, they give of their time and their talent to  help causes which they are passionate about.  This week is National Volunteer Week and I will be giving a talk on Passion Capital and volunteers at lunch today at Princess Margaret Hospital at the invitation of Heather Hardie.  Heather Hardie is the amazing leader of our Volunteer Services network of over 400 extraordinary people.  These volunteers support patients in our clinics, chemo daycare, palliative care centre and throughout the hospital.  They believe in our Creed to Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime and they put their heart and soul and passion into selfless service of patients they don’t even know, and do spectacular work.  If you think about the role and importance of volunteers you see a force of nature in society.  So many companies struggle to motivate staff who are well paid and/or enjoy significant benefits to do their job… volunteers work for free and put their special skills and passion to work.  Here’s to the Volunteers in every organization that serves the public good.  I started out at The Princess Margaret in July of 2003 as an unpaid volunteer for a month and it is one of the defining Passion Capital moments in my career.  So, thanks to all our Volunteers and for the Passion Capital they bring to our cause.  It’s way more important than any of them realize, but the patients know.  Hug a volunteer today and if you are too busy to volunteer, think about carving out a few hours a week so you can build your Passion Capital and do something extraordinary for the cause that stirs your passion!

We met as a leadership team this morning and reviewed all aspects of our major announcement to be made on April 12^th at 11:30 a.m.  It was an incredible and energetic hour and a half as everyone updated on their views and work in progress.  The Princess Margaret will make Canadian history on April 12^th and we are fully prepared to make an extraordinary announcement.  We have spent thousands of hours preparing for April 12^th and have engaged all areas and staff in the hospital and the research enterprise.  The Board of PMHF has been involved and contributed in very substantial ways to our vision, mission, ambition, Creed, strategy, and plan.  So, all levels of the hospital and volunteers and staff have come together to create something that will be the beginning of a new future for cancer care and research at The Princess Margaret and we hope across Canada.  This is the beginning and our strategy and vision will take years to fully develop but, like every important innovation, there must always be a starting line.  The starting line is April 12^th.  I have to say what an incredible job the staff of PMH, OCI and PMHF have done to take us to our starting line in April.  We will need massive support and help along the way and we’ll be reaching out to thousands and thousands of people to help.  It will be a marathon not a sprint and we are ready to face the challenge and to run this race on behalf of all cancer patients and those interested in seeing us Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime!  Can’t wait until April 12^th!  Believe It!

We are about to launch an historic fundraising campaign for Canadian healthcare.  Our challenge is to raise $1 billion over 5 years through philanthropy and through competitive granting.  I get asked by folks who know about this: "How will you raise $1 billion?"  My short answer is, "One dollar at a time" plus, "ask EVERYONE to donate."  A billion is  a huge number but every single dollar is important to us……we will raise this money literally one dollar and one donor at a time.  The other part of our historic success at PMH is to reach out to a very, very large number of people, companies, organizations, suppliers, friends and volunteers……EVERYBODY, and ask for a donation, or to volunteer to help us.  We literally ask everyone we meet and know to support our creed and vision -- To Conquer Cancer in Our Lifetime.  Everyone who knows me also knows I will ask them to donate, help or volunteer.  Not everyone says yes to us but often even the people who say "NO" simply mean "not now."  So we are confident of raising a record $1 billion through philanthropy and competitive granting over 5 years…..and I will personally ask EVERYONE I KNOW TO DONATE TO THE CAUSE! It’s what we do here……it is our passion. We have a 100% Commitment plan as part of our Campaign. Thanks to all who have made their commitment……we’ll ask you again soon for another donation!

The extraordinary work going on at The Princess Margaret is crucial to conquering cancer in our lifetime. It’s important and very serious work. And in order to deliver funding for breakthrough research, teaching and compassionate care, The Foundation works exceedingly hard and efficiently. But once in a while, it’s great to have a little bit of fun amidst all of the work.

On Monday, PMHF introduced our Billion Dollar Challenge for Personalized Cancer Medicine at The Princess Margaret to staff at PMH and the Ontario Cancer Institute, and did so in a fun but very memorable manner. Any time the word ‘billion’ is included as part of the message, it is huge, but we had some fun delivering it. Every staff member was invited to our 7^th floor atrium, served a boxed lunch, had a piece of celebratory cake, played games of skill and entered their ticket for raffle prizes. Great prizes were awarded every two minutes, and many smiling PMH staff members walked back to their offices with such winnings as DVD players, GPS systems and phones. But along with the fun, I was joined by Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz, Dr. Ben Neel and Dr. Bob Bell in explaining to PMH and OCI staff that The Foundation was embarking on a Billion Dollar Challenge for personalized cancer medicine.

It was a spectacular way to launch our internal messaging on the Billion Dollar Challenge! I am proud to work with such a wonderful, talented, passionate and committed staff at The Princess Margaret Hospital, The Ontario Cancer Institute and, of course, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

This was a historic day for PMH and for Canadian healthcare philanthropy! Will we turn some heads when we publicly announce The Billion Dollar Challenge in April? BELIEVE IT!

Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz is the incredible leader of Princess Margaret Hospital.  Mary is a true renaissance leader and woman.  She is recognized as one of the world’s great radiation oncologists and will be taking over as the head of the UICC in Geneva, which is the world’s most important cancer control organization.  Mary sees patients as well as oversees an army of clinicians, nurses, support staff, and others who look after patients at PMH.  She is one of the hardest working people you could meet and she also has a heart of gold.  This morning, Mary gave a State of the Union address for staff and the auditorium meeting room was packed to the rafters.  Mary reviewed the highlights of the year which were many, and also stressed the need for innovative thinking and, at times, disruptive leadership as we push forward to be a true global pioneer in personalized cancer medicine.  Mary’s talk was informative, hard-hitting, challenging, full of praise and, at times, very funny.  In short, it was like Mary herself.  Mary’s leadership has helped shape PMH as one of the world’s top 5 cancer centres and it’s wonderful to know this powerhouse of leadership and medical innovation will be helping lead the UICC.  So, hats off to Dr. Mary G. and what a spectacular State of the Union speech this morning.  For all staff of PMH, wait until March 5^th when you hear plans of what’s coming next in personalized cancer medicine.  For the rest of the world, wait until April 12^th to hear about this revolution in personalized cancer medicine.  Once you hear, we know you will “BELIEVE IT”.

PMH is served so well by our volunteers.  We have hundreds of volunteers in the hospital and literally thousands of volunteers who come out for our many, many events.  We literally couldn’t succeed without our volunteers and their passionate commitment.  Our Board of Directors are all volunteers too.  Our Board at PMHF is just one of the best volunteer boards serving a social enterprise in Canada! We have very senior and experienced business people as well as the heads of the hospital and research enterprise on our Board.  We are delighted to welcome a new Board member- Janice Fukakusa.

Janice is the very talented CFO of RBC.  She has been named as one of the most powerful women in Canada and has one of the most senior jobs at one of the world’s largest banks by market capitalization.  For someone as talented (and busy) as Janice to join our Board is something we are grateful for! 

 

Also, we welcomed Stephen Bear, the head of McKinsey Management Consultants in Canada, as he stepped up to be Vice-Chairman of our Board of Directors.  Steve has been a tireless supporter of PMH and PMHF.  He is also one of the world’s great management consultants and brings his incredible talent and experience to our board.

Both Janice and Steve are extraordinarily talented, experienced and special people. Both Janice and Steve represent the best of what volunteers do for PMH and for PMHF.  Welcome Janice and thanks Steve!!!