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Hello Working World readers. My name is Tory McNally, and I am honoured to have the privilege of continuing to share human resources and career expertise in this column. My background includes educational and professional credentials in human resources and personal experience as director of operations at McNally Robinson Booksellers for 10 years.

In that role, I learned first-hand not only how to treat people at work but also why consistency and communication are key pieces for developing and maintaining healthy employee relationships. I learned to juggle the needs of both business operations and employee relations and encouraged employees to share in decision-making to encourage fuller employee engagement.

I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a family business. My parents were strong leaders and business owners who had grit, imagination and daring. They grew their bookstores from neighbourhood shops to large cultural hubs that incorporated books, gifts, food, music, art, and special events. They taught me the values of hard work, kindness, and being curious about the world.

Although my parents, as bookstore business owners, did not draft formal workforce forecasting plans or sketch out organizational charts as we do today, they understood how to recognize and nurture talent, empower employees, and build positive company culture. Building on their success, I engaged in formal human resources training to round out my understanding of how operations and human resources should work together while still considering the constraints of business ownership. Today, I am a certified professional in human resources and the vice-president of HR consulting services at Legacy Bowes, a leading human resource consulting firm. I very much value the opportunity to combine the best of my professional practice and personal passion into my human resources career.

Most of us don’t much care how the goods we buy get to us, just as long they are in the right place when we want them.

But transportation and supply chain logistics, especially when it comes to moving grain, are a complex blend of both art and science, combined with supply chain co-operation, competitive pressures and no small measure of government oversight and regulation.

Finding the right balance has plagued the industry and Canadian policy-makers since the early days of Confederation.

Prairie farmers face one of the longest hauls by rail of anywhere in the world to get their grain to market. Decades ago, when there were thousands of grain elevators and lower production, the grain-handling system could hold much of the crop. Today there’s a lot more grain and only a few hundred elevators, so the system can only hold about nine per cent of the crop.

Every leading company knows that a foundational element of their winning game plan is a sound communications strategy. You can only develop an effective communications approach once you know how your product provides unique value to your customers (as defined by them), pricing your product appropriately, and enabling an effective method of delivering your product to your customer.

Too often companies fall into the “shiny object” trap of focusing on the latest social media or digital marketing craze for their communications, rather than first taking the time to carefully craft the right type of message that speaks to their customers (both current and new). When it comes to advertising, every leading company knows what to say (value in your message), how to say it (tone of voice and emotional/rational approach), and where to say it (choice of media).

The recommended approach to crafting your message that applies to any industry, begins by first identifying your unique value to share. This must be more than a simple features and benefits statement. When you learn what your customers value, extract these nuggets that speak to the problem your product solves or the opportunity that you help them take advantage of.

Next, determine the tone of your message. Key considerations include whether you have a serious corporate tone or if you are going to inject humour into your message? Are you self-effacing about your company and product? A study from the University of Western Ontario found that companies that use humour are more profitable. Don’t look for what is funny and just replay it. Look for something true and say it in a funny way so it becomes memorable.

KANE Biotech, a Winnipeg biotech company that has been developing technologies and products to prevent and remove hard-to-address microbial biofilms, has received U.S. clearance on a wound-care product.

A month before this week’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for Coactiv+ Antimicrobial Wound Gel, Kane signed a U.S. distribution deal with ProgenaCare. The FDA approval triggered a $500,000 payment from ProgenaCare.

The FDA approval is a major advancement for the company, which had been making and selling a line of oral pet care using some of its patented antimicrobial technology. The pet care market does not have nearly the same hurdles to achieve regulatory approval.

The FDA approval and partnership with ProgenaCare are significant milestones for Kane, which has persisted in its research and development and commercialization for many years.

Wab Kinew promised he would avoid typical electioneering rhetoric in a speech to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday and then hit all the right business notes in front of a full house at the Fort Garry Hotel.

At the outset he said one of his fundamental political beliefs was, “The economic horse pulls the social cart.”

Speaking for more than 20 minutes without notes, Kinew didn’t necessarily present any economic development ideas that have not been considered or explored in the past, but he went out of his way to convey to the traditional business crowd that if the Manitoba NDP forms the next government it will make sure it provides responsible governance when it comes to the economy.

For starters, he said if he forms the next government he will balance the budget within his first term.