So I did the unthinkable.

I did something no one admits to: I didn’t even make an attempt to vote in a recent by election in Toronto Center. Actually, I consciously chose to not exercise my democratic right as a citizen to cast a vote for any of the given candidate. Then I admitted to it.

The response was, well, swift. A barrage of Twitter voices rained down public condemnation. Words like “disgusting”, “outrage”, “sad”, “unpatriotic”, etc. flooded in. I was all alone, defending my action to some of the most vocal proponents of voter malaise and of course partisan happy clappers. At the same time I was also receiving email, IM’s, and direct messages from others admitting they’d done the same. I was now a confessional for the quiet majority. And if 23% was indeed voter turnout then this sustained intellectual guilt offensive isn’t working friends.

Let’s be clear about something, I am an engaged citizen, but apathetic. And judging by the honest and direct response(s) I received, others are to.

So let me re-introduce the elephant in the room and ask that we start a new conversation without militant foamers ranting about what my/our patriotic rights are and are not. Because this apathy is infectious and volatile. My action may have gotten up the nose of a few people, but I can now openly engage a very large group of citizens in this dialogue without an agenda. (The spoiled ballot argument is a different conversation).

The worst part of my decision was not in ‘renouncing’ my voice, but the knowledge that my community would (initially) be disappointed: Meegs, Ian ,Mark ,Shawn - the people who have inspired and made citizen engagement exciting for me w/o any partisan colours. And the reason why I cared enough to write this post.

So why did so many of us (the majority) not vote in the Toronto Center by election? (Past results: http://www.elections.on.ca/en-CA/Tools/PastResults.htm) I have no idea. But I do know that the cure to our voter apathy is in citizen/community self-organization and engagement (like my experience with those mentioned previously) — not personal brands, lawn signs or buttons.

As citizens we need to speak to each other and identify our collective priorities and solutions rather than continue be lazy (yes lazy) and have a few (strong) voices influence polices and platforms. It is here that that we will feel our voice again giving our votes purpose. Because if “they” still don’t listen, then new leaders will emerge from the community to run as strong independent alternatives who better reflect the community mandate, rather than continue our great Canadian tradition of flogging solutions, shoe horned into tired political brands.

I’ll see you at GevilCamp ChangeCamp, flask in tow.
I’ve set up a confessional, what do you think? Results will be shared at ChangeCamp http://rypple.com/ryantaylor/vote

For almost 3 years I have been trying to use, create or cobble together solutions that fit my business as ‘THE’ solution for managing projects, bills, people, etc. Our problem is unique in that we design, manufacture, market, and sell our goods to multiple channels. Add to that the complexity of a retail operations, an ecommerce site and your starting to look at some very expensive software solutions and time consuming process analysis. What I’ve found over the past while is problems can be solved with some simple tools and organisational changes.

Let’s start with ‘Who’s The Boss’?

My company is run fairly lean; and being in a capital intensive business we must keep staff to an absolute minimum. So how does this lean/small business model affect project management, software choices and the decisions around implementation?

The idea of identifying ‘whos in charge’ was an interesting concept that bubbled up from the recent ProductCamp ‘08 in Toronto. In my session ‘Product Management @ a Start-Up’ we explored the idea that a CEO/Founder is ‘THE’ original Product Manager and as an organisation evolves that responsibility falls to someone new who then inherits the title ‘Product Manger’ but they essentially need to become the CEO/Founder *reborn* infusing new ideas, entrepreneurial spirit, taking the product/service forward with confidence from senior management .

There was some confusion around the idea, not because it was some complex theory, but because the session was peppered with entrepreneurs who hadn’t considered this potential issue, and product managers in start-ups who were experiencing this very challenge. Bottom line is when CEO’s don’t hand over their ‘baby’ a power struggle occurs affecting the team who only wish to do their job. This unwillingness to ‘just let go’ also affects the solutions available to you. For entrepreneurs you need to consider your successor, CEO’s need to let go, and Product Managers need to identify this unhealthy distraction with their senior management.

By applying this logic to my organisation I was able to identify myself as CEO and the primary designer/manager which drastically reduced my software/process choices and more importantly I could now identify the need to plan for my future successor.

As a good friend of mine reminds me of almost everyday “the talent is in the choice”.

Comments? Join the conversation on Twitter using hashtag #PCT1 or visit the ProductCamp Wiki