Commentary

There is more than optimistic cargo numbers to kick off 2018 down at the waterfront.

Climate change has been widely discussed in recent weeks. COP23, hosted in Bonn in mid--November, brought together 20,000 people including government delegates, representatives of non-governmental organizations and journalists.

More businesses fail than succeed. That’s an unfortunate reality. Leaders and their teams are understandably often busy working in their businesses rather than on their businesses.

The coming year promises to be an eventful one for the B.C. business community. While our economy continues to grow at a decent pace, business leaders need to brace themselves for the bumpy road that lies ahead.

If Bill Morneau wants a happy holiday, he had better hope Santa isn’t an incorporated small-business professional. There would be more than coal in the stocking. Annus horribilis is ending for the finance minister none too soon.

The year that is about to end was unlike any other in British Columbia’s political history.

When Business in Vancouver first approached me to write this column and speculate about the key issues facing B.C.’s business community in 2018, a few obvious ideas came to mind. Then a few more came to mind. And a few more.

This past year has been a world on fast-forward. From Donald Trump to self-driving cars to Vancouver’s ceiling-less property market, the ground is shifting beneath our feet.

The year ahead is fraught with uncertainty, challenges and opportunities. Blending all three to ensure economic viability and livability is possible, but it will only happen through collaboration and the mindset of taking mitigated risks.

The year 2018 will be the year of the “radical doer” – people whose bias to action makes them too impatient to wait for systems or consensus, convinced that if they do the right thing now, the rest will learn and follow.