Canadian Office Supplies: Helping Others

It was a hot, sunny Friday afternoon when I interviewed Jennivine Doo, partner and sales manager for Canadian Office Supplies (www.canadianofficesupplies.com). Her and her husband, Toma, started the company in 1989. Toma used to work for MDA (McDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.) as an engineer. One morning at 5am, after working through the night, Toma looked up to see Mr. Dettwiler (the D in MDA) also working. That day, Toma decided that he didn't like where he was heading in his career. If he was working to be a partner in the business, and the partners work that hard and that long, then he didn't want to continue down that path. So Toma quit and started his own company.

Right from the start, Jennivine and Toma decided that God would be the owner of the company. And that they would run the business the same way God would run the business. To them that meant to do business with the utmost integrity, there would be prayers are all the meetings, and that they would give 40% of their net profits away to God-honouring charities. They believed God would not run a business to maximize profits, but would run a business that served people.

The mission of Canadian Office Supplies is "to provide customer service that is not just the best, but legendary". And they didn't just aim to serve customers, but their suppliers and their staff. The couple believed that it was their responsibility to motivate, equip, and train their staff to pursue excellence in their work. This meant daily training sessions, but also caring for their staff by doing things to help them, like helping them quit smoking.

"In good economic times it works well, but in hard times there are difficult decisions to be made." Jennivine tells of an instance of discovering an employee who was overcharging a customer, and another time when her top salesperson started his own business and took 30% of the customers with him. "What is kindness and mercy and what is the right thing to do?", she asks.

Sometimes, trying to help others does not end up well. In these situations, our motivation is tested. Do we help others because it is the most successful thing to do? Or do we help others because it is the right thing to do?

Jennivine shares her desire to connect with other Christian business owners. The challenges she faces at work are very different from the majority of people in her church. She is part of a women presidents group that allows her to interact with others going through similar business challenges, but most of them do not come from a Christian perspective so it is different.

Who do you turn to when you face challenges in your business and work?