A Globo & Mail recently profiled American-born entrepreneur Jennifer McNeill, vice-president and chief executive officer of Calgary-based CipherSoft Inc.

In this interview, McNeill, um “cross-border entrepreneur” who has lived and worked in both the U.S. Canadá e, commented on some of the differences between American and Canadian business culture.

Ela disse, “Canadian organizations sometimes hold themselves back because they lack the confidence of American companies.”

Como ela explica:

If I am working with a U.S. business person who is talking about their company, o céu é o limite para eles. They are going to do whatever it takes to get wherever they need to go.

But when you are dealing with Canadians, eles podem dizer, “Bem, I made $200,000 ano passado. I got to travel, and I’m going to the beach. In the winter months I spend two to three months in Phoenix, so I am completely happy.’

The hunger is not there – which is not necessarily a bad thing because the quality of life in Canada is much better. But when it comes to the business world, in small to medium-sized businesses especially, they limit themselves on what they can do.

McNeill nasceu e cresceu no Alabama, e em idade 30, she relocated to Calgary to work for a high-tech company, Cipher Sistemas. She eventually rose to become Cipher Systems’ CEO, before selling the company. She subsequently co-founded CipherSoft in 2002.

With dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, she now splits her time between Calgary and Las Vegas.

Here’s a link to the complete interview: A serial entrepreneur on both sides of the border.

O que você acha? Can entrepreneurial drive and good quality of life co-exist? Have you found other significant differences between the business environment in Canada and in your home country?

Photo by dherrera_96 (Flickr)