Las Vegas Golden Knights odds for 2023-24 NHL season | Chris Atack posted on the topic | LinkedIn (2025)

Due to my self diagnosed OCD, I run 5KM every day. Although I actually hate distance running, much like Forrest Gump, I just started one day and haven’t stopped since! That said, I’m actually looking forward to running in the RBC Race For Kids event this Sunday (October 6) at Wesley Clover Parks in support of the CHEO Foundation. Finally, I'll run for a purpose! My family has been extremely fortunate to have CHEO in our backyard over the years, so I’m happy to have the opportunity to participate in an event where the proceeds will have a long-lasting impact on our community (a massive redevelopment plan that will, in its first phase, include the construction of an integrated treatment centre (also known as1Door4Care). This facility, which will merge 10 care locations from across the region into one address, is a once-in-a-generation investment to improve health services for children and youth living with complex medical, developmental, behavioural or mental health needs.If you are able to contribute and support this campaign, you can donate by clicking on the link in the post!Hope to see many of my friends and Ottawa based LinkedIn connections there this Sunday!

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Imagine a world without the Virtual Yellow 1st & Ten® line in NFL TV broadcasts. It's hard to remember, right? That innovation changed the game for viewers back in 1998, but fast forward 25 years, and AI and machine learning are taking us to the next level. New for 2023, Amazon has released a number of new innovative features for their Thursday Night Football broadcast, driven by AI and machine learning, which analyze over 300 million data points per season! These features give fans a whole new perspective on the game and its strategies, giving the broadcast a little bit of an Electronic Arts (EA) Madden NFL feel (still one of the best video games on the market IMO). These enhancements were driven by feedback from viewers, who want to better understand and connect with how the game is played. I’ve summarized my top 3 innovations below, but I’d recommend checking out this article from the Athletic for a more detailed (and better explained) version of this story!🏈 Prime Targets – this feature is designed to enable fans to see what the quarterback sees in real time by highlighting receivers that are open with a green circle.🏈 4th Down Decision Guide – fans can go inside the mind of an NFL coach (go for it or kick) by being presented with the odds of success and the likely impact on the team’s ability to win the game with either decision. 🏈 Defensive Alerts – reading a defense is tough, even for the pros. This feature tracks the movements of defensive players before the snap and identifies potential danger (the rusher(s)) with a red circle.These innovations, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), are poised to not only revolutionize the broadcast experience, but they will also influence the sport itself, enabling coaches and athletes to make data-informed decisions, improving their performance and strategies.It’s one thing to talk about innovation as a core value in your business, but it’s quite another to truly embrace radical changes that improve the internal and/or external experience with your product, your service, and ultimately your brand (and in the case of Amazon, the utilization of assets to cross promote your business lines by demonstrating their performance in an integrated fashion). * note - you need to access the Prime Vision with Next Gen Stats stream to see these features in action (not available on the standard TSN feed in Canada).#AI #innovation #machinelearning #datadrivenhttps://lnkd.in/e8Ymy7_5

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How can we incorporate AI into our business? This is a question we often hear from clients and prospects at I4C Consulting Inc, driven by the desire to improve business performance and to explore how tech can replace or enhance various human functions or tasks. With numerous AI tools in the market, it can be daunting to choose the right path. However, here are five areas to consider, applicable across various businesses:💰 1. Driving Revenue (Marketing & Sales): AI tools can significantly enhance your marketing and sales efforts and collapse these traditional silos. They automate email campaigns, target audiences for digital ads, provide personalized product suggestions, score leads, offer accurate sales forecasts, and more.😁 2. Retaining Revenue (Customer Support): AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are your 24/7 support team. They handle routine inquiries and direct more complex issues to human agents, improving response times and customer satisfaction (and done properly, drive incremental sales opportunities with your existing customer base).📊 3. Business Intelligence (Data Analytics & Insights): Machine learning uncovers patterns, trends, and correlations, empowering data-driven decision-making, predictive analytics, customer segmentation, and more. . 🔐 4. Cybersecurity: AI-powered cybersecurity tools ensure that you are covered, 24/7. They continuously monitor traffic, user behavior, and system logs to identify unusual patterns and anomalies. Phishing detection, security automation, and fraud prevention are just a few of the capabilities.🤖 5. Process Automation: Reduce operational costs and save time with AI-driven automation. From data entry to inventory management, AI-driven Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tools take on repetitive and rule-based tasks, enabling your team to focus on more strategic initiatives.AI is a driving force for innovation in various aspects of business, transforming the way we operate and the experience that our employees and customers have with our business. Later this week, I'll use the NFL Thursday Night Amazon broadcast as an example of this in action in a separate post.Where are you on this journey? How can we help?#AI #data #becurious

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The challenges presented by inflation and the associated interest rate hikes are common topics of conversation, both in business and our personal lives. It's been quite a journey, dating back to March of 2020.⌛ Inflation's Early Days: I think back to March 2020, the onset of the worldwide pandemic. At that time, I was working in the sports and entertainment industry, which seemed like one of the absolute worst places to be. My immediate fears were health-related (1a), and my financial concerns (1b) revolved around job security and overall financial implications personally and for the economy in general. Like many, I wasn't thinking about the longer-term implications of the pandemic and the measures that were taken to support Canadians at that time. The focus was on the here/now. With lockdowns in place and vacations canceled, savings accumulated and were quickly spent on things like home improvements and recreational vehicles. It seemed my (1b) scenario was a false concern!📈 The Impact of Inflation: Then came inflation, altering our financial landscape. Factors like unusual supply/demand issues and global instability led to significant swings in the cost of living. The Bank of Canada's inflation calculator shows a 15.8% increase since September 2020 (3.8% since September 2022) but depending on factors like the timing of your mortgage renewal, latest vehicle lease or purchase, and where you shop/what you buy, your % cost increase might be substantially higher. Check out the slides in this post for some examples that most of us are feeling on a daily basis:🛣 The Road Ahead: Affordability will remain a major topic in Canada. What can be justified, influenced, or adjusted? Time will tell. This reality forces tough decisions, both personally and in business. Perhaps it’s changing our buying habits and reconsidering what we value on the personal front. In business, leaders are challenged with finding ways to optimize and become more efficient, through technology, process, or perhaps upgrading the skills of their people.I’m interested in hearing from you? How have you dealt with/are you dealing with inflation in your business?#datainsights#itmodernization#training

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Ohhhh “Picture Day”.It’s that time of year again when kids across the country line up for annual school photos, a tradition that despite the fact we all carry a camera/phone in our pocket, continues on today. 😬 After a 45 minute battle with my 6 year old daughter over clothing choices for picture day earlier this week, I began to think about (and dive into) some history and underlying numbers….🎒📸 🗝 When & Why Did School Pictures Begin?Starting in the late 19th century, schools began to document class photos, which were often formal and serious reflecting the style of photography at that time (which explains why those old historical photos have an angry vibe to them!). Schools felt it was important to capture the students and their growth/achievement as education became more widespread and accessible.Families proudly displayed these photos, symbolizing both social status and a sense of identity (belonging to a larger educational community).💰 What Is The Estimated Value of The School Picture Business?Despite a downturn in the number of photos purchased by parents, the industry is estimated to be in the $1.6B range.In 2018, Shutterfly purchased LifeTouch (who owned the majority of the US market) for $825M, giving them access to 10 million American homes (this story has some interesting twists post 2018, but that’s for another post).🤑 What Is The Average Package Cost?The average in North America is $27 USD, with a typical range of $20-$50 per package.Perhaps in a world where we don’t often print photos anymore, this isn’t too bad!💸 How Many Parents Actually Purchase A Package?The estimate varies from 50-70%, with factors like the age of the student and socioeconomic status impacting the likelihood of purchase. 📱 What Is The Greatest Challenge Facing This Industry?This seems obvious.An estimated 1.81 trillion photos will be taken in 2023 and 92.5% of those will be taken with smartphones.The rise in the volume of photography reduces the value of the average photo (and we can all agree that the outcome of picture day is generally average at best!). 🔢 % Of Children Requiring “Re-Takes” – In my case, it was 92.6% of the time.Ok, I made that up. I can’t find a reliable stat here, but would suggest that the combination of the forced awkward head tilt pose and manufactured smiles (say cheese!) pushes retake numbers higher than you might suspect…or maybe that was just me.It will be interesting to see if (and how) this industry evolves to deliver value beyond the current model in an attempt to offset downward purchase patterns now and in the future. 📊💼What burning questions do you have in your business that might be answered by a deep dive into your data (and industry data)? Connect with I4C Consulting Inc and let's explore the challenge together.Photo credit to my Mom…cause she purchased (and remarkably kept) this photo!#data #insights #becurious #takeaction

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File this one under “things that reveal you might be a nerd”… but hey, data analysis and application is a significant portion of our business here at i4C!My 15-year-old daughter, a huge “Swiftie”, and I were driving around listening to my music on shuffle. It was obvious she wasn’t having it, so I decided to move over to SiriusXM and one of her favorite Taylor Swift tunes was playing (a small Dad win). I looked at my daughter and asked, “I wonder what the % chance is that you turn on your radio and get hit with a Taylor Swift song on a hit music radio station?”.My daughter, naturally, rolled her eyes and looked the other way (a small Dad loss). Undeterred, I dug into this question when I got home (yeah, I did use ChatGPT).To truly answer this, we’d want to implement real-time monitoring and/or do a proper analysis of the playlist for every Top 40 station in North America, but that seems like overkill for a question that seemingly only I am asking…so we’ll use an estimation driven by 4 key data points:🎶 # of songs in the rotation – Top 40 stations rotate, on average, 20-50 songs with the core songs being played every 1-2 hours🎸 Song duration – The average song is 3-4 minutes, so with commercial breaks and DJ banter, you are probably looking at around 15 songs an hour⭐ Taylor Swift’s popularity – apparently this has recently changed, particularly if you are a Chiefs fan…but let’s just say that her music is generally very popular📻 Frequency of play – If one of Taylor’s songs is part of the station’s core rotation (which is fair to say is true), it would play every 1-2 hours.With all this in mind, when one of Taylor Swift’s songs fall into heavy rotation, you’d expect a 1 in 15 chance that her song would play in any given hour (6.67%).If there are multiple songs in rotation, of course, this % chance would increase slightly. OK, so now you know why my daughter rolled her eyes… Consider this a light-hearted example of how curiosity can drive insights, even if they are estimated with tools like ChatGPT. While precision would require the right data models and tools, objectively examining your business through a series of sometimes simple questions can be enlightening and helps to plant the seeds necessary for business transformation. #data #insights #becurious #ottawa

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Every year, as the summer comes to a close, my family and I have a special tradition.We travel to one of the last remaining Drive-In theaters in the Greater Ottawa area, nestled in Port Elmsley, Ontario. It might not have the most luxurious amenities (as you can see), but the 70-year-old retro charm and general sense of nostalgia make it an experience that I look forward to each year. As I tried to wrap my head around what was happening in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I drifted into thinking about the significance of tradition both in my personal life and in business. Thinking back to my time with the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club, it was the annual Family Christmas Party—a unique event that brought together not only the back-office staff but also the on-ice team. In retrospect, this event held more value for me than many of the perks associated with being part of an NHL team. Why? Because it was an annual highlight for my children, making it a truly impactful experience.During my tenure at Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), win or lose, we would gather after Redblacks games for a staff party. This served as more than just a celebration—it was an opportunity for every member of the organization to come together, bond, and strengthen relationships, transcending job titles and outcomes.In our business at I4C Consulting Inc, we specialize in projects often classified as innovations or improvements. Frequently, this includes implementing new technologies and processes, ushering in change across organizations. Naturally, evolution is crucial for every business's survival, yet I've come to appreciate that safeguarding traditions that hold significance for both your staff and customers is equally essential. Just like anchors, traditions keep you rooted and connected to your brand's identity and origins.So…embrace change, continue to innovate…but stay connected to who you are regardless of the size or scope of your business. 🎥🌟 #TraditionAndTransformation #BusinessJourney

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