The corporate dance is not unlike the horizontal tango.

"Like dancing, sport, or sex, you can read all about it, but until you try it you're not doing it," Virginia Greene, Business Council of British Columbia CEO, told 200 business students last week in Victoria.

Greene was a keynote speaker at a one-day skills conference hosted by the University of Victoria for commerce students. There are 10 values fledgling suits should consider, said Greene, whose experience includes one stint as as a successful entrepreneur and two as a provincial deputy minister. She emphasized the importance of personal values in the business world.

"The emphasis has shifted from making money to making a difference," she said. "Never has there been a time in which personal values in how you run your business are so important."

A former assistant deputy minister from 1983 to 1987, Greene oversaw the marketing of Expo 86. She left government to start her own business, a direct-marketing firm that was quickly snapped up by advertising giant J. Walter Thompson.

In 2004, after a failed bid for a Liberal seat in the Vancouver-Fairview riding, she returned to public service, first as deputy minister of tourism, sports and the arts and then to the premier's office as deputy minister for intergovernmental affairs.

"But I wasn't having fun," Greene told the students, underlining one of her 10 personal values: have fun. Cautioning against staying in "career purgatory" too long, Greene advised students to recognize when they are unhappy at work and "to understand why you are there and to only stay if you know it will change."

Other values-based advice included: treat people as you would like to be treated, anticipate change, take risks, don't let making money become the only goal in your career, and mentor others.

Third-year commerce student Alex Hill said she will heed some of Greene's advice.

"Taking risks is something I will work on in the future," Hill said. "It's something I haven't done, but should."

Greene took over as business council CEO in December 2007. In an interview after her talk, she said B.C. faces unique economic times. In addition to skills shortages and succession planning solutions, Greene said the council is studying what B.C's economic challenges might look like by 2020.

"An event like the (2010 Winter) Olympics consumes a lot of current time and attention," she said. "So we're trying to look at where we're going in this province and what are some of the big policy issues that we are going to have to grapple with as we diversify our economy, deal with labour shortages and try to incorporate the north into the southern reality of B.C."

Victoria's reality of a "vibrant, new green-energy sector driven by the university," will help the region, she said. "And, of course, the government is here and not showing any signs of moving elsewhere," she said with a grin.

vmoreau@saanichnews.com