Books are one of my very favourite things. Ebooks, audiobooks, good old paper and ink books. They inform me, get me thinking in new ways, inspire more than a few of my blogs and often wind their way into my conversations and presentations. More than one person has walked away...
Nearly five years ago (time does indeed fly), I wrote an article headlined “Everyone is not your customer”. Since then I find myself making that same point at least once a month. So it appears some things do bear repeating. Everyone is not your customer. I run an SME too, so I...
“We’re going to need a bigger boat” has become my mantra around purpose lately. Because, while purpose is imperative, it has limits and today is groaning under the weight of expectations. Over lunch with friend and colleague Kate Messenger of Meme Partners in Sydney a few weeks ago, we spent some...
It will be no surprise to anyone who reads this blog that the incessant discussion of the brand as a subset of marketing sends me round the twist. So, here are some questions to ask that will help expand your horizons when thinking about your brand. 1. Do you know what your...
Making promises is easy, but keeping them is hard. With best of intentions and a big dash of self-interest, the words are out almost before we connect with the reality of what it will take to deliver what we’ve said. From a simple, “sure let’s grab a coffee at 10am on...
The dance of promises made by an organisation and the experience it delivers can be everything from the smooth glide of Fred and Ginger circling the floor to the awkward missteps and sore toes of a first waltz. Experience and promises circle each other in continual motion. Where one begins and...
We live in more enlightened times when it comes to brand and while it is finally seen as more than a logo, it remains bedeviled by a project mentality. Many of you have been down the path. Things start feeling a bit ho-hum, the thrill is gone. And so as night...
“Set your goals” is a clarion call organisations faithfully follow. Goals as part of a strategy, goals for projects, goals for meetings and yes, even brand. Yet, the effort to develop goals goes to waste if it is not supported by the right habits. A recent article delved into the under...
The business is starting out and needs a foundation to build on. Or it’s been around a few years and is growing, fast. A venerable family-owned company is going through a changing of the guard. Or the not-for-profit organisation is trying to stay relevant. The reasons to gather around the...
The opportunity to innovate takes different paths. And while any direction must be grounded in organisational identity, the fork in the road is usually signposted revolution this way, incremental status quo that way. But as summarised in a recent Knowledge@Wharton article about David Robertson’s book The Power of Little Ideas, there is...