The case for a Strategic Balance Sheet.
At a time when the market value of a business bears no relationship to the financial balance sheet, when PE ratios of market darlings are counted in geometric multiples, something is wrong. Currently the PE ratio of stock market darlings: Apple at 33,...
Where to find the best money machine
A business is like a money machine. Put a dollar in, and get 2, or 5, or 10 back, and you have a good business. Put a dollar in and get 0.90 back, is a big red sign that the machine is broken. The caveat is that it may be a start-up, in which case, a dip before...
Manufacturing success has a new driver.
The world of manufacturing is in a state of perpetual change. The rate of which is accelerating at a scary pace, and Australia is falling further behind. Manufacturing moved from being powered by steam to powered by electricity, a process that took over...
Are the marketing four P’s still relevant?
In 1960, E. Jerome McCarthy published his idea of the four foundations of marketing. Price, Promotion, Product, and Place. The world has changed in the intervening 62 years, so you must wonder if this idea is still relevant, let alone a foundation. To my...
The chicken and egg dilemma sorted
Yesterday, Tuesday Sept 19, 2022, I went along to the Modern Manufacturing Expo at the Sydney showground. Expectations were high that I would be able to see the emerging technologies, techniques, product, and service innovations that might support the...
Social media’s ‘Tinder-test’ of effectiveness
Social media platforms all compete for your attention, not just with other platforms, but with the rest of your life. Then, once you have given it, the real test begins. What do you do with it. The nature of social media is almost instantaneous. When something...
Remove senseless bureaucratic barriers to productivity.
In an economy desperate for productivity, how often does stupid, mindless bureaucracy get in the way? This is not an argument against bureaucracy, rather it is an argument for strategic common sense. It is a nonsense to apply one standard across a myriad of...
EDA: The make-or-break choices for scaling.
Scaling is the objective of every SME I have ever dealt with; they all want to get bigger. In every case they have the same three challenges. Which activities do they Eliminate? Which ones do they Delegate? Which ones do they Automate? EDA: the challenge...
Is a sale just an exchange of value?
What we purchase and what we pay for it can be a deeply psychological process. The cost is one element, the value or utility delivered is often an entirely different matter. The vast majority of purchases of a car represent a mix of the rational with the irrational,...
Go fishing for customers
When crafting a selling message, make it simple so that the intended audience knows exactly what the offer is, who it is for, the problem it solves, the value it delivers, and what life will be like if you pass. We have a brain that filters out anything...