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...
14 characteristics of a valuable business coach, and a kicker.
'Business coach' seems to have suddenly become a go-to moniker for former corporate executives looking for a new gig. For someone who recognises that a coach might be a valuable performance enhancing addition, how do you pick the right person? I had a conversation on...
A marketers explanation of design thinking
Some weeks ago, I found myself as a participant in a workshop touted to be one that was focussed on solving a problem by use of ‘design thinking' Unfortunately, it was a waste of everyone’s time. Partly this was because the problem we were supposed to be...
Will stagflation screw ‘Purpose’ marketing?
Some hard lessons will need to be learnt by the new crop of marketing managers who have never faced the evil of a recession, and even worse, one that has inflation as its bed-fellow. Stagflation. This is not supposed to happen, but it is, and we are seeing the...
How do you solve the paradox of repeatable processes and creativity
Processes are the means by which things get done. From the simplest thing like cleaning the coffee machine in the lunchroom, to launching a major new product, it happens by way of a series of activities culminating in the objective being achieved. It...
The ‘Flattening’ of energy production.
For some years academics have been mumbling to themselves about an observed phenomena they generally called 'Flattening'. The discussions have been centred around technology, but the impact can be seen in a much wider context. The idea is that technology...
The other downside of Morrisons power grab not being discussed
There is an additional and dangerous downside to former Prime Minister Morrison's grab for power I have not seen aired anywhere. Like everyone else, I have watched the emerging revelations with amazement. The weight of commentary against the actions he...
A summary of the post covid workplace disruption blather
There has been an awful lot of trees cut down to accommodate the blather about the new world of post covid work. In an effort to condense the 'debate' and save a few trees, the following is what I have gleaned. Humanity. We humans are social animals, we need...