Master these two stories for your business
In my last newsletter, I talked about the power of a business having a story. Not just a strategy, but a wider narrative that the strategy sits within, explaining where the business has come from, the change it wants to make, and what that would mean to the world. Safe to say, it went down […]
This is the single most powerful thing any business can have
The one thing that would transform any business on the planet is the one thing 99% of them simply don’t have. Not only do they not have it, they don’t even think about it. It’s not capital. It’s not talent. It’s not technology. It’s not even strategy. (Though that is contained within it…). No, it […]
How to pick your audience (my controversial take)
There’s one thing people tell me is missing from my strategy advice: Target audience. I give all this talk about competitors, value, storytelling, etc., and yet I almost never talk about the one topic that makes it hang all together. Who are you actually doing this for? Who should you choose to serve? Well, today […]
The fatal flaw in most businesses – and probably yours too
This one might sting a little, but it needs to be said: You started your business for the wrong reason. So did I. So did most people in fact. And it’s this misguided ambition that lies at the root of most business failure, sooner or later. It’s a bitter pill when you realise it. It’s […]
The first thing you should do: the art of picking your category
I’ve now been doing sessions in The Strategy Shortcut System for 2 weeks, and it’s cool because it’s given me a new perspective. The “mass” nature of the product has shown more clearly where the most common strategic missteps lie for most founders – and, as expected, they are in the places you least expect. […]
You can take down the big guys – here’s how
Every big brand out there is afraid of you. More so than you would think. Even the biggest, most powerful, most seemingly unassailable titans are vulnerable. Google, Apple, Meta – they all can be beaten. Because they all afflicted with the same fatal flaw: The growth trap. The growth trap is why even the best […]
I think Liquid Death is the most significant case study of our generation – here’s why.
Most of the stuff I write is classical strategy schtick in a different outfit. At the end of the day supply and demand is what it is, and there are only so many ways you can make a business work. But there are a couple of exceptions… There are a couple of places where I […]
Three ways strategy needs to change.
Last week, I shared my breakthrough. I realised there are these dynamite principles every founder should know… but they’ve been locked away—hidden in academia and billion-dollar consulting firms. These are the principles of business strategy. The ones almost every business breaks because they don’t know any better. My goal? Change that. I want to: Show […]
How I Went from Getting Fired by Big Corporations to Charging Them $20,000 an Hour
When you think “high paid strategy expert”, my story is not what comes to mind. I have no qualifications I have no MBA I have no PHD I didn’t go to a fancy school I didn’t do a relevant degree I never worked for slick consulting firm Technically I did work for two glamorous blue-chip […]
Recognise this? Signs you have a serious strategy problem
Imagine if you could solve 80% of your business problems in one hit. Well you can, if you get your strategy right. You see lack of strategy normally manifests in multiple downstream ways which founders are always stressing over, but which are often impossible to fix because their root is at a higher level. Sales […]