Most business programs don’t work – here’s why

Let me tell you an important story. It’s about the time I was at a conference with Donald Miller – creator of the Storybrand system, and someone I deeply admire. For those of you who don’t know, Storybrand is basically a technique for writing your brand copy in the format of a story – with […]

What to do when sh*t hits the fan

When you break up with someone, have you ever noticed something weird? The next person you get together with – mysteriously – somehow ends up being the exact opposite of the person you broke up with. Funny that. It’s almost like us humans have a tendency to over-correct when things go wrong. And to over-value […]

The 10 greatest strategic innovations of all time

Innovations are nice and all. But strategic innovations are something different. These small – sometimes even trivial – features aren’t just new. They are symbolic of the organisation’s strategy as a whole. They are instrumental to its unique value offering, and demonstrate the frightening clarity of thought at play behind the scenes. But instead of […]

Most founders ignore their most powerful marketing asset.

Back when I was working in agency-land, I had an original thought I was rather proud of. I called it “the portable idea”, and the gist was that for a piece of marketing to be effective, it needed to communicate the brand’s message not only if you saw it, but also if somebody told you […]

The true purpose of strategy.

Next Sunday, I’m turning 40. And it feels like a pretty significant one, to tell the truth. Not just because it’s a landmark birthday, but because for many people it marks an inflection point: Is this when life ends? Or is this when life starts? Both of these probably sound pretty hyperbolic, but hear me […]

Why most vision statements suck – and how to make one that doesn’t.

There aren’t many things more vapid than “strategy” out there in the corporate world. But this is one of them. Vision. The idea of the “vision statement” actually makes a lot of sense on paper. You spell out some fabulous future state you’re trying to achieve, then use it to give everyone a sense of […]

Niches are overrated – here’s how to make something with mass appeal.

I’m going to keep this one relatively brief. I see a lot of advice out there celebrating the idea of narrowing down your business to a very specific customer, with a very specific problem. “Riches in the niches” and all that. I call this “Linear Strategy”, because intuitively it makes sense: Step 1: Identify customer […]

This is what a founder’s calendar should look like – does yours?

I can tell how successful your business will be by looking at one thing: How you spend your time. This sounds like a big claim, but it actually isn’t. Truth is, it’s very obvious – because the difference between the founders of great businesses and mediocre ones is so glaring that you can’t miss it. […]

This article will give you a strategy in under 6 minutes.

I don’t really know if what I’m about to write here is true. I haven’t fully thought it through, and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have the data to prove it either way. But true or not, it’s elegant. And as Paul Dirac said, “A theory of beauty is more likely to be […]

If you can only track ONE metric, make it this…

How do most people feel on their birthday? It’s not great… They feel like time is slipping away. Like the end is creeping closer. Like they’re running out of everything – youth, vigour, and opportunities to build the life they dream of. And then one day, it gets even worse. One day, you feel like […]