Struggling with your messaging? It’s easier than you think…
In this newsletter, I’m going to show you the easy way to turn strategy into world class messaging. Not just messaging actually – but world class sales, marketing, and branding; because at the end of the day all of these things are simply messaging applied in different contexts. I appreciate this will sound like heresy […]
You aren’t really trying to grow, and I can prove it
It’s hard growing your business. It’s hard coming up with creative ideas. It’s hard to get a breakthrough. It’s hard to really make things change …or at least, that’s what we tell ourselves. But what if it wasn’t true? What if all this stuff was actually pretty easy? What if the real reason it feels […]
Why your company must also be an “idea”.
You’ve probably noticed that a lot of my writing focuses on the importance of communication in strategy. Or, more specifically, making your case. Standing in front of a group of people. Explaining your thinking. Laying out the plan. And getting them to enthusiastically agree. Indeed, I have gone so far as to say that if […]
Perhaps we need to kill strategy and do this instead
A privilege of my position (albeit a slightly dubious one), is that I get to see a lot of strategies. People often send them to me or describe them to me, and so I’m able to form a pretty decent idea of the “strategy zeitgeist” out there. Are they good? Are they bad? What […]
What your advertising tells you about your strategy
Generally I’m very careful not to talk about advertising. It’s dangerous – for me especially. On a business level, I have to make sure that people don’t confuse my product with pure “ad strategy” or “branding strategy”. Many broader strategy discussions devolve to this, for the simple reason that this is where most conscious “strategy […]
How to use woo-woo magic to get a strategic edge
Look, I happen to think that “woo-woo” works. By which I mean tapping into esoteric, mystical, even spiritual forces for the purpose of developing strategy. I know it sounds crazy, and you don’t have to agree, but in fairness I’m in pretty good company. Steve Jobs had everyone at his funeral issued with Paramahansa Yogananda’s […]
Why post-rationalised strategies are better
OK, here’s an obvious thing that you should have picked up in my writing by now: Leverage comes from doing things differently. Basic right? And who could disagree with that. But we should ask the follow up question – do you really believe it? Because although your mouth may say yes, your actions and your […]
What is “insight speed” and how do you get there?
In my consulting work with clients, I have two practices which I’ve come to realise are very unusual: I favour long meetings (2+ hours) over short I favour public meetings (cafe, bar, etc.) over private My typical client engagement is generally something like a 2.5 hour chit chat in a buzzy coffee shop or members’ […]
Here’s a brainless shortcut that actually works
In a way the core principle of strategy is that there are no shortcuts. There are no obvious, off-the-peg, brainless things you can just “do” to get competitive advantage. Everything requires some degree of thought, insight, and risk. But you know, that may not be strictly true. Because I do believe there is one pretty […]
The Cybertruck is another strategic masterclass from Tesla
Sorry. Here I am writing about Tesla again. I don’t even like Tesla! But damn they just make for the cleanest strategic case studies, so I can’t help it. Elon Musk’s “secret masterplan” that got the company off the ground in the first place (and pretty much invented the electric car category) is basically the […]