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 […]

I’ve finally figured out why most strategies are so bad

This idea comes from a Linkedin post I did which seemed to strike a nerve, so I thought I’d expand on it here. What are the ingredients of a great strategy? Data? Insight? Creativity? Skill? Leadership? Knowledge? Clarity? For sure, all that stuff is required.  But there’s one other thing which is just as crucial […]

Here’s how I know when I’ve found the right strategy

In the past few months I’ve been trying to make my writing more practical and useful. However the thing about strategy is that this approach only ever gets you so far.  You can only boil things down to simple instructions up to a point… after which you have no choice but to leap into the […]

Flood your ears with this strategy podcast bonanza.

A special treat this week, with not just one but TWO new podcast strategy-fests for your listening pleasure. Take your pick of which you fancy. Or if you think your synapses can handle it… Who knows… Perhaps even listen to both. Want a brand-focused strat chat? Then listen to this one… First up we have […]

The skill behind all strategy

Let’s try something. I want to give you a feeling of what happens to your brain when you think strategically.  Ready to go?  Let’s begin with imagining some menial task in your day job.  Writing an email.  Filing an invoice.  That sort of thing. Now, zoom out. Zoom out so you can see that task […]