I'm very happy to be able to say that I'll be participating in this year's TEDxFolkestone (yup, they have one there - it's all going on down the South coast). The talk will present the idea...
Read moreNope. A sad fact of life is that even the best ideas will often get warped and simplified to the point of uselessness. As concepts pass through the public consciousness, people will inevitably...
Read moreYou may have heard Voltaire’s phrase “the perfect is enemy of the good” - often used in a business context to essentially mean “just get it...
Read moreIt has been said that the true competitor of a Harley Davidson is not a Yamaha, or a Honda, but in fact a conservatory. Within this quip lies the most fundamental of strategic truths; one which...
Read moreFollowing the success of the previous Basic Arts publication Make interesting companies, not interesting advertising, I'm delighted to announce the follow up Make companies without...
Read moreIf you’re reading this, two things can be assumed: You have seen the new Gillette ad You have an opinion on the new Gillette ad Now, for our purposes here what that opinion is...
Read moreIn spite of everything you read - including here - there isn’t really one right way to run a business. Businesses can become successful via all sorts of weird strategies, including ones that...
Read moreDon’t try and be like Steve Jobs. Don’t learn from his example, don’t try and copy his techniques, don’t internalise his philosophy. I’m not referring here to his famously...
Read moreAs has been touched on in these pages before, there is little more insidious than a focus on gaining “market share”. The idea encourages all sorts of self-destructive beliefs, such as: ...
Read moreFrank Zappa, when asked “why modern music sucks”, had an interesting answer which is highly instructive for the degradation of all sorts of artistic disciplines - not least marketing. It’s...
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