March 30, 2009 was the date of the first post on the StrategyAudit site.
I did not know where the second was coming from, but they seemed to emerge from the conversations I have, problems clients and others face, and the observation of what is going on around me.
March 2009 seems a lifetime ago.
Digital had yet to get a stranglehold on our lives, Facebook was still a benign force delivering connectivity we had not previously dreamed about. Its pernicious impact was still well in the future. Barack Obama had just been inaugurated as the 44th, and first black president of the US, and Kevin Rudd the 26th prime Minister had just passed the halfway mark to being deposed by Julia Gillard, before being very briefly resurrected in 2013.
Statistically, half of the almost 2000 posts on this site are below average, on any metric you choose to use. Readership, impact, shared numbers, interest, longevity, all fit somewhere on the normal curve.
That is just the maths of it.
It does not mean there is no value in the below average ones, just that they have failed to generate sufficient traction to move up the ladder. In some cases, that is just the result of a poor headline, which often directs a post I thought was of value to the trash heap. Sometimes the topic is of little interest to others despite tickling my interest, and occasionally, the post truly deserves to be at the bottom of the class.
The very first post was titled ‘Cash is the KPI‘. Not a thrilling headline, but it remains a theme through the following 1,966 posts. Small businesses, the ones I talk to, and from time to time, work with, often forget that cash is the lifeblood of their business. You can go broke with a great looking P&L when you run out of cash.
Unfortunately, I have seen it too often. The accounting profession, focussed as they are on compliance often fail to do the simple analysis of the management accounts their clients need, along with a clear explanation and a plan. Small business owners often do not understand accounting jargon, and remain in the dark too long, and sometimes until too late.
There are a number of other posts that day in and day out generate page views, shares, and occasionally, a phone call or email that leads to a mutually beneficial commercial relationship. I observe that many of those in that last category started slowly, but built over time, and keep building.
12 years seems a long time, but gone in a flash.
Thanks,
Over the time, the 1966 posts averages out at just over 3 a week.
Have to wonder what I do with the rest of my time!!
Happy Birthday and Well Done!