4 foundation principles for brand building
Albert Einstein was a great thinker, he changed the world, but he is not much associated with marketing & business. However, when you read through his various musings, he should be up there in the pantheon of great marketing thinkers like David Ogilvy, Seth Godin,...
Is this the most effective brand destruction strategy you have ever seen?
I know the United Airlines debacle a few days ago has received a lot of exposure, but at the risk of adding to it, have you ever seen anything that even approaches the level of corporate stupidity displayed? You might think that after the lesson of breaking Dave...
Competition for attention creates Opportunity
The nature of competition has changed dramatically in the last decade. We no longer live in a world where information is limited and controlled, where the old truism that information is power gave the few power over the rest of us applies. It is no longer a...
Will your O-ring kill you?
We are all familiar with the notion that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, it makes absolute sense. However, not a lot of us have ever considered the idea that our weakest link could kill us, and yet, it can. On January 28, 1986, the spaceshuttle...
The tragedy of ‘doing a Fairfax’
The once great Fairfax media empire, once a fearless protector of our democracy, on Wednesday announced a further rationalisation in an effort to save $30 million. This is another in a long list of 'Adjustments' and programs which have become code for making...
Communication: Making it personal multiplies effectiveness.
Two weeks ago I received a piece of junk mail. Not unusual, my letterbox seems to be the local junk repository despite a polite sign saying go away. However, as it was addressed specifically to me, with no mistakes in the spelling of my name, the address was...
The 4 levels of a successful business improvement project
My clients are mostly small and medium sized manufacturing businesses. They usually come to me when they are in a spot of bother, as word does get around. Over a period of over 20 years of working with these businesses, a process has evolved. It is repeatable...
10 sources of motivation you can leverage
It happens that one of the regular issues emerging from conversations with those I work with is about how you develop and maintain the motivation of those in the business, particularly in the more operational roles. Over the years I have seen a lot of operations,...
1 very simple question to radically improve performance.
Do not ask who, ask why. Piles have been written about changing culture as the means to improve performance. Most of it misses the point. Learning organisations, teams, mutual obligation, and all the rest, but when it comes down to it, the core is about people wanting...
6 Psychology strategies used to increase sales
Success in sales is not just about getting the other person to like you, and trust you, although that helps. It is about how you employ human psychology. Robert Cialdini articulated 6 rules in his seminal work 'Influence' in 1993, Reciprocity, Social proof, Commitment...