Which question should you ask?
Asking questions is the best way to build empathy, while collecting information and helping others reach a conclusion. This assumes that you are listening closely and reacting appropriately to the answers. It follows that being disciplined and planned in the...
One huge long-term problem that will not be an election issue
On Sunday as the 2022 election was being called, I was sitting in a café in one of those affluent strips observing life, and gathering my thoughts. It occurred to me that the blather we are all now about to face will avoid any reference to the key question that...
Four building blocks of a successful culture.
Culture as defined by Michael Porter is ‘The way we do things around here.’ Those words imply ‘Local.’ Immediate. In the vicinity. I have seen differing cultures exist in the one business in separate locations. When most commentators refer to ‘Corporate...
A marketer’s explanation of ‘First Principles’
'Go back to first principles' is an often-heard expression. At least as often, those uttering it have no real idea of the meaning, beyond 'think again'. Twenty-six hundred years ago, Greek philosopher Aristotle defined it as: 'The first basis from which a thing...
How do you get others to agree with you?
Ask them for their advice, rather than an opinion. When you ask for advice, you are doing the right thing, you are getting people inside the tent. When you ask for an opinion, you are often doing the wrong thing. You are giving them the opportunity for them to go back...
A solution to the profound flaw in strategic planning.
Management over the last 50 years has been driven by strategic planning. Sometimes it has been done well. Often it is little better than a good chance to catch up with peers, have a few sherbets, and get away from the office for a few days. After the session,...
The essential 2 faces of marketing
Our enterprises are organised vertically, by function. Accounting, IT, HR, and so on, all vertically arranged to accommodate the leverage of resources that scaling of the output of those functions delivers. Customers do not give a toss about your internal processes....
A marketer’s explanation of 6 sigma
6 sigma is a statistical toolbox designed to assist process improvement. It was originally developed by Motorola in the 80's as they struggled with quality problems in their booming but now extinct mobile phone business. The tools seek to identify and remove the...
Who, or what, is your marketing villain?
Just before Christmas, I was with my son and granddaughter at a 'pantomime' in a local park put on by a local group for the sheer fun of it. All the usual characters of a pantomime, a wise old man, loving mother, young hero, an innocent victim, and a nasty villain in...
The essential B2B inflation busting roadmap
Like it or not, official figures or not, inflation is back with us. Inflation consumes cash like a ravening beast, but often goes unremarked until the 11th hour, by which time it is often too late. Official figures always lag reality, and forecast models...