The 10 most read StrategyAudit posts of 2021
At the end of the year, it seems sensible to have a look at the posts that generated the most traffic. Surprisingly, none are posts that have gone up in this most challenging year, not an outcome I anticipated. This demonstrates the long-term value of a blog of...
2021: What a shitty year!
The PM has made an absolute mess of it, bouncing from one headline to another like a clown on speed. You must give credit for the energy, pity it is expended on trivialities rather than tackling the big questions. The government has changed tack in the face of...
Transaction costs: The friction that comes from scaling.
Some great minds have worked in increasing the performance of management. Einstein is one of them, although may not have known it when he said: 'Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler'. Along the same lines, 20 years later Einstein's...
How to win almost any argument
What happens if you are on the receiving end of negative feedback during a debate, or an 'executive heckle' during a presentation? How do you respond? Our natural reaction is to push back, to defend your position, which creates friction and 'heat'. That is what...
What is the right price?
A dictionary will define price as something like: "The amount of money for which something is sold' Pretty obvious. However, price can mean many different things to different people in different contexts. Years ago, I ran a food manufacturing business that sold...
Five essential features of an effective bonus scheme.
It is bonus time again, approaching Christmas. Many businesses have some sort of bonus scheme that matures at this time of year and are wondering if it is worth the effort. Does it give you a return on the investment of time and money, or is it just an expected...
How do you foster ‘Radical Adaptability’?
The old way of thinking and working in silos, based on organisation charts, is gone. The key commercial question now is how to develop and commercialise innovative solutions to problems faced by individuals, and the wider community, faster and more efficiently than...
Best answer to the dumbest interview question ever.
How often have you heard the question 'tell me about your weaknesses' in an interview of some sort? As a corporate bloke climbing the greasy pole I heard it a lot, and it has popped up from time to time in the last 25 years I have been consulting. It always...
How supermarkets have destroyed brands by promotional pricing.
Promotional pricing is often the only tool used to generate volume. Ask any salesperson 'Why' and they will say 'because it works'. Go next door and ask a marketer, and their response is more likely to be something like: ‘to encourage non-users to try the...
The day we went broke being successful.
On Friday last week, I had to go into the city. About 10.00am I turned up at Town hall station, and the shopping precinct around it was crowded, people lining up to get into shops that a few days previously were deserted. It took me a while to realise that it...