6 characteristics to look for when assembling an advisory board
Small and medium businesses need outside assistance in order to build the depth of capability that is required to compete effectively on the big stage that we now have. I often advocate they have some sort of 'Advisory board' that delivers the guidance and...
The ‘Marketing Alchemy’ that reversed the value of gold and iron.
1813, in Prussia, princess Marianne convinced people to turn in their gold jewelry to fund the war against France, and be given an iron replica in return. The replica jewelry was stamped with the words 'Gold gab ich fur Eisen' which means 'I gave gold for...
The challenges of tension in the evolution of business Strategy
I want to talk about tension. The tension present in every commercial and private decision we make, and action we take. If you focus exclusively on the short term, you will make mistakes, go out of business. If you focus exclusively on the long term, you...
Solving the paradox of marketing measurement.
A bigger brain than mine observed that ‘You get what you measure’. This has been proven to be true time after time. Our lives are run by those who make the rules based on what has been, simply because it is easy to quantify. However, what do you do when...
Marketing is dead; Long live marketing
In 1973 I graduated with a marketing degree, something few had heard of. My father was appalled, as I had set out to get an accounting degree, but had been waylaid by some new age nonsense that would not get me a job. Several years later, after...
Genuflecting at the tomb of the unknown customer
More money is thrown at the tomb of the unknown customer than any other source of marketing waste. Unless you can define very well indeed who your customer is, you will be wasting most of any time, effort, and money you spend. Defining who your ideal...
Rethinking the construction of retail strategy
As Bricks and Mortar stores, (B&M) except those run by on line monsters, Apple, Amazon, and a few others flounder, retail needs to rethink itself. Easy to say, hard to do. It is hugely ironic that the most successful B&M retailer on the planet,...
If leadership is like gardening, is Jeff Bezos is the supreme gardener?
Gardening may be an unusual metaphor for business building, but it works on a number of levels. My grandfather was a keen, and hugely knowledgeable gardener, with a marvellous array of plants, edible, original, and decorative, coming together in a display...
Long term planning is dead, long live long term thinking
Planning for the long term is a game for losers. In a world where we have difficulty planning what will happen next month, locking yourself into a long term plan, which allocates resources, and makes binding decisions about the required capabilities, and...
What price experience?
It seems to me that the development of robust, lasting, measureable and implementable strategy and marketing has gone to the dogs. We are infested with short term rubbish that reflects the lack of experience of those doing the developing, and lack of...