11 ways to uncover the lies in data
Data does not have an agenda, it does not lie, but it rarely shows the whole story. Think of the data that would be gathered and analysed after the announcement of a chunk of native forest was opened up for logging. The botanists would have one set of data...
How to assess the value of information
The term 'monetisation' is thrown around like confetti at a wedding. It almost always refers in one way or another to the process of squeezing money out of information of some sort. The real key to monetisation success is to identify who may have value created for...
Electric Vehicle manufacturing: The prospects for Australia.
One of the more fanciful of a grab bag of fanciful bullshit surrounding the 'debate' on electric cars a fortnight ago was the assertion that South Australia could become a world centre of electric vehicle manufacturing. It seems superficially logical, all...
A reflection on Anzac Day, 2019
It is Anzac day 2019, just a public holiday to some, but a lot more to others. It is also my beautiful daughters 34th birthday, so it is a good day. As we take the day off, some will just be thankful that the self-serving, fact free, fabricated drama, and...
‘Brief’ does not just mean quick!
Providing a project brief is a core skill of great marketers. Too often I see so called marketers sounding off about service providers of all stripes for failing to deliver, when the brief against which they are being judged is a load of ambiguous, fluffy...
The 2 simple questions, which when answered, will improve everything
There is a very simple, elegant way of improving anything, from a complex factory production line to something more personal, like improving your tennis. Determine the constraints, and remove them progressively. It is the key to improvement, that can...
The problems with Google
Google is a wonderful tool, ask it any question, and the answer will come back, or at least a million references that may give an answer will come back. That is terrific, except for a few minor, or major flaws, depending on your mindset, such as:...
How SME manufacturers can survive the coming downturn.
In contrast to the rosy picture politicians of both colours are painting about the prospects under their government, and the disaster looming if we elect the other, I think we are in for a rough ride. I am not an economist, so have no numbers apart from...
Believe what they do, not what they say.
Last week I was reminded, again, to take what people told you with a grain of salt, and to watch closely what they did, rather than believing what they said. I watched as the CEO of a significant business took a decision that was in direct conflict with...
Managing the Jenga tower of marketing
Have you ever set up and played with a Jenga tower? As the game progresses, some blocks can be removed easily, with no impact, others are really sensitive to any movement and can bring the tower down with a crash. Problem is, the difference is really hard...