Posts Tagged ‘mission’
What’s The End Game?
Before you pivot. Before you expand. Before you take on extra staff. Before you act on conventional wisdom. Before you panic about the numbers. Before you say ‘yes’ to something when you really mean ‘no’. Before you become someone you don’t recognise. Ask yourself, What was my original intention for this business? Now write those…
Read MoreDo Your Actions And Story Align?
Have you ever seen the somber, suited doorman at Cartier chasing a thief, searching a customer’s bag or stopping a young woman from entering the store? Me neither. If he’s not doing that then why is he there? Does the sales assistant at MontBlanc really need to wear a white glove to remove the pen…
Read MoreThe Simplest Way To Add Value
We just moved house. You can probably empathise—so many logistics to arrange and tiny details to keep in your head, no matter how much help you have. By 3pm on moving day we had Internet (no mean feat). At about 9pm we realised there was no hot water. Too late to contact anyone of course,…
Read MoreWant To Vs. Have To
The famous fashion designer doesn’t have to pay a fair wage to the workers in the Indian village, who hand bead the $600 dresses she sells to affluent Melburnians. Her customers would never know—and yet she does. The busy graphic designer doesn’t have to make suggested improvements to the slide deck he’s working on. His…
Read MoreWho Is This Not For?
When we spend time thinking about growing our businesses we tend to focus on our ideal customers—the people we know we want to matter to. A great way to get really specific about who you are creating your products and services for is to think about who they are not for. The temptation in the…
Read MoreThe Most Powerful Thing You Didn’t Do Today
Have you ever been footsteps away from a window and yet found yourself opening an app or doing a Google search to check the weather, instead of simply going over to the window and opening the curtains? Me too! Why is that? We are now in the habit of outsourcing our thinking and second guessing…
Read MoreThe New Rules Of Winning
Just three months ago Volkswagen surpassed Toyota to become the world’s largest automaker. It’s clear that selling more cars in order to beat that competition had been the company’s goal for some time. As we’ve seen in the past week biggest doesn’t necessarily mean best. When we use shallow metrics to judge our performance we…
Read MoreThe Generous Marketer
Implements long-term strategies, rather than relying on short-term tactics. Puts the desires of the customer before the urgency of his business goals. Knows that mattering to his customers is the key to success. Cares about affinity, more than awareness. Notices, before asking to be noticed. Listens twice as much as he talks. Does not interrupt…
Read MoreTwo Kinds Of Feedback
A common way to get feedback is to describe what you’re creating in detail and then to ask a prospective customer if they would use it. This is equivalent to asking someone for an honest answer to the question, “Does my bum look big in this?” Sometimes the answers we seek out are not the…
Read MoreThe Question To Ask Before Doing What You’re Planning To Do Next
Before you schedule that meeting. Before you contact that supplier. Before you attend that conference. Before you pay for that marketing. Before you hire that guy. Ask yourself this simple question: What’s the number one outcome I want to achieve by doing this? When you get clear (and honest with yourself) about the desired outcome,…
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