How Dollar Shave Club Succeeds With A Better Brand Story

How does a startup come on to the scene, take on giant global brands like Gillette, and win? That’s what Dollar Shave Club did, by harnessing the power of great brand storytelling. This is how they did it. By telling the truth, and keeping it simple. With an easy to remember brand name and tagline,…

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Because It Matters

How do you stand out when there are two other juice bars on the same street, and half a dozen ‘good enough’ life coaches just three clicks away? If you’ve got the same choices as the competition, how you choose can make all the difference. Do you make decisions based on what’s gone before, or…

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Being The Most

In the 80’s Starbucks set out to be the most inspiring coffee brand on the planet. When they forgot this in the 90’s and tried becoming the most ubiquitous, they lost their way. If you could be ‘the most’ to people what ‘most’ would you be? Most reliable. Most irresistible. Most ubiquitous. Most loved. Most…

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Signal Versus Noise. You Get To Choose.

I’ve always loved the name of the blog at 37Signals… Signal vs Noise. They chose well. They write well too. Signal versus noise perfectly describes how we are living and working right now. We want to be connected, both as business entities and as human beings. But we’re sacrificing hearing the signals because of the…

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If Only You Could Write Like Malcolm Gladwell

WANTED “A professional writer talented in non-fiction storytelling with a passion for the topics of startups, social entrepreneurship, cutting-edge science and technology, and the psychology of the crowd, capable of crafting non-fiction pieces that are captivating and massively popular (think Freakonomics or The Tipping Point) Location: Los Angeles or telecommute To apply: provide your resume…

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The World Is Your Focus Group Now

Think about every conversation you overheard today. It may have been on the train, in the coffee queue, or while you waited in the hair salon. You know, the one where the guy on his mobile explained loudly that his taxi hadn’t turned up. Or when forty something Sarah confided how stressed out she was…

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The Art Of Giving People What They Really Want

The group fitness instructor at our local gym is exceptionally good at giving people what they really want. During a tough early morning Pump® session he doesn’t talk about resting heart rate or thermogenisis. Duane punctuates those last thirty seconds of effort by telling us that this is how we’ll get Michelle Obama arms. So…

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How To Standout

Care more. Do what you say you’re going to do. Stand in other people’s shoes. Solve problems. Fix what’s broken. Change how people feel. Create what you want to see in the world. Don’t wait for an invitation. Think beyond what’s possible. Get over your fear. Act. Rinse and repeat. Image by EIO.

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How Coffee Became As Seductive As Diamonds

I have no idea how this happened, but twenty five years ago when my husband and I were choosing my engagement ring on student budgets, I found myself inside a tiny strategically lit room with a £20,000 ring on my finger. £20,000 was enough to buy a house in Dublin in those days. Fast forward…

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Better Together

Putting your ideas out there is scary. Hitting publish is test of your nerve. Showing up most days involves commitment. Making room. Letting go of something else. You don’t, as (Seth would say), expect applause… but it’s lovely when you get it, and even better when it sounds like this. “Here’s a blog that succeeds…

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