strategy
47 posts
We Learn By Doing
When my sons were younger, they loved listening to the straight-talking comedian and radio presenter, Karl Pilkington. One of their favourite Pilkington quotes is: ‘You won’t get anything done by planning.’ They often quoted it to me during exam times when I made hints about the benefits of revision
Stronger Together
It’s the day before Melbourne cafes close again under reinstated lockdown restrictions. The owner of the Italian restaurant that opened in January is heart sore. We get chatting as I’m paying the bill. He explains that due to then pandemic they’ve been able to have patrons dine in for only nine of t
That Certain Something
A new local grocery store around the corner from us finally opened its doors last weekend. For weeks we’ve been pressing our noses to the window as the new tenants swept the floor and stocked the shelves ready for the big day. The previous grocer stocked only organic produce, operated a juice bar an
On Experience
Every time we approach a new problem we believe we have to come at it with fresh eyes. Sometimes that is true. But we mustn’t ignore our lived experience. Whatever challenge or goal is in front or ahead of us, it’s worth remembering the resources we called on to get where we needed or wanted…
Nurturing Trust
Almost three months ago, when restrictions due to the coronavirus began rolling out across Australia, panic-buying ensued. The CEO of one of our supermarket chains began writing a weekly email newsletter to customers in response. In it, he addressed customers’ genuine concerns about the availability
Leveraging Our Mistakes
Each day we overlook some opportunity to see or to serve. We fail to challenge our assumptions and hold fast to our opinions. The result is that we sometimes miss the opportunity to do better. This feels like bad news. But it doesn’t have to be. What if instead of saying; ‘I could kick myself…
A Small Great Thing
We’re usually excited about growing our audience or expanding our customer base. It’s hard to close the door on what might look like an opportunity to serve or scale. But we do our best work when we know exactly who will get the most benefit from it and who it brings us joy to serve.…
On Helping
We like to be helpful. We’re physiologically wired for it. The *science shows that helping others helps us to help ourselves. Helping makes us happy. So when people ask for advice or an opinion, we gladly offer it. But before we can help, there’s a question we need to answer. How exactly am I helpin
In Answer To Your Question
We like to ask for advice. It’s human to investigate all the angles—to seek the opinions of others. And yet in doing so, we can forget to reflect on our insights and assumptions. We often forget to check in with our beliefs before considering what someone else thinks. What if before sought advice, w
Helpful Conversations
Over the past few weeks, my inbox has filled with emails from organisations I’d forgotten I’d ever had contact with. I must have signed up to an email list or bought something from them many years ago, but it’s so far back, I can’t remember why. We’re all still trying to work out how to…
Balancing Wants And Needs
On a normal day, our local supermarket stocks fifty different kinds of pasta. Right now they’re stocking two. On a normal day, customers would complain bitterly about the lack of choice. Today they’re grateful to leave the shop with two boxes of a brand of penne they’ve never tried. What we’re witne
What Can You Do Now?
Julie has been running her local florist business for five years. She’s built up a reputation with the people in her suburb, who regularly pop in when they’re walking past to buy flowers and plants that brighten their homes and their lives. While new single bunch, online flower delivery services blo
On Resourcefulness
When things don’t go according to plan. Remember this isn’t the first time you’ve had to change course. Make a list of all the other times you pushed through. Remind yourself of the skills and strengths you previously called on in challenging times. Tell yourself those stories today. They will stand
Build a Reputation
My friend Anna has been going to the same hairdresser for ten years. She’s never trusted anyone else to cut her hair in all that time. Now though, she has no option because her stylist just had a baby, and she’s on maternity leave. When Anna sat in the new stylist’s chair, she was so…
What Separates This From That?
When we’re not simply driven by price how do we choose what to buy? We tell ourselves a story about quality, design, durability, or provenance. But often as we rationalise about the advantages of one product or service over another, the differentiator we perceive is the degree of love and care that’
In Praise Of Incrementalism
One of my favourite TV programs, when I was young, was Columbo—which followed the sometimes scruffy, seemingly absentminded, always polite, homicide detective, who solved murder cases in Los Angeles. What struck me about Columbo was the stepwise way he made progress towards solving the case. He wasn
Giving Attention Vs. Getting Attention
The more people have to attend to, the harder it is to get their attention. Attention is a precious resource. And as with any resource, scarcity creates value. Our culture has taught us that those who can capture the most attention win—never more so than in the digital age. So, we devote a considera
Powering The Future
The leaders of this business must plan for the future without depending on it, by it’s getting closest to the people they want to serve.
The Best Laid Plans
This day ten years ago you probably had plans in place for the year ahead. Maybe you achieved some of those goals in 2010. But I’m guessing that you could never have planned for some of the unexpected events, opportunities, twists and turns of the decade you’ve just lived. It turns out that it’s har
Gap Bridging
What gap does your product or service help your audience to bridge?
