5 November 2023 Newsletter
“No, that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.” — Ernest Hemingway
Hope you’re Thriving!
It’s been a full week with a pair of 2-day offsite meetings and a few other meetings. It’s now November, and around six weeks until the end of the work year here and the traditional break at Christmas.
I encourage you to make the most of the next six weeks!
The Case For A Slowing Economy
(and how to Read More...
5 November 2023 Newsletter
“No, that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.” — Ernest Hemingway
Hope you’re Thriving!
It’s been a full week with a pair of 2-day offsite meetings and a few other meetings. It’s now November, and around six weeks until the end of the work year here and the traditional break at Christmas.
I encourage you to make the most of the next six weeks!
The Case For A Slowing Economy
(and how to Read More...
26 March 2023 Newsletter
“If you believe that talent is everything, then your hiring process should also be everything” Claire Hughes Johnson
Hope you’re Thriving!
Good afternoon to everyone except those who require wet signatures.
Ok, I’ve written the above statement because I’ve recently been frustrated by an organisation requiring wet signatures. But it’s more than that. Wet signatures could indicate that an organisation might not be customer focused OR isn’t using Read More...
26 March 2023 Newsletter
“If you believe that talent is everything, then your hiring process should also be everything” Claire Hughes Johnson
Hope you’re Thriving!
Good afternoon to everyone except those who require wet signatures.
Ok, I’ve written the above statement because I’ve recently been frustrated by an organisation requiring wet signatures. But it’s more than that. Wet signatures could indicate that an organisation might not be customer focused OR isn’t using Read More...
1 January 2023 Newsletter
“Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want” Naval Ravikant
Hope you’re Thriving!
I hope your New Year is off to a good start.
Over the holiday season, I’ve collected some of my favourite articles and podcasts from the year to share with you. Kind of like a best-of from 2022.
Couple this with my recommended reading list and hopefully, there is something of real interest and value for you each Read More...
1 January 2023 Newsletter
“Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want” Naval Ravikant
Hope you’re Thriving!
I hope your New Year is off to a good start.
Over the holiday season, I’ve collected some of my favourite articles and podcasts from the year to share with you. Kind of like a best-of from 2022.
Couple this with my recommended reading list and hopefully, there is something of real interest and value for you each Read More...
25 December 2022 Newsletter
“The costs of your good habits are in the present. The cost of your bad habits are in the future.” James Clear
Hope you’re Thriving!
Over the holiday season, I’ve collected some of my favourite articles from the year to share with you. Kind of like a best-of from 2022.
Couple this with my recommended reading list and hopefully, there is something of real interest and value for you each week.
I’m keeping them short and sharp.
Enjoy your Read More...
25 December 2022 Newsletter
“The costs of your good habits are in the present. The cost of your bad habits are in the future.” James Clear
Hope you’re Thriving!
Over the holiday season, I’ve collected some of my favourite articles from the year to share with you. Kind of like a best-of from 2022.
Couple this with my recommended reading list and hopefully, there is something of real interest and value for you each week.
I’m keeping them short and sharp.
Enjoy your Read More...
This video is a summary of the book Scaling Up by Verne Harnish and should give you an understanding of the subjects and key concepts in the book. I’m going to talk about who the book is intended for, what problems it solves and how it solves them and how you can use the book to further your business.
[creativ_media type=”youtube” url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naYurMoPjGA&”]
What is Scaling Up?
Scaling Up is Mastering Read More...
This video is a summary of the book Scaling Up by Verne Harnish and should give you an understanding of the subjects and key concepts in the book. I’m going to talk about who the book is intended for, what problems it solves and how it solves them and how you can use the book to further your business.
[creativ_media type=”youtube” url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naYurMoPjGA&”]
What is Scaling Up?
Scaling Up is Mastering Read More...
What is a Brand Promise and Why is a Brand Promise important?
How do you know when you have found your Brand Promise?
What are the 5 steps to uncover your Brand Promise?
What are some Brand Promise examples?
How do you build a company Brand Promise?
In this short video I explain why your company needs a Brand Promise, How to use a Brand Promise and How to build a Brand Promise. Read More...
What is a Brand Promise and Why is a Brand Promise important?
How do you know when you have found your Brand Promise?
What are the 5 steps to uncover your Brand Promise?
What are some Brand Promise examples?
How do you build a company Brand Promise?
In this short video I explain why your company needs a Brand Promise, How to use a Brand Promise and How to build a Brand Promise. Read More...
One of the most important factors in scaling up a business from a small business to a faster growing medium sized business is transitioning from the founder or entrepreneur holding all the accountability, to having a leadership team which meets quarterly and performs strategic thinking and execution planning.
But how do you build a leadership team? How do you make the transition to having a senior management team who you can trust and will help you to scale the business?
In this vlog I look Read More...
One of the most important factors in scaling up a business from a small business to a faster growing medium sized business is transitioning from the founder or entrepreneur holding all the accountability, to having a leadership team which meets quarterly and performs strategic thinking and execution planning.
But how do you build a leadership team? How do you make the transition to having a senior management team who you can trust and will help you to scale the business?
In this vlog I look Read More...
I am delighted to have launched my Scaling Up online workshop.
This is an in depth, on demand online course which consists of 46 modules to enable you to Scale Up. If you want to build a One Page Strategic Plan by yourself, this course will help you understand and complete every element of the plan, and help you to build the plan the right way the first time.
This is not a fluffy, chat about the ‘nice to have things’ type course, this is about getting to work and every aspect is Read More...
I am delighted to have launched my Scaling Up online workshop.
This is an in depth, on demand online course which consists of 46 modules to enable you to Scale Up. If you want to build a One Page Strategic Plan by yourself, this course will help you understand and complete every element of the plan, and help you to build the plan the right way the first time.
This is not a fluffy, chat about the ‘nice to have things’ type course, this is about getting to work and every aspect is Read More...
At global consulting firm Bain & Co., loyalty practice founder Fred Reicheld and his team found a company in almost every sector that was growing top line revenue at 2.5 times faster than its competitors. So they set out to identify what these companies did differently. At the ‘good’ companies, the executive team spent zero time discussing what it was hearing from customers at it’s weekly meeting. The only time a customers name came up was if there was a crisis. In Read More...
At global consulting firm Bain & Co., loyalty practice founder Fred Reicheld and his team found a company in almost every sector that was growing top line revenue at 2.5 times faster than its competitors. So they set out to identify what these companies did differently. At the ‘good’ companies, the executive team spent zero time discussing what it was hearing from customers at it’s weekly meeting. The only time a customers name came up was if there was a crisis. In Read More...
I have the good fortune to see a lot of business plans, and more often than not they are in the One Page Strategic Plan format. Some of these plans are in a draft format, where someone has attended a Gazelles workshop or read Scaling Up, and some are mature versions where the team have worked over many years to hone and refine the businesses strategy and plan.
Over time, patterns develop and one is able to see at a glance the difference between a strategy that is sound and a good degree of Read More...
I have the good fortune to see a lot of business plans, and more often than not they are in the One Page Strategic Plan format. Some of these plans are in a draft format, where someone has attended a Gazelles workshop or read Scaling Up, and some are mature versions where the team have worked over many years to hone and refine the businesses strategy and plan.
Over time, patterns develop and one is able to see at a glance the difference between a strategy that is sound and a good degree of Read More...
There appears to be a long list of experts who are coming out now and recommending that entrepreneurs do not write a business plan. The advice is that you don’t prepare, but you simply build something and try to sell it and then change your offering as you move along. As Mark Zuckerberg famously said “Entrepreneurs don’t have time to write a business plan”
Of course this is music to the ears of people who want to run before they learn to walk. Or existing owners Read More...
There appears to be a long list of experts who are coming out now and recommending that entrepreneurs do not write a business plan. The advice is that you don’t prepare, but you simply build something and try to sell it and then change your offering as you move along. As Mark Zuckerberg famously said “Entrepreneurs don’t have time to write a business plan”
Of course this is music to the ears of people who want to run before they learn to walk. Or existing owners Read More...
It has been 3 years since I read Start with Why by Simon Sinek and watched his corresponding TED talk which has had millions of views and is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time. Simon connected the impact of operating with a purpose and the way that drives a larger number of people to greater success. He went on to introduce his principal of the Golden Circle that most businesses know what they do, some know how they do it, but very few know why they do it.
But then, the really Read More...
It has been 3 years since I read Start with Why by Simon Sinek and watched his corresponding TED talk which has had millions of views and is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time. Simon connected the impact of operating with a purpose and the way that drives a larger number of people to greater success. He went on to introduce his principal of the Golden Circle that most businesses know what they do, some know how they do it, but very few know why they do it.
But then, the really Read More...
There is a certain sense of awe, a sense that everything you dreamed the business you built and worked so hard over for so long, could actually be possible. You realise that there is a lot to do, and probably too many things to list, but the realisation that there is a system you can use to scale your business that is simple, practical and actionable is profound.
At least that was my experience, and it certainly has been the predominant theme in conversations with the hundreds of business Read More...
There is a certain sense of awe, a sense that everything you dreamed the business you built and worked so hard over for so long, could actually be possible. You realise that there is a lot to do, and probably too many things to list, but the realisation that there is a system you can use to scale your business that is simple, practical and actionable is profound.
At least that was my experience, and it certainly has been the predominant theme in conversations with the hundreds of business Read More...
In this TEDx talk, Matthew LeRoux at TEDxChemungRiver talks about how he helps farmers and labour by understanding the customers needs, preferences and desires, and create a product to meet those needs and desires.
The beauty of it, is that everyone can understand farms, how they work and how specialisation to meet the need of a customer can give you not only the ability to value and and make more profit, but become a champion for your ideal customers. By then becoming a beacon for who you Read More...
In this TEDx talk, Matthew LeRoux at TEDxChemungRiver talks about how he helps farmers and labour by understanding the customers needs, preferences and desires, and create a product to meet those needs and desires.
The beauty of it, is that everyone can understand farms, how they work and how specialisation to meet the need of a customer can give you not only the ability to value and and make more profit, but become a champion for your ideal customers. By then becoming a beacon for who you Read More...
You may have missed it this week, but Australia’s largest online retailer Kogan put the gloves on for a fight with Coles and Woolworths with the introduction of their new grocery website Kogan Pantry. And while at first thought Coles would crush Kogan with the online retailer having only 0.9% of Coles revenues last year, there are 5 reasons Coles executives shouldn’t dismiss Kogan so quickly. Moreover, Ruslan Kogan has a proven strategy along with the experience and courage to Read More...
You may have missed it this week, but Australia’s largest online retailer Kogan put the gloves on for a fight with Coles and Woolworths with the introduction of their new grocery website Kogan Pantry. And while at first thought Coles would crush Kogan with the online retailer having only 0.9% of Coles revenues last year, there are 5 reasons Coles executives shouldn’t dismiss Kogan so quickly. Moreover, Ruslan Kogan has a proven strategy along with the experience and courage to Read More...
In our work with management teams one of the thought leaders we use is Jim Collins and his book ‘Good to Great’, an in depth analysis on a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies beat the stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world’s greatest companies Read More...
In our work with management teams one of the thought leaders we use is Jim Collins and his book ‘Good to Great’, an in depth analysis on a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies beat the stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world’s greatest companies Read More...
In a recent survey of 103 enterprise companies across the world, an attempt was made to understand the factors which led to the greatest loss in shareholder value. The results are unambiguous, 81% of the time, strategic blunders were responsible for a significant loss in shareholder value.
In the Booz & co study, the authors analysed four potential reasons for failure; External, Compliance, Operational and Strategic.
Reinforcing the importance of a leadership team developing and executing Read More...
In a recent survey of 103 enterprise companies across the world, an attempt was made to understand the factors which led to the greatest loss in shareholder value. The results are unambiguous, 81% of the time, strategic blunders were responsible for a significant loss in shareholder value.
In the Booz & co study, the authors analysed four potential reasons for failure; External, Compliance, Operational and Strategic.
Reinforcing the importance of a leadership team developing and executing Read More...
Offsite strategic planning is an essential component of growth within your business. In this slideshare presentation we outline what strategic workshop planning is, what problems it solves and why these are problems.
The One Page Strategic Planning process from bradgiles Read More...
Offsite strategic planning is an essential component of growth within your business. In this slideshare presentation we outline what strategic workshop planning is, what problems it solves and why these are problems.
The One Page Strategic Planning process from bradgiles Read More...
One of the most important things a management team needs to do is take time offsite to undertake strategic planning and execution thinking. In Stephen Coveys Time Management Matrix, this is quadrant 2, the work we do which is both important and not urgent. The results that stem from quadrant 2 activities include vision, perspective, balance, discipline and control.
Within the Gazelles framework we recommend a meeting rhythm consisting of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual planning. Read More...
One of the most important things a management team needs to do is take time offsite to undertake strategic planning and execution thinking. In Stephen Coveys Time Management Matrix, this is quadrant 2, the work we do which is both important and not urgent. The results that stem from quadrant 2 activities include vision, perspective, balance, discipline and control.
Within the Gazelles framework we recommend a meeting rhythm consisting of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual planning. Read More...
How does your organisation typically roll out major change? Often, it is by enlisting the power of persuasion – perhaps the persuasion (and charisma) of the CEO. You may have attended or presented a “Change Speech” at some point – all meant to be persuasive, inspirational, and help your company press the “reset button.”describe the image
As long as your audience is already willing to accept change, then those speeches can be a great beginning. But without some Read More...
How does your organisation typically roll out major change? Often, it is by enlisting the power of persuasion – perhaps the persuasion (and charisma) of the CEO. You may have attended or presented a “Change Speech” at some point – all meant to be persuasive, inspirational, and help your company press the “reset button.”describe the image
As long as your audience is already willing to accept change, then those speeches can be a great beginning. But without some Read More...
Who should facilitate your upcoming quarterly planning session? Or any of your strategy thinking sessions?
If you are a start up or have less than $5m in annual revenues, you might have no choice but to facilitate your own sessions. However, a typical mistake that many CEOs of larger growth firms make is to facilitate their own sessions when they have the financial ability to bring in a facilitator. When working with people, it is more important to focus on being effective rather than Read More...
Who should facilitate your upcoming quarterly planning session? Or any of your strategy thinking sessions?
If you are a start up or have less than $5m in annual revenues, you might have no choice but to facilitate your own sessions. However, a typical mistake that many CEOs of larger growth firms make is to facilitate their own sessions when they have the financial ability to bring in a facilitator. When working with people, it is more important to focus on being effective rather than Read More...
The internet is changing almost every industry at an exponential rate.
This is a fascinating look into where the internet is headed.
2012 KPCB Internet Trends Year-End Update from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Read More...
The internet is changing almost every industry at an exponential rate.
This is a fascinating look into where the internet is headed.
2012 KPCB Internet Trends Year-End Update from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Read More...
