There is a lot written about business success and business strategy, but in essence it can all be boiled down to seven simple steps: Be clear where you want to go – your Vision Know yourself and your current situation – internal analysis Understand customers’ needs, competition and external forces Carefully create your unique Business …
Category: Development Strategies
Creative Labourer – or Creative Entrepreneur?
Are you a true entrepreneur – or just a creative labourer? This was the question posed in my article about the E-Myth. Here’s a true story. Robert Altman was paid a cool $70,000 (US dollars) for directing the 1970 hit movie M*A*S*H. They needed a song for the movie so Robert Altman’s 14 year old …
PEST Analysis improved: The ICEDRIPS checklist
Creative enterprises can use the ICEDRIPS checklist to identify opportunities and threats in a fast-changing world. All businesses and organisations operate in a changing world and are subject to forces which are more powerful than they are, and which are beyond their control. Just as a ship at sea is subject to powerful natural forces …
The ‘E-Myth’ – the myth of the Entrepreneur
The Entrepreneurial Myth and working ‘on’ not ‘in’ a business. Michael E Gerber, in his book on the E-Myth (E-Myth Revisited), points out that there is a fundamental difference between knowing a technical skill or trade (eg as a designer, mechanic, chef) and running a business based on that skill (a design agency, a workshop …
The Long Tail
The Long Tail refers to the statistical phenomenon that represents the ‘trivial many’ of the Pareto Principle or ’80:20 Rule’ (see the “95:5 Rule“). Businesses operating in the physical world need to concentrate resources on the ‘important few’, ie the top 20% or even the top 5% that provide the bulk of sales or profits …
Say No to customers
Paradoxically, great art lies in what the painter chooses to leave out as much as what s/he decides to put in. Similarly, the art of business strategy is not just about deciding what you are going to do; just as important is deciding what you are not going to do. Having a ‘must not do’ …
The 95:5 Rule (the Pareto Principle +)
The Pareto Principle, also known as the “80:20 Rule”, states that 80% of results flow from 20% of causes. So, for example, 80% of sales can come from just 20% of customers; 80% of road accidents occur in just 20% of accident locations; and maybe 80% of headaches are caused by just 20% of your …
Charting your Competitive Strategy
Analysing Competitors and Charting your Competitive Strategy The technique of ‘charting the competition’ is extremely effective in analysing competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in relation to your own business. Using clearly understandable charts, it dramatically illustrates the competitive landscape. Most importantly, however, it allows executives to develop competitive strategies which will beat the competition and from …
Your creativity – a hobby, a job, or a business?
It’s natural for creative people to want to make a career out of their creativity. But it doesn’t necessarily follow that creativity automatically qualifies a person for a job – or guarantees they can build a successful business from their creativity. For those about to embark on a journey into creative enterprise, the first question …
Co-opetition
Co-opetition is a business strategy which combines co-operation and competition, based on the concept that business competitors can benefit when they work together. The co-opetition business model is based on games theory, a scientific approach to understanding various strategies and outcomes through specifically designed games. Businesses succeed by combining cooperative strategies with competitive strategies. Other …