Forget the adage ‘Never Quit’. Instead, quit often! That’s one of the messages in Seth Godin’s new book ‘The Dip’. It links in to what I often write about ‘Saying No’. In order to focus on becoming highly successful in one field, you have to say no to distractions that don’t help you towards your …
Category: Recent Posts
Seven Steps to Business Success
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 …
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 …
Level 5 Leadership
The best leaders are not always ‘charismatic’. “Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not …
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’ …
‘Lateral-Thinking’ Leadership
The most effective leaders learn from other industries and sectors. “Most [executives] think they are in touch with the outside world if they play golf with the vice-president of another company in the same industry.” – Professor Peter Drucker. Management Guru. (Financial Times. London. 16 November 2004.) Research commissioned by the UK Government’s Department of …
The Community Interest Company (CIC)
The Community Interest Company is a legal structure designed for Social Enterprises. Company legislation was never designed for community and voluntary sector organisations whose ethos is ‘not-for-profit’ (or more precisely ‘non-profit-distributing’). Social enterprises, in particular, have no legal structure designed specifically for them and tend to register as a ‘Company Limited by Guarantee without Share …