Winston Churchill was buried 50 years ago today and throughout the week, revisionist journalists have gleefully (and no doubt remuneratively) been picking over his bones in the UK press.
Churchill was out of sync with the social changes in Britain in almost each of the decades he lived. So how does someone with that track record end up as being the only commoner in the 20th Century to have a State Funeral in St Paul’s?
Because he was successful, not perfect
Read MoreThe Ancients knew a thing or two about Strategy.
The early Greeks viewed life as a voyage in which you would head in a general direction. Constantly navigating between Cosmos and Chaos—Order and Disorder with the realisation that winds from both sides could provide useful momentum. But sailing too close to the craggy shoreline of either extreme would lead to destruction.
Contrast this with the modern, titanic, corporate warriors. Insulated out of necessity (internal meetings, financial reviews, presentations to analysts, fear of bad customer feedback), they delegate strategy to staff who, with finger-crossed confidence, report that every future has been anticipated, every contingency planned. This well engineered business will withstand any iceberg. Nothing left to chance.
Or so they believe. It usually ends in tears—or an unfriendly take-over.
So what can we learn?
Read MoreI was reminded this weekend that opportunities are not like London buses.
You can’t deliberately miss one, confident that another is soon to follow.
When Opportunity knocks, you need to ask yourself one question:
"Does this Opportunity open more doors than it closes?"
Read MoreIf you're in the Greater Toronto Area on Tuesday 6th December join Rosalina and me at an (almost) free workshop on the strategic aspects of digital marketing.
Done properly, digital marketing can give you very loyal, high quality customers. Loyal, high-quality customers lead to loyal, high-quality gross margins.
But digital marketing abounds with sink holes and pit-falls.
This workshop focuses on getting profits and avoiding perils. It will introduce digital marketing to strategic decision-makers, not tacticians.
Read MoreIt’s official. Tim Cook has stepped out of Steve Jobs’ shadow.
Under his watch (no pun intended), the stock price has doubled, market capitalisation has gone from ~ $300bn to $660bn, and contribution of revenues from subscription services has boomed.
Cook filled a big pair of shoes—and now he’s using them to walk to a destination far from Apple’s roots.
But at what price?
Apple is about to lose it's key competitive advantage: making us creators and communicators
Read MoreThe Riot Point Research scientists have been incredibly inventive in recent months. We have been trialling and refining a number of new products, and we are now ready to launch the first batch.
Read MoreHere’s the take away for Executives.
Despite your best endeavours, you may have 'defeat devices' installed in your organisation. To ensure this is not the case, you have to engage the source data.
What does this mean?
- Even if your Net Promotor Score is a whopping 80%, you, personally, should still verify the data by engaging with customers.
- Even if your employee engagement surveys tell you things couldn’t be better, you still need to confirm this by walking, talking and listening.
Wool-suited, french-cuffed and tied (at that time), executives can sit cooly for hours in 40C heat but don’t ever extinguish the projector. Nothing brings on a perspiratory flash-flood faster than the prospect of delivering a slide-less presentation.
An executive should be able to communicate her or his strategy in 10 mins or less. They should be able to do so engagingly and with clarity.
Any Executive who cannot do this surrenders their right to admonish sub-ordinates who are similarly fuzzy in their communication of the strategy.
Can’t past the test? Fortunately a remedy is at hand.
Read MoreIf your house lights dimmed unexpectedly this morning, or if your car stalled without apparent reason, don’t worry. It was a one off.
The Universe endured a sudden negative energy spike as a force of nature transferred from one dimension to another.
Colonel Donald Pudney has left the earthly parade ground for the last time.
Read More