Blog
Simple Questions To Ask When Your Marketing Isn’t Working
My marketing isn’t working. This sweeping declaration leads us to draw (sometimes incorrect), conclusions that influence our future marketing plans and business strategy. We can’t fix our marketing when we don’t know why it’s broken. But where do we start? Here are seven questions to ask when your m
On Tipping Points
Life, as the well-worn adage, written on many a motivational fridge magnet, reminds us, is a journey, not a destination. We know this. Yet we strive for our tipping point—that moment when the series of small steps we’ve taken towards our goal will be significant enough to cause the big breakthrough
Why Should They Care?
The ‘For Lease’ sign attached to the first-floor window of the shopfront is one of half a dozen along Gertrude Street. And the sales copy on each of them does nothing to differentiate one premises from the other. The signs give us dimensions, details about the facilities and ‘good natural light’. Th
Mass Awareness Vs. Minority Affinity
The ‘golden arches’ glow at me in the distance as I set out for the gym before sunrise. It’s impossible to miss the 24-hour McDonald’s at the junction no matter which direction you travel. The ‘golden arches’ don’t distinguish the right potential customer from the wrong one. And that’s the point. Mc
Why This? Why You? Why Now?
Why This? Why You? Why Now? Three simple questions we are often reluctant to answer. When you sit with the discomfort of reflecting on them before you embark on a project, you’ll be clearer about what the world needs from you and why. You’ll also have the beginnings of the story your audience wants
The Metrics Of Belonging
The things we measure most are the most tangible—sales, clicks, votes, bums on seats. They can be seen and touched, counted and compared. The metrics of belonging are felt and harder to quantify. But it is those intangibles—often only evidenced or experienced over time, that are the backbone of stro
Valuing Your Expertise And Effort
My dad had many manual jobs during his working life, but the one he loved most was being a painter and decorator. It was the only job he did, where he could stand back and find joy in his creative output at the end of the day. Painting was something he could say he was…
The Power Of Reflective Practice
My mother can practically bake a killer apple tart in her sleep. It’s a skill she’s learned over decades of trial and error. We hone any skill by doing. We get better by practising and observing, then reflecting and iterating. The doctor perfects her bedside manner by reflecting on how a consultatio
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
Empathy Creates Value
A restaurant host has one job to do—meet and greet diners and show them to their table. It sounds easy enough, but the difference between a good host and a great host is underrated because where people are seated directly impacts their experience. Seating arrangements can influence how long diners s
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.
Reclaiming Old Marketing
It turns out that the tools and the tactics of new marketing aren’t a shortcut. The tried, trusted and true methods of old marketing help us to maintain our integrity and get to where we want to go.
The One Thing
What one thing are you willing to do today in service of tomorrow?
Listening To Lead
The promise of the digital age was the ability to more cheaply and rapidly raise awareness of our value, our message, or our cause. Digital media levelled the playing field and gave all of us the chance to spread our ideas. In some cases, the desire to quickly spread ideas has led to the misbelief…
Consistent, Persistent And Patient
The slim woman dressed in activewear, in line at the cafe next to the gym, orders a black coffee. As she’s handing over her card when the barista asks her the question he’s asked every single customer who ordered a takeaway coffee that morning. ‘Would you like a glazed doughnut for just $2 to go…
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
The Advantage Of Not Knowing For Sure
Success is as unpredictable as failure. Nobody knows for sure what will be a hit or a miss. Every runaway success is only obvious with hindsight. And yet we expend so much of our creative energy trying to be successful to our detriment. When you liberate yourself from the pressure of having to win,
The Unexpected
Contrary to what we often believe, people want more than what was expected. We consistently underrate, undervalue, and underutilise our humanity.
Care Most
We mistakenly believe that we are powerless to make a difference in an all is lost moment when in fact the opposite is true.
