inspiration
205 posts
6 Strategies That Work Better Than Trying To Predict The Future
1. Focus on doing the best work you can do today. 2. Learn how to see the truth and the opportunity in what’s right here, right now. 3. Listen to what’s going on around you instead of to the voice in your head. 4. Be grateful for who and what you have in your life…
The Real Reason The Microsoft Store Is Empty
Clues about what matters to people and how their emotions drive their choices are all around us and there’s no better time to see evidence of this in action than during the festive season. Slate recently posted two images that tell two very different brand stories. Both photos were taken on what sho
What Successful People Don’t Do In The Morning…
…or in the evening, or even on weekends. They don’t look for someone else’s secret sauce on a “what successful people do” list, even if there are 730 million search results to tell them how it’s done. It’s easy to confuse other people’s solutions for your answers. You don’t have to be defined by wha
Price Is A Story We Tell Ourselves
I’m worth it. It might be gone tomorrow. You could make it at home for half that. This is a one off. People pay for intangible value all the time. Consider Uber, “the app that connects you with a driver at the tap of a button” on your smartphone. If you simply need to get…
Seth Godin Is Coming To Australia
Seth’s never made it to Australia before, but he’s finally coming next year. Yes, those were cartwheels you imagined! Anyone who has been following Seth’s work for a while knows that this is a big deal. I’ve got no idea if he’ll make it back ever again, but I’m thrilled that he’s coming this time.…
Doing Work That Matters
My maternal grandfather died in his sleep, while my mother aged just four, lay breathing next to him. She was number ten of eleven children. Ten years later mum was sent to work at a biscuit factory. She hated it from day one. At the end of that first shift she told her mother that…
5 Better Ways To Tell The Story Of Your Products And Services
I once heard a tea taster who tasted 1,000 cups of tea a day, explain that the secret to the perfect cup of tea was the water. He said that “water is the mother of tea”. That one phrase was enough to hold me still for a second longer. That’s something we all need to…
The 11 Whys Of Product Development
In my work with companies, entrepreneurs and businesses of all stripes, here’s what I’ve found. We mostly get stuck not because we don’t know the right answer, but because we haven’t begun to ask the right questions. Here’s a handy list of questions to ask before you bring your product, service or i
The Difference Between A Good Idea And A Great Idea Is Just One Thing
Actually, the difference between a good and a great anything, (business, movie, hotel, product, blog, book, packaging, design, app, talk, school, song, art…..keep going), is that the great stuff, the things we give a damn about have the heart left in them. Heart the verb, not the hollow muscular org
Your Work Is A Gift. Talking With James Victore
Your work is a gift. Doesn’t this stop you in your tracks for a second? That’s what it did to me when I saw James’s Victore’s talk on the subject (well worth bookmarking to watch later). James runs an independent design studio in Brooklyn, he is known for his original thinking and unforgettable work
Don’t Make Things That People Want
On a gorgeous hot summer day at the beach you might kill for a Mr Whippy ice cream cone. But no matter how much you wanted an ice cream today, even if that ice cream was the best you’ve ever tasted, you probably won’t give Mr Whippy a second thought tomorrow. Why is that? When…
Why You’re Stuck And The Perils Of Peer Gazing
There’s so much cool stuff ‘out there’. So many great ideas already being brought to market. And plenty of people who have done the things (or similar), that you want to do. The trouble is you can’t find a way to stop marveling and being just a teeny bit overawed by them. The Internet has…
Don’t Sell A Man A Saw, Teach A Man To Build
Mike works at our local ‘big box’ hardware store, alongside people who cut wood, motion directions and stack paint cans. Each weekend Mike sees a steady stream of ‘have a go’ DIY enthusiasts, the kind of guys who were too busy on their way to becoming accountants and lawyers in their teens, to learn
The Purpose Of Innovation In A ‘Needless’ Economy
For the most part in the West we have everything we need. Roofs over our heads, food in the fridge and a lot more besides. Even in the developing world where more people have mobile phones than have access to toilets, it seems that sometimes ‘wants’ trump real needs. So, if we have everything we…
Tiny Markets Of Someone
Mr Ryan owned a corner shop in the tiny Dublin suburb where I grew up. It supported his family and employed his children while they studied for over 20 years. He didn’t seem to worry when yet another big supermarket opened close by. Sure, he knew some of his customers would go there for special…
The Best Brands Are Mirrors
The genius of the ‘Dove Sketches’ campaign wasn’t that it highlighted the issues women have around body image and beauty, it was that it held a mirror up to every one of us. It tapped into our collective vulnerability on a visceral level. Brands like Dove, Instagram, Harley-Davidson, Virgin, Nike, M
Emotional Points Of Difference
Singapore’s Changi Airport doesn’t have the most runways (in fact it only has two), but it does have nature trail complete with sunflowers and butterflies. It’s also known as one of the best airports in the world. The tiny bakery in Hastings on Hudson has a rolling pin for a door handle. Even before
The Fortune Cookie Principle. The Keys To Telling Your Brand Story
I’ve been working to get my new book into your hands for the past nine months, so I’m thrilled to let you know that The Fortune Cookie Principle: The 20 Keys to a Great Brand Story and Why Your Business Needs One is now available on Amazon. The Kindle edition is on sale at the…
The Opportunity Of The Disconnection Economy
If there’s one thing I really hate it’s queuing. You too? And we’re not alone. Innovators are spending their time working on projects to make frustrated one-click, 21st century humans worry less about the time they might be wasting, just waiting. There are red traffic lights with countdowns that enc
What’s The Story They’ll Tell About You Tomorrow?
Don’t let anyone kid you. Telling your story, or the story of your business is hard and most people struggle with it on some level (how to write an about page is one of the most visited posts on my blog). But there’s a trick to tapping into the heart of your story. Start where…
