leadership
203 posts
This Time Next Year
“This time next year we’ll be millionaires!” —Derek Trotter CEO of Trotters Independent Traders You probably spend a great deal of time setting business goals, working on strategy and planning for growth. It’s the sensible thing to do. After all how can you get to where you want to go if you don’t k
Building A Brand Versus Selling A Commodity
Ideas spread, products become irreplaceable, and businesses grow when they stop being mere commodities and have meaning attached to them. It’s not possible to be a brand and a commodity all at once. Customers don’t demonstrate loyalty to commodities but they can fall in love with a brand. PRODUCT-ME
Worrying About The Competition
Rachael showed up for her trial as a part-time dishwasher in a local cafe, donned her apron and was sent into battle alongside Lolita. Lolita who was a fairly recent addition to the staff was worried, the manager had already had a word with her about picking up the pace at busy times. As she…
Perfect
When a Ryanair flight touches down on time a fanfare sounds over the public address system to celebrate the fact. Flights that arrive on time might be cause for celebration for the airline, but that’s no longer enough to delight most passengers. Just twenty years ago when you made an expensive long
Seth Godin On What We Need To Do Now
Seth and I got together yesterday and made this for you. He teaches me something every day and I know you’ll learn something from the insights he shares here. Seth Godin : What we need to do now from Bernadette Jiwa on Vimeo. “We’re living in a moment of time, the first moment of time…
Loved
I finally fell out of love with my favourite little cafe. 18 months ago I went there almost every day, not just for the coffee but because of how it made me feel to be there in amongst the noise, the life and the friendly faces with the smell of the ocean wafting through the…
Different, Because
We are different because ———————. We are the only one that does ———————. How are you different and why does that matter to your customers? Image by Evive.
Anticipation Is Your Point Of Differentiation
Brand new guest rooms, sleek kitchenettes, minibars and bright, new bathrooms were only the start of the boutique hotel’s story. The ‘dream pillow menu’ gave me six choices from buckwheat to hypo-allergenic, duck down to Swedish memory foam. And yet…..there was no chance of an early check in after a
More Than Words
The school public speaking competition was in full swing. One after another the young and accomplished speakers stepped up to the lectern. Their opinions, convincing arguments and confidence just blew us away. The evening was drawing to a close and the audience began to fidget as the second last spe
What Versus Why
My middle son left school this year and here’s the question everyone asks him. “What do you want to do?” I bet it’s a question you’ve been asked too at one time or another. My seventeen year old tells people he wants to study either architecture or design, and then that he’s off to Billund…
Anyone Could Have Done It
Anyone could have written that book. Had this idea. Made that project work. Pulled this off. The thing is they didn’t. That most people don’t. And you’re not just anyone. Image by Alexander Kesselaar.
Crafting Your Intention
I met a really passionate financial planner recently who was a bit stuck about how to craft a 30 second pitch to deliver to the people he met at networking events. The problem was that while he was agonising over finding the right words he lost the ability to communicate his intention. If you have…
What’s The Formula?
There was no formula for being commissioned by Starbucks to design the Red Christmas Cup, so Johanna Basford created one. There was no step-by-step guide to building a brand around ‘delivering wow through service’ before Zappos did it. And yet that’s what we want. The how to, the instructions, the r
The Easy Way Out
A $6000 full page advert in a magazine with a readership of 200,000 people might feel like a bargain. All those eyeballs connected to all those credit cards just waiting to discover you. Now all the advert must do is convince people to pick up the phone. Buying ads feels safe, but handing over adver
You Scratch My Back
The suited up guy approached me at the end of the meeting saying he wanted to find ways to promote my business. He was that impressed! “There is a quid pro quo though.” he said. The old you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours routine. A transaction. This for that. The most valuable relationships…
6 Questions Every Startup Should Ask
1. What problem are we solving? 2. What need are we fulfilling? 3. Who are we solving the problem for? 4. How are we least like the competition? 5. How do we tell that story? 6. Why this, why us and why now? What questions have you asked yourself? Image by dasmart.
The Shortcut
The secret to overnight success is that there is no such thing as an overnight success. Here’s the formula. DO GOOD WORK x TIME = OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED This is how a self-published Kansas mother of three became the number #1 Amazon Business Bestseller in a week when ‘online influencers’ backed by b
The Story Is Your Advantage
“Whoever tells the best story wins.” —Annette Simons This is the whole truth, and it scares all kinds of people, from creators to scientists, fledgling entrepreneurs to established brands. The best man doesn’t always win. It’s not enough to be bigger or better, and that frightens us because our unde
Speak Human
The new perspex sign in the toilets of fast food restaurant read… “It is our intent to provide you with the cleanest possible facility. If the room needs attention please notify a Manager.” I stood in the mirrorless bathroom looking at it for some time wondering how this was supposed to make me feel
What The Cold Caller Forgot
He forgot to think about you and not just him. He forgot you were busy. He forgot to work hard to add value and build an asset over time. He forgot to give before trying to take. He forgot that you don’t care about his emergency. He forgot that he can’t buy your permission. He…
