success
1,070 posts
Opportunity Knocks
There was a talent show on television when I was a child called, Opportunity Knocks. It wasn’t unlike some of the reality talent shows broadcast on TV today. It was lower budget and had a lot less glitz and glamour. Prospective contestants wrote to the show’s producers via snail mail pitching to aud
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
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.
The One Thing
What one thing are you willing to do today in service of tomorrow?
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.
Perfect Timing
An ideal audience isn’t just one that’s available—it’s one that’s receptive. When we say something is just as important as how we say it.
Gap Bridging
What gap does your product or service help your audience to bridge?
Needs And Wants
If we are to do our best work, we must also be intentional about the kind of business and life we want to build. We often default to prioritising our needs while neglecting our wants.
The Daily Opportunity
Meaningful progress doesn’t happen in a single, magical alignment of the stars. Opportunity can’t pass us by because it’s available to us in this moment and the next one.
Growing Small
I remember landing my first ‘real’ job like it was yesterday. One of the big British supermarket chains was opening a huge store not far from where I lived in Dublin. It was good news for the hundreds of people who would be employed there—more jobs, more choice for consumers—a win-win. At fifteen, I
The Stories We Live And Leave
In the end, all that will be left of us is the stories other people share about us. How can we make those the stories worth telling?
Like The Weather
Often the thing we can’t control distracts us to the point of getting in the way of the things we can affect and change.
