success
1,070 posts
The Only Reason You’re In Business
The reason you’re in business is to make peoples’ lives better. Every word you write, coffee you serve or pixel you paint is nothing without an audience to consume it, and more importantly care about it. So here’s the question you need to ask. How does what you do, make, serve or sell make life…
How To Make Your Message Stick
I read an interesting fact on the last few pages of my friend Mark’s new book Return on Influence, apparently most people abandon a business book after reading one third of it. This is an audience who decided they believed in the idea, author or maybe the title and cover design enough to invest, onl
Create What People Can’t Live Without — 8 Questions To Ask Before Launching An Idea
Where would you be without your laptop, smart phone, Google, take away coffee cups and quick drying nail polish? While you’re busy navigating your day today, think about what you couldn’t live without, the stuff that makes your life that little bit easier. All those things you didn’t even realise yo
What’s The Purpose Of A Brand Story?
If you’ve got a great product or a killer service why do you need a brand story? You only have to look as far as your local cafe or boutique fashion labels to see that all brands are not created equal, and what usually separates the successes from the failures is a good story. The…
The World Is Calling You. Be Ready
The Idea Execution Blueprint
The best-laid plans are no substitute for and idea that’s done. Just do it! Image by Jeff Daly.
A Lesson From The Most Iconic Advert In The World
The Coca Cola ‘Hilltop’ advert created more than 40 years ago is known as “one of the best-loved and most influential ads in TV history. In a recent collaboration Harvey Gabor one of the original creatives of ‘Hilltop’, worked with Google and Coca Cola to re-imagine a modern day version of the origi
Turn Up The Volume On Your Mission
Whatever your idea, whatever you market, sell or promote, whether it’s a cause, art, products or services, the way you differentiate from your competitors is by turning up the volume on your mission. Products can be similar, but missions are unique You don’t want people to buy your stuff, you want t
9 Elements Of The Perfect Pitch
This image was captured in Marrakech at the largest open air market in Africa. On the day the photo was taken the market was apparently in full swing, complete with everything from average snake charmers, to exceptional orange juicers and trinket traders. The photographer captures how many of the to
You Need A Story Not Just An Introduction
If you’ve ever been to any kind of round table meeting where each participant introduces themselves, you’ll know that after the first few introductions most people switch off. In a world of shrinking attention spans you’ve got seconds to grab them. If you feel uncomfortable about bigging yourself up
The Purpose Of Branding
If a brand is more than just a logo, a tagline and the colour of the packaging, then what is branding? Branding is simply turning up the volume on your mission Branding is not something that’s arranged on the surface, like a stiffly coiffed hairstyle on a fashion model. It takes place from the insid
The First Question Every Marketer Must Ask
It doesn’t matter if you are solopreneur hacking code in your bedroom, or a challenger brand trying to launch the next big thing. In fact this rule of thumb applies as much to high school kids begging for an extension on their end of semester essay assignment, as it does to Apple pitching us the…
Why You Need A Mission More Than A Website
Nine times out of ten when I consult with clients they are impatient to get to work on the tactical side of spreading their idea. They wonder about what website and social media platforms to use. They worry about design elements and website functionality. Maybe you do too? Of course you want to get
Jimmy Choo Doesn’t Sell Shoes
Jimmy Choo has spent the past fifteen years successfully selling exactly the same thing over and over again and that thing isn’t leather or heels. When a woman holds or covets a pair of Jimmy Choos, she isn’t imagining how the shoes will feel on her feet, she’s fantasizing about how she will feel in
Why Fascinate?— An Interview With Sally Hogshead
If you haven’t read Fascinate by Sally Hogshead go out and grab yourself a copy. In the book Sally explains how fascination plays a role in every type of decision making, from the brands you choose to the songs you remember, from the person you marry to the employees you hire. And by activating the…
Show Them What You’re Made Of
You could wait around until the CEO rubber stamps your ideas. Your book can gather dust for years until an agent discovers your writing and you can while away a decade in a cubicle wondering when Saatchi and Saatchi will call. Or you can simply show the world what you’re made of and pick yourself.…
Why ‘How To’ Is The Wrong Place To Start
I hardly ever write ‘how to’ posts, even though they are a great way to drive ‘traffic’ to your blog. If you want to do that, go write a great list post. Focusing on the ‘how to’ stops you thinking about the why and the what first. Most companies question, how they will get their…
Giving A Damn Is Seriously Underrated
My boys had a sick rat last week. At the vet’s she was weighed and had her chest listened to. The vet sent her home with an antibiotic and instructions. If she didn’t get better very quickly the outlook wasn’t good. At ten the following morning I got a call from the vet nurse. She…
How To Guarantee Failure
Do nothing. Don’t start. Sit on the fence. Avoid taking the first step. Stay in analysis. Stand still. Never ship. Look for ten different opinions. Act on none. Stop trusting your gut and feeling like gold dust. You are. Image by Christa Lohman.
Trust And Excuses
The next time you don’t quite manage to do what you said you’d do, send your apology and stop there. Don’t be tempted to say I’m sorry……and. Excuses actually don’t change how the other person is feeling about being let down by you. Making excuses simply justifies your inaction to you. Excuses don’t
