worldview
845 posts
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.…
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.
Your Brand Is A Story
I’ll never forget the day my son read his first word. We were living in the UK at the time, I was driving through town that day when he piped up from the back, “that’s Asda”. I whipped my head around and saw him pointing an impossibly tiny finger at the huge ASDA sign towering…
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
What If Post-it Told A Different Story?
Everyone knows what Post-its do. You know they come in every colour, all sorts of shapes and sizes, easy peel and super sticky. And yet Post-it keeps telling you that stuff in its marketing. They tell you the things you already know about features and benefits. Stories that don’t mean much, that any
How To Get Million Dollar Marketing For Just £3
The UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s just scored millions of dollars worth of marketing for £3 and the price of a postage stamp, by simply employing someone who gave a damn. This is a heart warming story of a customer service employee who used his initiative, didn’t behave like a cog and treated a t
What Is A Brand?
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as, “A Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” Brands are much more to us than designs and symbols that differentiate. There are an infinite number of de
Keeping Your Promises
Communicating inbox to inbox, no longer being eye to eye, makes it easier to say no. The flip side is it also makes it easier to say yes. Interacting online makes giving your word and then breaking it in just a few hundred characters a lot less complicated. Excuses trip more easily off the keyboard,
Most People
Most people believe that the day starts at nine and ends at five. That you need the permission of others to start. Most people believe that rules are made by others. That their horizon is a definite line. Most people believe that work must be difficult. That life begins in the two weeks when they…
When What You Sell Isn’t What You’re Selling
Yesterday I skipped the early gym session, packed up my mac book and headed out to the hair salon. This particular salon runs a no appointment system, it’s first-come first-served. So I got there almost an hour before they opened, sat on the floor outside and worked. Ten minutes later another lady a
The Comparison Trap
At the gym I can’t take my eyes off the tall, svelte, Scandinavian goddess who is sweating elegantly, on the cross trainer just in front. When I’m attempting a less than elegant blossoming lotus, I long for the balance and flexibility of the raven-haired beauty on the yoga mat alongside. With regula
It’s All Been Done Before
This is what I call ‘the pioneer’s lament’. It’s been my personal lament many a day. It goes something like this… You have a great idea. It could be for a product, service, a book, blog post, or a new kind of dog food. You start planning, taking notes, visualising the impact of said thing…
The Secret To Creating Products People Buy
The secret to the success of Facebook, Pampers, Innocent drinks, Instagram, Basecamp, Little Miss Match, Marie Forleo.com and on and on, comes down to one thing. The ability to stand in the customer’s shoes and see the world from where they are at. Have you questioned what you client’s worldview is
The Story You Tell Is A Choice
The story you tell is a choice. Creating a series of lines in the sand. Symbolic of values that you’re not willing to compromise on. Your brand can’t be all things to everyone. This and that. The brands that stand out, that have soul, that win by being different, choose. They choose to stand for…
You Are Whoever You Believe You Are
While working with people on crafting stories about their brands, businesses, products and services I’ve stumbled across this under-acknowledged fact. Yes it is a fact, with a capital ‘F’ not simply a theory. You are whoever you believe you are Some of the most important stories you tell are the one
Take People Where They Want To Go
The products that sell, made by the companies that succeed wildly have one thing in common. They take people to where they want to go. It’s an elegant business philosophy. The ultimate brand strategy. Neither push nor pull. Just pure magnetism. Understand where your customers want to go, then find w
21 Ways To Nurture Your Ideas
Your mountain is waiting. So… Get on your way. ~ Dr Suess 1. Create an idea saving system. Find tools that work for you, Moleskine or Evernote anyone? 2. Be ready to capture ideas anywhere. J.K. Rowling tells the story of how Harry Potter “fell into her head” on a train journey. 3. Step away…
Change How People Feel Not What They Do
Every marketing decision you make should be prefaced with this question; “How will it make her feel?” Of course you want people to do, but you need them to feel first. When people feel they act. The feeling is what leads to the doing. Think about the websites and cafes you love to visit, the…
If Only
If only there were 26 hours in each day. If only they understood. If only the competition didn’t compete. If only there was more space. If only the economy wasn’t in such a mess. If only chocolate didn’t taste so good. If only the gym wasn’t so far away. If only they hadn’t launched first.…
