As a creative right brainer, I often marvel at the cool headed logic of an enlightened left brainer, and none more so than, Warren Buffett. Buffett’s genius is referenced throughout this blog (thanks Warren!). Recently I have been reading Buffett’s biography The Snowball, hoping some of his genius will rub off on me. I note … Continue reading
Tagged with failure …
Get your brand in front of the market or be run over
Unless we create a culture of innovation, our business will be left behind. This requires the knowing of what to do and the ability to do it. Easy to say, not easy to do, in fact 70% of corporate initiatives fail to be initiated. (or so says Michael Jarrett, a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at … Continue reading
Positive affect and why nothing succeeds like success
Winning is not about being first or better than, it is about achieving your goals in a competitive marketplace. And while it is good to keep your eye on the strategy, you also have to have the internal resources embedded in your people and culture to keep on winning. Here are some tips on winning, … Continue reading
The growth strategy and the pain of change
Do you know what your customers want, but feel it is too far out of your business comfort zone to give it to them? Doing something new often involves standing in the pain of change…. it involves being vulnerable, letting go of the comfort of the status quo, and experiencing the risk of doing it … Continue reading
Fuzzy brands and the decline of Sony
In April 2012, Sony had doubled its projected net loss for 2011 to 520 billion yen, Sony’s fourth year of consecutive losses. So where did this master of consumer electronics, communications and information technologies loose its way? Sony is besieged by competitive challenge. While Chinese and Korean manufacturers snap at Sony’s ankles, commoditizing Sony’s baseline … Continue reading
Profit versus risk, and the new channels to market for a brand
The last tech bubble covered a period from 1995-2000. It was a time when investors would discard traditional drivers in investment for a potential future upside based on technology. Some collapsed, others like Amazon.com, went from a share prices of $107 to $7 only to rebound to $200 years later. I remember the same people, … Continue reading
Making your brand a winner in a down turn
The first response in an economic down turn is for business people to think discount, and for some, that type of market adjustment will allow them to ride out the wave of the down turn in anticipation of the return to good times. For many, the path of discounts is the path of no return, … Continue reading
A successful brand is persistently consistent and consistently persistent
Not sticking to the plan is more often than not, the root cause of business failure. Conventional wisdom has it: Business shareholders, who loose money in between boom and bust cycles, are those that break their strategy. Small business strategists say, the key reason small business fails, is that they simply did not have enough … Continue reading
The lessons from Kodak’s pending bankruptcy
Kodak created the digital camera, but refrained from investing in it early enough because it made most of its profits from the sale of developing chemicals. Kodak is an example of a business that froze when the market moved around them. Compare the commercial destinies of Kodak and Apple. In 1997 Kodak had a market … Continue reading
Building emotional connections with employees
When you have the right people in place, you need an internal brand to get them to buy into and support the vision. Mission Statements and operational plans rarely touch the hearts and minds of employees. In order for your team to understand how to walk the talk of the business, you need to create … Continue reading
