One of the business world’s biggest faults in recent years has been it’s obsession with following processes over making meaning for customers and staff. I’m not talking about those hippy-trippy sort of things like brand purpose or Simon Sinek’s “starting with why”. Rather I’m talking about taking the meaning from what people want to doContinue reading “Meaning vs process”
Author Archives: Alastair Thomson
“Marketers should know what budget they have to spend”
When your starting point is a budget, your results are always sub-optimal. As a business leader, your primary focus needs to be on outcomes.
Why so many KPIs make so little sense
If you work in a business of any size, you’ll be familiar with the daily/weekly/monthly round of KPIs. But many KPIs are either pointless or provide only a dangerously partial view of what’s going on.
Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and a guy you’ve never heard of
Diversity and inclusion can look like a big problem to solve. But it isn’t…if we all follow the example of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe…
Train hard, fight easy
Treat your business like jet engine manufacturers treat their engines – make sure you stress-test all the components so you avoid them breaking up in mid-air…
The Knight of Uncertainty
Are you managing risk, or are you managing uncertainty? Many businesses think they’re handling the former when in reality they’re managing the latter. That’s where it all goes wrong.
Yes, but is it true?
Everyone says it, everyone thinks it…but is it true? Often it’s just an assumption which turns out to be anything but true.
It’s the what, not the how
The biggest mistake many businesses make – prioritising their “how” over their customers’ “what”…
Scooby-Doo, where are you?
How do you change hearts and minds – with an 80-page strategy document or a handful of well-chosen words?
Gold medals or last place?
You can’t win gold medals, no matter how hard you try, until you eliminate whatever is holding you back…