Introduction Jack Welch, ex-Chairman and ex-CEO of General Electric once said, “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete”. While this quote makes sense, organizations can always strive for opportunities to build new competitive advantage by investing passion, right strategic thinking, perseverance, and determination. However, while gaining competitive advantage is one thing, sustaining the […]
Category: Business
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Perfection
“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it” ~ Salvador Dali Image: Twistedsifter
At the CES 2018 held in Las Vegas, Steve Koenig, Senior Director of Market Research at Consumer Technology Association, presented on tech trends to watch. Outlining the big picture, he described 2018 as the beginning of the “data era of consumer tech”, with the heralds of that coming age being 5G, AI, and AR. While […]
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Creativity
I was going to post a single quote for creativity but, in keeping with the nature of the word itself, there appear to be multiple different views on what creativity actually is. Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, has described creativity as the freedom to fail and try again. “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which […]
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Excellence
Three excellent quotes on excellence: “Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them.” “Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” “We must learn to honor excellence in every socially-acceptable human activity—and to scorn shoddiness, however exalted the activity. An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. […]
Originally based in Shoreditch and the Silicon Roundabout, London’s tech start-up revolution has since spread across the whole city. Tech start-ups have fostered a dynamic, entrepreneurial ecosystem, in which creativity and innovation are at the centre. London’s fast-paced and vibrant culture has nurtured these values and now leading tech companies, from ASOS to Transferwise, are thriving […]
Creativity and innovation go hand in hand, but innovation also comes with exposure to risks and even potential failures. For example, when a business introduces a new product to the marketplace, they may be venturing into uncharted territory that may result in a hit or a flop. Innovation transcends product development. It also touches on […]
One of the things I learned during my EMBA was how to break down, re-organize and clearly explain certain kinds of information; a skill which has proved useful when preparing and pitching my start-up based on my b-school business plan. In late October, that got put to the test. I had the opportunity to pitch […]
In business and in pleasure, conversations are our roadmaps through the day. They are how we share information, feelings, and ideas, and the nature of our conversations dictates the all-important relationships between ourselves and those around us. It’s no wonder that conversing can be pretty energy-consuming. And we can all be guilty of avoiding eye […]
Never in history have we had so much instant communication with others, whether they’re in the same town or on the other side of the world. Our busy lives in large communities mean that our communication with friends and family is often through electronic devices rather than in person and face-to-face. And even when we […]
A regular job in the industry you love is a great place to start a career, but it can take years of making the tea, making connections, and accumulating experience before you find that your daily work is truly satisfying your needs. If you find yourself regularly putting in forty hours per week and still […]
Ever feel you’re fighting a losing battle at work? Compromise and empathy are valuable assets, but sometimes you need to outright get your point across if progress is to be made. Laboring on under a false understanding can just create more trouble down the line – and nobody learns anything if their misconceptions are never […]
When you run your own small business, it can be difficult to keep an objective distance from what you do. Bills come in, sales go out, you have your day-to-day goals and you watch the curvy line of profit and loss make its inexorable progress throughout the financial year. You have your big one-year and […]
I spend a large chunk of my daily life attached to technology. I wake up courtesy of the alarm on my phone and as I turn it off I am greeted by the notifications that have reached me overnight. Fantastic, one of my friends on Instagram has posted for the first time in a while. […]
There are few responsibilities we have at work that won’t be handed over to computers and automatons in the decades to come, but one skill that will never be fully devolved to the robots is emotional intelligence. Every encounter you have at work is defined by the emotional intelligence of those involved. Even when you […]
Positivity has become something of a cult the past few years. Like political correctness and the ‘#gratitude’ craze, it comes from a good place – but is meaningless if performed by rote, rather than discovered through respect and mindfulness. Negativity is by no means a healthy attitude, but point-by-point identifying of negative trends within an […]
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Uncooperative
In economics, perfect competition is hailed as an ideal. It is a situation where a large number of firms each produce a similar product, and so consumers can get what they want at the lowest possible cost. The cult of competition starts early. At certain elite high schools in Sydney, student exam scores are publicly […]
Breakfast is not just the most important meal of the day, but also the most important meeting you’ll have: a chance to check in with yourself, remember what it’s all about, and strengthen your resolve to succeed. Success in business means not just managing your assets, your network, and your office, but above all: managing […]
As a small business consultant, I see the impact that stress has on people’s lives up close. Many times it is a good thing as it forces the business owner to adapt and excel so that his business thrives. Excelling, however, is contingent on the business owner knowing how to harness small doses of stress […]
We are all familiar with the concept of a to-do list. We are taught from a very early age that the best way to get things done is to make a list and tick tasks off as we complete them. The idea of a to-do list is comforting, it’s tangible and having one makes us […]
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One Cow Describes Eight Business Models
Business models have diversified and evolved in unpredictable ways over the past couple of decades. Those businesses that have thrived have been the ones who were best able to not only take advantage of the new possibilities offered by the world wide web, but to predict the ways that the internet would change the way […]
If you’ve been turning your nose up at the idea of advertising on Facebook, you’re missing out on a fantastic opportunity. It may not exactly be ‘old school’ – even by internet standards – but Facebook Ads have a way of integrating themselves into your customer’s daily lives in an unobtrusive way that puts them […]
Most of us work pretty hard to ensure an even schedule throughout the working week: five or more days of calm, measured – if industrious – productivity. Yet most people will also recognize the simple truth that, from time to time, work tends to get bunched up together. Whether it’s a fast-approaching deadline, a backlog […]
Most young entrepreneurs have a pretty good handle on social media. The same business people most likely have a healthy understanding of customer care. However, put the two together, and the results are not always intuitive. Dealing with complaints and enquiries via social media is a game with its own rules – neither as informal […]
Life has changed drastically over the last several years, yet human beings have stayed inherently the same as they were thousands of years ago. The same things stimulate and excite our brain as they did when we were cavemen. In a time where we have 24/7 news websites and free information literally at our fingertips, […]
How are you dealing with the 21st century? Those who’ve been in the work market for a couple of decades or more have witnessed a hastening evolution of how things are done and what you need to do just to get by – let alone to excel. Even millennials can find themselves somewhat adrift when […]
When was the last time you said ‘no’ at work? There’s no shame in being the guy who says ‘yes’: taking on work indiscriminately is the sign of a healthy work ethic – but whether it’s a productive work ethic or not is another matter. And, unfortunately, the willingness to take on every task you’re […]
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Celebrate, Motivate, Get Passionate
Three ideas for the new year. 1. Plan a Celebration It is common at the turn of a new year to set “resolutions” for things you want to do, change, or achieve in your life. The problem with new year’s resolutions is that, if they had been really important to you, you would have set […]
Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël! Sheng Dan Kuai Le! (圣诞快乐!) Wishing you an enjoyable day, and a happy holiday season spent with good people, surplus amounts of food and drinks, and a large number of gifts! One idea that is firmly associated with Christmas is gift giving. This is a central part of the Christian tradition, […]
Being boss doesn’t mean you get to demand results – it means creating the conditions for those results to be achieved. If you’re running your own business and are responsible for a team, you’ve probably cast a judgmental eye over some of the trendy quirks and gimmicks that your contemporaries in some of the better-known […]
This is a guest post from Riya Sander. Creating a happy workplace can make it easier to retain your workers, allowing you to avoid the costs related to employee turnover. It can also increase the morale of those who stay, which may lead to higher productivity and a greater likelihood that your people take ownership […]
This is a guest post from Caryn Walsh. Being a good leader has never been easy. Not everybody can learn how to carry the expectations, demands, and ambitions of a company on a single pair of shoulders. You need to know when to be tough and have a willingness to make the difficult decisions, but […]
Since 1972, Britain has been part of the European continent. I remember the opening very well. I was a kid, living in London. The new openness meant we could afford oranges from Spain. Every week, an old French farmer would also peddle through London with strings of onions hanging from his bicycle. I thought the […]
I am a bit of a late bloomer in some ways – certainly academically. At the age of 48, I decided, after a life spent in business of all kinds, to go back to school, obtain my EMBA, and focus on an entrepreneurial career. It’s not really that delaying my master’s was a choice. When […]
It is not like I knew Peter well – as a real live person. In fact, I only met him once – in Claremont – as a very old man. That said, I always found it rather funny and more than touching that for a man who helped chart the academic progression of American management […]
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Hope
“Hope is like a path in the countryside: originally there was no path, but once people begin to pass, a way appears.” ~ Lu Xun, Chinese author (Image Source: Flickr)
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Knowledge, Networks, and Branding
It’s what you know. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. Knowledge, networks, and branding. You have to start somewhere, and the logical starting point is to acquire knowledge. Society understands the importance of this, which is why primary and high school education can […]
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How Empowered Are You?
What does it mean to say that someone is “empowered”? The Oxford dictionary defines the term as “stronger and more confident in controlling ones life”. Key to this definition is the idea of control; that is, the ability to influence the course of events. Roles in the community that we might think of as empowered include priests, professors, […]
It is very common these days for businesses of all shapes and sizes to use serviced offices. For smaller companies and startups, however, they are particularly valuable. If a young business wants to get off the ground fast, they can do so by paying a fixed rate fee to rent a fully equipped workspace. It […]
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Brevity
“Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.” ~ George Orwell (slight mis-quote) [Diminutive is a synonym for “small”.]
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Sanitised vs Sanitary
Are you trying to build a work environment that is more sanitised or more sanitary? There is a difference. A sanitised work environment is generally inoffensive, and is designed to satisfy the strict (and habitually self-serving) requirements of the HR checklist. A sanitary work environment, on the other hand, is one that’s designed to be favourable for the health and proper functioning of […]
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Destiny vs Destination
When things go badly, the optimist is likely to respond with a reference to forces outside her control, “our competitors got lucky this time!” When things go well, the pessimist is likely to respond in a similar way, “I got lucky this time!” In both situations the person is making a call to destiny. The optimist believes that things will go well […]
If you have recently been placed in a leadership or managerial position in your company, then you may need to change the way you approach work each day. The five most common mistakes discussed below are made by those in management in virtually every sector of the business world. Learning how to avoid them can […]
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3 Ways to Distinguish Yourself
We live in an increasingly digital and technology enabled world, which is increasing the level of competition between organisations. Why is this the case? There are three key reasons. Firstly, technology is helping to lower barriers to entry. It has never been easier to create new goods and services, and get them noticed by your […]
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5 Reasons It’s Okay To Say “No”
If you are using your talents in a way that interests you for the benefit of other people, then that’s a good thing. Charities, non-profits and religions may come to you for aid, but it’s valid to refuse if your gifts to them would detract from the good work you are already doing Giving more than you […]
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False Dilemma – Value, Cost or Focus
Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter argued back in 1985 that there are three generic strategies that an organisation can follow to achieve above average performance. You can operate at low cost, provide distinct value to customers, or focus on doing one of these things while targeting a specific niche in the market. The unfortunate fallacy that Porter introduced is […]
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Bricks and Mortar
Builders intuitively know that if you are building a house then you need both bricks and mortar, and they need to be arranged in a certain way in order to construct a safe, functional and attractive residence. The bricks provide strength, the mortar holds it all together, and the architect’s plan ensures that they are arranged in […]
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The Gift of Giving
Merry Christmas to you, dear reader! This is a special time of year when people give gifts and send messages of happiness, peace and good will to family and friends. Christmas is a unique and valuable tradition because the practice of gift giving reminds us what life is all about. As social animals, our identity, survival and prosperity depends on being part […]
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Antidote to Fixed Thinking
Many people are afraid to fail. Terrified of flunking a test, getting fired, having their heart broken, or being laughed at. Loss is painful, yes, it truly can be. The problem with this way of experiencing life, though, is that it represents fixed thinking. A belief that things can stay the same and a desire to preserve the way things were. […]
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Pen vs Sword
(Source: Flickr) Most people are familiar with the expression “the pen is mightier than the sword”, but where does it come from? According to the BBC, the expression first appeared in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1839 play Cardinal Richelieu. This may have been the first usage in English, but Bulwer-Lytton appears to have borrowed from a longer tradition. Napoleon Bonaparte, known more […]