Tom SpencerStrategy involves understanding your current position, deciding on a destination, and charting a course from here to there. Culture is about who you are, and why you do things. Culture is arguably more important than strategy because, if you look at it over the lifetime of a product or an organisation, the culture is the […]
Economists love to talk about “scarcity” and the fact that we live in a world of limited resources. However, in the digital world this need not necessarily be the case. Phil Libin of Evernote is of the view that if you’re in a traditional industry like minerals extraction or transportation, then customers will either go […]
For most business owners, the dream is to one day expand beyond the original market. Whether a large corporation or an SME, many look for ways to scale and develop additional revenue streams. One of the most popular options is to expand overseas, where they can tap into additional groups of consumers that want their […]
In an age of rapid digital disruption, how can you retain market power and continue to prosper online? There is a lot of misinformation and confusion about how to compete in the digital landscape, and one of the points of confusion is about the power and value of content. There is a new company called The Grid, which you may […]
(Source: Flickr) When the Internet was still a toy a decade or so ago, many business leaders and strategists didn’t believe that it would be possible to create a profitable business online. The reasons given to support this belief were many and various. Some argued that business on the Internet would never work because it is impossible […]
(Source: Flickr) When can you consider something that you have to be an asset? This may sound like a funny question, but it is particularly important for the success of organisations and your success as an individual. The answer turns out to be largely a matter of perspective. If you are an accountant, then your goal is to categorise resources into groups: assets, liabilities, and […]
(Source: Flickr) When we imitate someone the goal is to copy what we see; to replicate; to produce more of the same. Think Rocket Internet or cheap Japanese electronics from the 70’s. When we emulate, on the other hand, we take inspiration from a role model, a hero. And with effort we might one day hope […]
Often we can be scared to open our mouths and say something. Expressions like “empty vessels make the most noise” and a pervasive social fear of rejection can make it difficult to open up. Why is this the case? Schools, universities and families typically work best when there is an open flow of communication. But on a day […]
I had coffee in early June with Chris McKenna, Associate Professor at Oxford’s Said Business School. When I say we “had coffee”, we didn’t actually drink coffee, but I had offered to buy Chris one as I thought it might give him a reason to meet with me. Chris’s area of expertise is strategy and business history, and he is also Director […]
(Source: Flickr) The Donald has announced his intention to run for the White House in 2016 on a ticket to “Make America Great Again!”. At this stage it’s unclear whether he will run for office or not because he has flirted with running in the past and then not done so. Whatever happens though, the take away lesson at […]
The recent news of succession planning at 21st Century Fox brings an interesting issue to light. On Thursday, the Guardian reported that James Murdoch will succeed Rupert Murdoch as CEO at 21st Century Fox. At the same time, Rupert and Lachlan will become executive co-chairmen. The interesting thing about the Murdoch family’s control of Fox is that it relies on a dual-voting structure in […]
John Paulson, the American hedge fund manager and billionaire, donated $400 million to Harvard University this week. The donation will go to Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences which, strangely enough, will be renamed the “Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences”. Donating money to an educational institution can never be a bad thing, can it? Well, […]
(Source: Flickr) I attended a talk last week at the Oxford Union given by Alexandra Shulman, editor-in-chief of British Vogue. Shulman is the longest serving editor in British Vogue history. She took the helm in 2002, and has presided over a circulation increase to 220,000 copies. Needless to say, I was interested to hear what she had […]
A few weeks ago I attended a panel discussion at Oxford’s Said Business School entitled “Trust Me, I’m A Stranger: Learn from leading entrepreneurs innovating in the collaborative economy”. The panelists were Lily Cole founder of Impossible, a social network that encourages users to exchange skills and services for free in the hope of encouraging […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the tenth instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: There has been […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the ninth instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: One of my […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the eighth instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: In my […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the seventh instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: If you were […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the sixth instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Nigel Lake: Major incumbents […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the fifth instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Nigel Lake: If you […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the fourth instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: Do you think […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the third instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: The problem for […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the second instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: Do you think […]
(Source: Flickr) This is the first instalment of my conversation with Nigel Lake, CEO of Pottinger, a global corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, Australia. Nigel is the author of The Long Term Starts Tomorrow, a must have book “for any manager, leader or Minister.” The Hon Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW Tom: Nigel, I […]
(Source: Flickr) If you had all the time in the world but not much money, then your capacity to create new ideas and connect with people would be great, but your capacity to consume would be limited. On the other hand, if you didn’t have much time but had a lot of money, then your capacity to create new […]
(Source: Techradar) Design is about function. Every product has a job to do, as Professor Clay Christensen enjoys telling his marketing students at Harvard Business School. If a product is designed properly, then the job will get done well. Apple’s new debut wearable technology, the Apple Watch, has a sleek yet distinctively square shaped design. This seems […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=3010&v=41NeR8ZkCUk I had the good fortune yesterday to attend a conversation between Teppo Felin, Professor of Strategy at Oxford’s Said Business School, and Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and recent author of the bestselling book Zero to One: Notes on Startups or How to Build the Future. Apart from being a co-founder of PayPal, Thiel is also known for being the […]
(Source: Flickr) Traditional strategic thinking, the kind championed by HBS Prof Mikey Porter, says that real economic value is only created when a company can sell a product or service to customers at a price that exceeds the cost of producing it. In other words, companies are entities that sell products or services, and strategic thinking is […]
Don’t do the opposite (Source: Flickr)
WE were saddened to learn of the passing of Lee Kuan Yew last Monday. Harry is recognised as the founding father of modern Singapore and, from the time he was sworn in as Prime Minister in 1959, played a central role in building the fledgling city state into an Asian Tiger economy. Having spent a week […]
(Source: Flickr) Failure can be painful but it tends to mark the boundary between what’s proven and what’s possible, between your comfort zone and your potential. Failure is feedback, an opportunity to learn and grow stronger. Keep pushing.
Not overnight. Not without hard work and creativity. Not without moments of doubt. Not inevitable. But possible. Possible for you. Success, for you, is possible.
Using gamelike elements to engage customers can produce real business value We are currently taking an online course on Gamification with Wharton’s Professor Kevin Werbach, which provides a fascinating insight into the world of games and how gamelike elements can be incorporated into the customer experience. The basic concept is that games provide a structure within which […]
The financier cares about the next 3 months or less. The strategist cares about the next 3 years or more. The financier wants the deal to close as soon as possible so that he can earn his bonus. The strategist is open to taking action if it will strengthen the firm’s position over time, and a better outcome can’t be […]
We each face obstacles at times that prevent us from achieving our goals as quickly and effortlessly as we would like. In your professional life, difficulties may result from factors outside your control: fierce competition, lack of customer demand, or a new well-heeled company entering your industry. Hurdles can also result from factors a little closer to home: outdated skills, insufficient experience, or a weak reputation. Obstacles may be unavoidable, but we […]
Happy new year, and best wishes for a prosperous and productive 2015. Cavett Robert, founder of America’s National Speakers Association, once said that “character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.” May you have the character and conviction to persevere with your plans for the year […]
For many of us, especially expectant young children, Christmas is a day of high expectations. It can often fall short of the mark. Santa may have brought you an Xbox when you had desperately wanted a Playstation. Or perhaps you got a new Samsung tablet, when you were busting for the new iPad instead. It can be painful when reality falls dismally […]
ALL too often, and especially when starting out on a new project, the things we don’t know outnumber the things we do. We may know very little and, in the absence of knowledge, we can become stuck. Paralysis, our inability or unwillingness to make forwards progress, is the surest road to stagnation, difficulty and ultimate demise. What can be done […]
If you run a company, your customers hold the balance of power. Are you delighting them, or leaving an opening for somebody to cut your grass? IF you want to know which party holds the balance of power in a relationship, you just need to look at the direction in which the gifts are flowing. The gift […]
But what about when nobody is watching? GENEROSITY is the act of giving more than we expect of you. You are probably familiar with the most common form of generosity – public generosity. Giving more when people can see it. The public benefactor to a prestigious university foundation; the celebrity who campaigns to fight poverty; or the wealthy men on a quest to […]
Will set you free THIS expression has been a popular saying among business gurus like the late Jim Rohn, and has its origins in scripture. “The truth will set you free” has a nice ring to it and makes people feel good, but what does it really mean? Here are three practices that follow directly from the pursuit of truth, and which underpin sustainable business. 1. Accepting […]
WE are currently in Portugal and recently stayed at Home Hostel Lisbon, which was voted best medium-sized hostel in the world for the last two years running. Think about that for a second. There are thousands of hostels in the world across hundreds of countries, and many of them are excellent. Home Hostel Lisbon was voted “best hostel […]
IF you are like most hard working professionals, then you probably make a habit of reading the news each day. The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Sydney Morning Herald. The Wall Street Journal, the FT or The Economist. There are many titles to choose from. You scan the headlines for an interesting story and then […]
Your time has value Economists are fond of telling us that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Whether it’s fish and chips for lunch, or something else, what they mean by this is that it’s not possible to get something for nothing. But hold on, you might be thinking, surely this isn’t true. Just think about Facebook. […]
Fish and chips at the Golden Union Fish Bar WHEN it comes to project delivery it is said that the customer always wants it “fast, good and cheap”, but they can only have two. A project can be delivered quickly and cheaply, but the quality will suffer. It can be shipped cheaply and to perfection, but it will take a long time. Or it can be supplied quickly and with quality, but […]
“The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but […]
You just have to be interested Interested in other people. Interested in what you can do for them. Interested in improving your approach. Interested in finding a new way forward. Interested in what’s next.
Changing obstacles into opportunities – be thankful for what you have, if you don’t get a miracle you can be a miracle for someone else
In an infinite channel world, not-for-profit may just be the new normal We were recently invited to attend Professor Donnie Maclurcan’s talk in Islington, London entitled “Not-for-profit enterprise will be at the heart of the global economy by 2050”. We were unfortunately unable to attend Donnie’s talk, and haven’t yet read the book, but on first […]