However good you are, however hard you work, sometimes your success depends on events completely out of your control. And the control of th

“The creative act does not create something out of nothing; it uncovers, selects, reshuffles, combines, synthesises already existing facts,

You can learn a lot from unsolicited promos on social media. Especially what to avoid... Here are the 10 MISSTEPS to making a video that no-one will want to view (unless as a warning lesson): MISSTEP 1. Put the CEO on screen immediately. If you have a handy stained-glass window (see video below), tilt the camera so the boss looks beatific, framed by a halo. Here's the opening pitch: "We’re living in a world of tremendous change; MISSTEP 2. Scare your potential customer. Here-

Alfa Aid is an Alfa Romeo sales and post-sales garage based less than ten minutes from where I live. Adrian, the owner, started the business in 1993. Now, after more than two decades, he’s ready for his biggest step. Alfa Aid's first General Manager starts today. After years of riding the ups and downs of a commercial roller coaster - of sometimes taking lesser rewards to keep his people on board - Adrian is finally letting go. He has been through multiple cycles in the motor

(It was early 1980s: I had my marketing degree, and a new job at an agency. Not long after my first day, I met Larry - a new client who was adding a security hardware business to his growing portfolio. I asked him how he started…) Larry’s first venture was selling carpets. His office was a back bedroom at home, his logistics operation was a white van. He gave the impression that he ran a big company because his wife answered calls by saying “this is reception”, and he had t

This series of ‘TGJTC’ blogposts was originally prompted by an email signed by the Chief Deputy Auditor. Not Deputy Chief (the second in line) but Chief Deputy. I imagine that there were more than one ‘Chief’ at that level too, just to keep everyone on their toes. TGJTC #1 started with my General Manager role, which was a misnomer at best. I’ll come back to that in a moment. Subsequent postings about VP, CMO, Director and Partner tried to give each some context, definition an

William Muir has known more plucked poultry than you've had hot dinners. As professor of Animal Sciences at Purdue Agricultural University, he's an expert in breeding and genetics. Not that he always roosted on the lofty perches of Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth Rocks. His studies started with flour beetles. Specifically, Muir examined the beetles' evolution in an (artificial) environment of very little food. Those who survived did so at the expense of others: they grew faste

1984: the year when I learned that I knew nothing.

February 1994. Lillehammer: The first Winter Olympic Games to be held in a different year from the Summer Games. And after being involved for 30 years, Xerox finally became a full TOP Partner. A TOP participant, without discretionary budget. Olympic sponsorship is an expensive, complex commitment. And getting value from participation is not guaranteed. There are two factors that play against you. Factor #1: the multiple tiers of deep pockets. At Lillehammer, there were three

World Cup Moscow 2018: why soccer is still a small business, why money matters more than football managers, and why Southampton is headed to

As I walked through a shopping mall earlier this week, a young woman sitting at her sales display called me across the concourse: "Do you know what we're doing here today?" Such a bizzare enquiry. Even now, I have no idea what she was pitching; I can remember a display of Victorian-style pharmaceutical drawers, and bottles set on the top, I think. As I close my eyes and try to recall, the display is a blur. Her question is more vivid. "Do you know what we're doing here today?