I’m still a start-up — Building a business teaches you a whole bunch. And right up there is one stand-out lesson — if you don't learn, you die. People will tell you the longer you stay with that start-up mentality, the better. They are right. This post is in two halves. Twenty-one lessons (In no order) that got me to 21 years. The gems —a few of the brilliant…

Making A Real Leadership Team — Leaders Deliver Outcomes The agreed business outcome is a clear signal of intention. Business outcomes result from the whole ‘business system’ — everything in it — people, systems, processes — working together. It’s a massive challenge. Getting everyone to make the correct choices collectively as they execute their plans is complex. In addition…

Just Nod If You Can Hear Me — Getting your idea across to someone is a bloody nightmare. The acid test is whether or not your audience bought it. Did the message hit the mark? Did the deal get done? Did the brief make sense to the team? Although this is not breaking news — creating a simple and compelling message takes blood, sweat, and tears — often…

What did metaphors/idioms ever do for us — Eh? — Historians tell us the past doesn’t repeat itself — it rhymes And off it goes, the rhymes become memes — the truth is the victim — important realities take second place. Romance takes over, and history is pretty soon whatever we want it to be. To understand the present, we must understand the journey we took. But looking back is hard…

They know what they lack, but they’re good with it. — Great leaders know business success requires both art and science. Very few individuals excel at both. Not-so-great leaders often diminish the value of the one they’re weaker at. Stellar operations but mediocre branding/customer experience aren’t going to win any prizes. Pick a sector — Automotive, Energy, Manufacturing, Finance, Software, Fashion…

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in business. — I’m pretty lucky. I get to watch leaders and businesses at work. I’ve studied how they work and why they don’t. Many leaders’ biggest mistake is not exploiting the science AND the art of business. Both are essential to make businesses work fully. 1. The science is the ‘how’ and ‘why’ the operation…

Twenty-one years of writing sentences — I just had a fantastic few days in Istanbul. A dear friend constantly challenges me to share the one-liners that pepper how I explain our work. Istanbul was the perfectly beautiful, chaotic backdrop to provoke me to write. To Coin A Phrase Around 600 BC, the process of making money from metal started. …

Changing my mind was a fast track to joy in my life — A Mindset Is A Choice It’s a whole bunch of choices — and we ignore the big ones staring us in the face. The major changes I made always felt like the spur of the moment. Things like — ending a long-term relationship, quitting alcohol, starting a new business, coming off most social media or adopting a new workflow. I remember very clearly when the decisive moment arrived. …

As part of writing up our 21 years in business, there’s been more than a few humdingers. Here’s a perennial. — What is it you do again? No matter how good the strategy, operation, product or solution, if the story you tell sucks, you’re nowhere. Getting to a story that doesn’t suck is the toughest job for leadership. And most businesses don’t have the capability, making what’s already hard impossible.