I love dogs. They are clever, loyal and petting them relieves pain (yes really). There are two dogs I particularly remember; a spaniel in Beijing Airport and an alsatian in Pakistan. Gifting is important in Asia so on my way to China on business I always bought tins of Harrods biscuits as gifts. Alas, the […]
Brand is often thought to be logos, web sites, fonts and colour choices. In fact, they are simply tools that communicate brand and thus represent the very last step of the brand-effort: communication. Brand is identity. It is what people think you are; what they say to others about you. It might include an output […]
I was completely floored by the question ‘How do you sell?’. It sounded silly and the answer obvious. Even when the question changed to ‘What is the buying journey for your potential customers?’ I still had no idea. Too often the answer is “Magic”- being short hand for ‘sales tumble from my relationships because I […]
Start ups seize markets much as military invasions seize territory. Once markets are acquired, like territory, they have to be governed and this requires new types of people. First ashore are the special forces who are highly creative, operate informally, and follow very little process. They are multi-talented and do everything important really well and […]
The Short Version There are two separate executive functions; Leadership and Management. Leadership causes people to do things they might not have done. Management is the efficient allocation of limited resources Acknowledging that Management and Leadership are different is useful for any Executive. Executives tend to manage too much and lead too little, […]
Why read this? Technology has fundamentally changed the modern marketing function. Marketing is too often thought of as purely a creative, qualitative activity, but modern data analysis has enabled a new range of benefits. Perhaps the easiest summary of the change is that marketing can now be measured. We all know the popular quote “We […]
Pre-Amble Hopefully, these questions make meetings between entrepreneurs and investors more efficient. According to ‘Crossing the The Chasm Marketing and Selling High Tech‘ by Geoffrey Moore startups have to cross three ‘Chasms”. These questions are grouped by chasm. Definitions Chasm One: Idea to Prototype. This chasm covers those who have an idea or maybe lots of ideas. […]
Knowledge is changing. Facts, even obscure facts are readily available, so expertise, based on factual knowledge has diminishing value. Expertise, based on understanding, is more robust since it allows The Expert to interrogate and then structure mountains of easily available facts intelligently, but that expertise is based on a style of thought. What is also […]
Simon Sole's Blog for Entrepreneurs 