The Magic of Systemised Sales

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 […]

Invading Countries;Seizing Markets.

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 […]

Leadership and Management Tips for SME CEOs

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, […]

Checklist for entrepreneurs seeking funding.

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. […]

The End of Experts?

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 […]