Tom SpencerHAVE you ever wondered why cereal boxes often contain a free toy, prize or collectible? The answer is simpler than you might think. The children are the target audience, while the parents fund the purchase. The kids want the toy, while the parents want cereal for their children but are largely indifferent about which sort of cereal because they’re not going to eat it themselves. […]
Is Not A Strategy MANY FIRMS and many people live their lives by chasing the trend. They ask themselves questions like, what’s popular? What are other people doing? What’s the “it” thing? They then chase the trend in an attempt to ride the wave of prosperity and capture some of the growth, glory and profits for themselves. This may work […]
Watch Joi Ito’s TED Talk on innovation, connection and making the most of right now
Three strategies to achieve above-average performance: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus In order to understand Porter’s Generic Strategies, it is helpful to take a step back and examine the two things which determine a firm’s profitability in the long run. The first is industry attractiveness, which is determined in any industry by the five competitive forces: […]
An act of personal empowerment that gives you freedom from the past and allows you to retain the initiative (Source: Flickr) FORGIVENESS is a noble sentiment, but shouldn’t our tormentors be punished? What about truth? What about justice? What about revenge? Breathe, breathe, everything will be okay. The deceptions and betrayals of those around us can sometimes infect and overwhelm the mind. The […]
If you are there for them, they will be there for you WHEN it comes to marketing, you have a choice. Chase new customers, or care for the ones you already have. Buy a million dollar Superbowl ad, or do the hard work of creating remarkable products for the people who care. Pursue the glittering promise of untold wealth by […]
Holding a grudge is like drinking poison, and wishing your enemies would die. Let it go, keep moving, and retain your freedom. Or, as Oscar Wilde put it, “always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.”
If you’re waiting for the bus, and missing it throws out your whole day, then you’re a tourist. Some people go through life this way. High school, university, respectable office job, marriage, house, children, death. A safe bus ride with a predictable number of stops. There is an alternative, but it won’t fit neatly on your itinerary. You […]
Late last year at the Oxford Union we had the opportunity to talk with Tim Ferris, author of the 4-Hour Workweek, about his tips for successful blogging. Tim’s key piece of advice, an echo of every good guidebook we’ve read, is that bloggers who are just starting out should focus on producing “evergreen content”. That […]
IN the quest for market dominance, companies often engage in a war for talent. They seek out new recruits with outstanding capacity, the chosen few who are able to demonstrate a track record of success, and an ability to solve new problems quickly and easily. Management consulting firms are the flag bearers in this war. In a clear […]
The definitive 2014 List of Strategy Consulting Firms in Sydney (Source: Flickr) Below is our 2014 list of strategy consulting firms in Sydney. This list will be of interest to you if you live in Sydney (or you would like to live in Sydney), and: you want to become a strategy consultant, or your company, non-profit or government agency […]
The logistics industry provides opportunities for both movers and shapers (Source: Flickr) BACK in the good old days, before the PC and Macintosh, if you wanted something done you would often just do it yourself. Companies sent their own trucks to the factory to pick up supplies, and the local department store could do “home deliveries” if you were happy to […]
See why “simple is better” in this short video from the Boston Consulting Group
The profitability framework can help executives, consultants and entrepreneurs to diagnose and respond to falling prices, declining sales volume, or rising costs BUSINESSES sometimes experience reduced profitability. This is not necessarily a problem if the decline was expected because a business is sustained from cashflow, not profit, and long term growth can be pursued through capital appreciation, which shows […]
Consultants best serve their clients by being consistently seen as approachable and interested in the client’s business problems (Source: Flickr) This guest post is from Tat Biswas, an IT consultant and blogger based in Sydney. He works with organisations to help them implement software and undertake business process improvement. I would like to share my […]
Are activist investors having a profound effect on American board rooms? McKinsey Director Larry Kanarek says, “I think the answer is absolutely yes.” How should executives respond? ACTIVIST investors are having a profound impact on American board rooms. Faced with this new situation, Larry Kanarek argues that executives should work with activists, rather than against […]
The real battle is not against competitors, but against ourselves. Morieux and Tollman make the case for a new approach to management that they call “smart simplicity” BCG partners Yves Morieux and Peter Tollman have written a new book called Six Simple Rules: How to Manage Complexity Without Getting Complicated, in which they make the case for a […]
If you were playing Monopoly, Quantitative Easing would be the equivalent of helping yourself to a $100 note every time you rolled the dice and never having to pay it back (Source: Flickr) CENTRAL banks continue to finance government spending by easing monetary policy in order to help economies get back to “potential output”. (It […]
RIP Booz & Company PwC completed its acquisition of Booz & Co today. Regulators approved the deal, as we expected. They appear to have conveniently overlooked or ignored the large conflict of interest issues posed by a merger of this size between an accounting firm and a consultancy. We outlined these risks in an earlier […]
The key is to know when correlation is enough, and what to do when it is not David Ritter, director at BCG, has explored the world of big data and when companies should take action based on observed correlations in the data. His ideas have big implications for business because, if correlation is enough, then […]
Evans explains that business strategy is premised on assumptions about technology, that those assumptions are changing dramatically, and that this will lead to a different concept of what we mean by business strategy
Are you excited, nervous or a little bit scared? Your comfort zone, as the name suggests, is a comfortable place. It feels safe and secure to be there, because you’ve been there many times before. Nothing unexpected is likely to happen. Nothing you haven’t seen before. And certainly nothing out of the ordinary. But ordinary […]
Be engaging, have something to say, don’t have a stick up your a$$, make people laugh, and never generalize
Large consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain and BCG have huge marketing budgets and strong alumni networks that they can tap into to ensure a steady stream of work. This is not a reality for most people. If you are a small firm or a solo consultant then you might just need to pick up the […]
Understanding the big picture can help reveal hidden opportunities and threats 1. Background In 1967, Harvard Professor Francis Aguilar wrote a book entitled “Scanning the Business Environment” in which he identified four important factors – Economic, Technical, Political, and Social – that a business can use to better understand the big picture. While the ordering […]
Greg McKeown shares his revelation that success can lead to failure and why doing less can often mean getting more
Understanding the mechanism that underlies intelligence could have big implications for economics, business and finance. The below TED Talk is worth watching.
The illusion of permanence, and the persistence of innovation (Source: Tom Spencer) IN a recent FT article, Chairman of Risk Capital Partners Luke Johnson made some interesting comments about his alma mater, Oxford University: Oxford University, my alma mater, is a classic case of a complacent establishment that is refusing to reinvent itself. It will consequently […]
Ideas matter, stick with it, and figure out the right measure of success (Source: Youtube) STEVE Ballmer spoke today at Oxford’s Said Business School, the world’s leading business community creating ideas with global impact. A few hours later, he spoke at the Oxford Union, the world’s most prestigious debating society. We were fortunate to attend the […]
Veritasium concludes that advertising your page on Facebook is a waste of money VERITASIUM is a popular educational science channel on YouTube, created by Derek Muller, which tries to uncover misconceptions about science. While not technically “science”, Veritasium has released an interesting and insightful video about the worth of Facebook marketing. In short, Facebook marketing appears to […]
Management consultants thrive in the fertile middle ground, a place where new understanding and being easily understood are both essential YOU may have had the experience of talking with a technical expert like a computer programmer and, at the end of a long conversation, being left with the overwhelming impression that you have absolutely no idea what […]
But mostly give You are probably familiar with “gains from trade”. The notion that society is based on give and take. You help me, I reciprocate, and together we benefit. The idea is a powerful one and forms the basis of the free market economy. The invisible hand of market forces, as Adam Smith put it, […]
Management requires smooth process, leadership requires clear vision Management is about running systems, processes, and people. Leadership is about taking action, and inspiring others to do so. Having a vision, and the ability to influence and motivate others to sail towards it. Your team needs both. If you have no managers, then key details, tasks and […]
The deal will almost certainly result in post-merger headaches As we learnt at the end of October last year, PwC and Booz & Co are planning to merge. PwC Chairman Dennis Nally and Booz CEO Cesare Mainardi were very upbeat about the proposed deal. Nally stating that the merger will strengthen the scope and quality […]
Consultants can provide genuine expertise, tested methodologies, and quality resources on a variable cost basis In the previous post, we highlighted 6 reasons why executives hire management consulting firms. On reflection, we may have implied that there are only 6 reasons when in reality there are many. Tim Jeffries, experienced Sydney based management consultant, sent […]
There are 6 reasons why executives hire consultants In America, and other Western countries, senior executives often hire management consultants for strategic advice. Given that consulting advice can sometimes sound like a statement of the obvious, albeit very well power-pointed, and tends to come with a shockingly high price tag, you would be forgiven for […]
For those of you planning to be in the UK in March, we would like to share with you details of an exciting event being hosted at Oxford’s Said Business School. Oxford Inspires is an entrepreneurial conference taking place on the 8th and 9th of March this year. The event is hosted by Oxford Entrepreneurs, the largest […]
It’s about much more than generating social good. It’s about changing the financial goal posts.
When you try to please everyone, you please nobody There was a recent incident in Australia where Aldi, a German supermarket, decided to pull a product from its shelves after receiving racism complaints. The product in question was a t-shirt with the slogan, “Australia EST 1788”. The shirts were produced for Australia Day 2014, which […]
The take away lesson: pick your consultants carefully We had an interesting conversation with Tat Biswas today about whether consultants should provide “shrewd insights”. The catalyst for the discussion was yesterday’s post, in relation to which Tat made the following remarks: I am wondering why you … decided to use the term ‘shrewd insights’ in today’s post? “We […]
Simon Sinek gives a ground breaking talk in which he explains the biological drivers of real leadership, and the natural chemicals (endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin) that enable us to prosper, together
Sometimes you don’t need to say anything, to get your message across
What can we learn from the life of such a man? NELSON Mandela passed away last Thursday at the age of 95. He was a man amongst men who fought and won the battle against Apartheid in South Africa. As the world continues to mourn his loss and reminds itself of Mandela’s heroic leadership and […]
How can you get what you ask for? How can you significantly increase the chances that another person will say yes to your request? ROBERT Cialdini, best-selling author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, gives an insightful talk on how you can persuade people to do what you want. As a tenured professor, Cialdini jokes […]
You can create your own luck by expecting good fortune, having persistence, and embracing opportunities as they arise IF you are like most people you probably appreciate the role that luck plays in finding a romantic partner. People spend large amounts of time attending parties, going to bars, and participating in bizarre social and sporting […]
Business can step up by reaching out, but it needs to adopt a new approach THE OLD MODEL of corporate giving involves the CEO championing a particular charity, and then writing a cheque. The old model is broken. Broken because it relies on the whim of the CEO, who could change her priorities at any […]
Developing excellent strategy consists of just 5 steps HERE are five steps that you can use to formulate great strategy: Diagnose: assess the lay of the land. Understand the company, the competitive environment and the broader economy. What is the company’s business model? Who are the competitors? Who are the customers and suppliers? And, what […]
“Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.” (E.B. White) TODAY, over coffee with a friend at an alfresco cafe in Sydney, our conversation turned, as if by chance, to consider the nature of luck. As an Australian, I have always considered myself lucky. After all, if you grow up […]
Viewing stress as helpful can foster courage, and connecting with others under stress can aid resilience KELLY McGONIGAL explains that merely believing that “stress is harmful” can increase your chances of premature death. The good news is that by changing how you think about stress you can change your body’s stress response and improve your physical […]
The business model is how you get paid, but the business is why you get paid AT first glance, business and charity appear quite different. Many business professors and executives will tell you that business is all about increasing sales, reducing costs, and creating future growth. Charity, on the other hand, is about voluntarily giving […]