How many of us have been on the receiving end of someone trying to sell something to us we didn’t want? How did it make you feel? It’s one of the main reasons business owners hate the idea of ‘selling’ to prospective customers (prospects). However, what if you thought of every sales call not as…
The McKinsey 7S Framework is a powerful tool for organisational assessment and alignment, developed by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman during their tenure at McKinsey & Company. The framework comprises seven integral components: Strategy, Structure, Systems, Staff, Skills, Style, and Shared Values, each equally significant and interdependent. In this blog, I want to focus on…
Achieving outcomes and results when setting goals requires more than just the aspiration to succeed. It calls for a keen focus on the specific actions, habits, and strategies that will lead to the outcomes you want to achieve. A clear understanding of the importance of focusing on the results you want when setting goals is…
Improving and growing your business requires strategic approaches to areas such as marketing, hiring, and pricing. Focusing on these aspects can significantly enhance profitability and cash flow, promoting sustainable growth and success. I have always believed that marketing is at the heart of a thriving business, connecting the brand to potential customers. The right marketing…
It is my view that leadership should never be simply about directing tasks or micro-managing. Effective leadership is about crafting a vision and mission, communicating it compellingly, and ensuring the right people are in the right roles to execute the mission. Firstly, setting a clear and compelling vision is pivotal. A vision serves as the…
Running any organisation can be a daunting prospect. Multiple responsibilities, roles, and tasks that can easily become overwhelming. However, with the right systems and processes in place, managing and growing an organisation can become much easier. Some years ago, I read the ‘E Myth Revisited’, the famous book written by Michael Gerber. He emphasises the…
As Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. Using this analogy for business, you could say that plans can often be derailed by unforeseen challenges. This said, I believe a business plan is an important tool for every entrepreneur. In fact, it accentuates the need for a…
Setting and achieving goals is a fundamental business process that ensures the steady growth and sustainability of an organisation. In my view, it is equally important for business goals to align with personal goals. This is important as when personal ambition intertwines with corporate ambition it not only increases the chances of success but significantly…
Many people come up with what they think is a good idea for a business. Some will really fly, others simply don’t get off the ground. Let’s face it, without customers, we don’t have a business and so knowing who these customers are likely to be and how we are going to communicate our offer…
There were 835,494 new businesses launched in the UK in 2020, a 41% increase on 2019, when 591,924 were registered. Great news on the face of it, however according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, around 80 per cent of UK companies fail within their first year. So, how do you…