If your inbox is anything like ours, you will already be experiencing the annual deluge of trend predictions and forecasts for 2025 - all very interesting, but it can feel a bit like reading your horoscope. Sure, things are always changing — the economy shifts, technology evolves, new buzzwords emerge — but you can’t grow a business based on...
Read MoreThe simple reality is that 99% of the attendees are not, and never will be, buyers – no matter how hard you try. Desperately trying to lure them in with free pens, gimmicks videos, magic shows and so on is simply a waste of time, money and energy. The harder you try the less likely it is that anyone will
Read MoreBut here’s the thing. There’s something about seeing a city from the open cockpit of an ancient biplane that gives you a completely different perspective; seeing how extensive the urban forest is, noting the two dog-legs in the Ottawa River (I knew it curved – but dog-legs?) and seeing a number of suspicious large structures... These are only...
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I was at a live event where a series of executives explained their firms’ approaches to financing companies deploying sustainable technologies. Their intent was to generate interest in their services. One after the other they tried to differentiate themselves on their features, advantages, and benefits. As you might expect, after...
Read MoreWe’ve helped hundreds of companies take new products into new markets and when I say new products, I don’t mean a slightly better ‘me too’ product, but ones that completely change the way things have been done up till then. This includes tomato bio-char, de-pyrolysis of used tires, smart home grids, GPS farming, and many
Read MoreThere are hundreds, if not thousands, of great technologies that could have gone on to improve our world but were never able to get that magical ‘product – market’ fit…. that moment when you discover the ideal match between a product and its intended market, resulting in satisfied customers and spontaneous word of mouth
Read MoreI recently met with two CEOs who shared that one of their worst mistakes was hiring a senior sales executive to help them launch their new products. Seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? New product, new market – hire a really good salesperson to lead the way. Unfortunately, it never works out
Read MoreWhile the Bridge Keeper in the movie The Holy Grail only asked ‘questions three’, I will ask you ‘questions eight’. Eight questions that as a business owner you can ask yourself, and the answers to which could help you cross the bridge to greater success. We talk a lot about being ‘Best in World’ - executing on the above is the path to get...
Read MoreYou may be a business-man or some high-degree thief, They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief. But you’re going to have to serve somebody! Bob Dylan Dylan’s highly insightful words came to mind recently when I was discussing channel strategy with a client (give him a listen). They asked about who would be the best channel partner to...
Read MoreTo my dismay it happened again. I drove to a car show in Vermont and won a prize… I joined over 500 cars at the British Invasion in Stowe, Vermont. It’s about 5 hours from Ottawa with lots of pretty and really twisty roads. I go to these shows because I like cars, especially British cars. My car is really only an excuse to hang out with a bunch o...
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