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Communication

Communication

Why Most New Businesses Fail

Andrew Penny, July 2 2024

Toronto’s Collision conference boasted 1,834 exhibitors and 37,832 attendees from 117 countries. Collision is mainly a forum for start-ups and small companies to test their ideas, attract financing, and gain traction. Unfortunately, most of them will fail. And why they fail is a lesson for all of

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Leadership & Management

The Elephant in the Echo Chamber

Graham Birkenhead, June 25 2024

Consider the story of the blind men and the elephant. Each man touches a different part of the elephant and describes it based on his limited experience. One feels the trunk and thinks it’s a snake, another touches the leg and believes it’s a tree, while another feels the side and describes it as a wall, the fourth holds its tail and thinks it's...

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Leadership & Management

What has Behavioural Economics ever done for us?

Graham Birkenhead, March 12 2024

As I talk to business owners, I often enquire as to what is high on their list of headache inducing issues - and the 2 that are most commonly mentioned are money and people. And it's been like that for many, many years. The specific details may change, but those 2 categories

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Leadership & Management

Clean-Green Tech Round Table

Andrew Penny, October 3 2023

Many of our early stage clients are involved in the clean tech sector. Clean and Green Tech can mean many things but essentially it includes all those companies that are working to clean up our planet. Some are carbon-centric firms that are transforming their products and their focus, some are launching new products in this sector and others are...

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Market Strategy

It’s like ‘When Harry Met Sally” but with Penguins

Andrew Penny, September 12 2023

Most movies are unique, except for the endless sequels. And so, when someone pitches a studio on a movie idea, they need to explain something that’s never been explained before. The simplest way to get the new idea across is by using a compelling metaphor. You start with something the studio boss already understands and build on that e.g....

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Communication

What's a little Greenwashing between friends?

Graham Birkenhead, July 25 2023

Greenwashing is the environmental evolution of whitewashing. Its outcome or impact is potentially devastating - in our ESG/PPP ecological balance consideration, the balance is way off as it emphasises a company's profitability (probably shorter term) at the expense of the environment and the trust of

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Leadership & Management

The Problem with Echo Chambers

Andrew Penny, June 20 2023

The Chagres River feeds 2 billion gallons of fresh water each day into the 82km Panama Canal to move the immense cargo ships through the channel. The canal carries about 6% of the worlds trade. It’s forecast that a 6-foot drop in its water levels is likely by the end of July. This means that the vessels can only carry 60% of a full load and sail...

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Communication

Beliefs

Andrew Penny, June 6 2023

A 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...

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Communication

Close One Eye

Andrew Penny, February 14 2023

Some years ago, I was cutting logs at my cottage, and it felt as if I had a wood chip in my right eye. I blinked and flushed and probed my eye. I looked in the mirror and couldn't see anything. So I went to see my eye doctor the next day and it turned out that I had a detached

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Leadership & Management

Why is a Stuffed Turkey like a Garden Gnome?

Graham Birkenhead, December 13 2022

Come with me on a creative ramble and  let's explore .... One of the topics within my Strategic Thinking workshops is The Box.  Yes, the very box that everyone advises everyone else to think outside of - without explaining exactly what that means or how to go about it. We explore the idea that the box is actually your survival map of the world as...

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