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Market Strategy

All Models are Wrong, but Some are Useful

Graham Birkenhead, August 13 2024

In my ongoing quest to explore coffee shops, I recently came across another of note in one of the small towns near me.  From the street, it wasn't too obvious, and on closer inspection, it had an eclectic mix of tables and chairs, curious décor, and other bits of furniture placed around the edges of the room - and so looked interesting.  It was...

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Lean & Agile

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly

Graham Birkenhead, July 30 2024

As I listened to this story, I was reminded of the children's nonsense song about the old woman who swallowed a fly - she then successively swallowed a spider, a bird, a cat, a dog, a goat, a cow and finally a horse, each to catch the previous one and solve the problems created by the previous creature - and then she died - of course!  It's easy...

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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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Customer Sales

The Real Numbers Behind B2B Sales Success

Andrew Penny, May 14 2024

Interactions Total interactions                                       250 So, if you start with 159 leads, you’ll end up with 1 closed deal. And along the way to that single deal, you will have 250 interactions with those 159 firms. PLUS

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Leadership & Management

The Answers are Out There ...

Graham Birkenhead, February 27 2024

And while we can look at the legacy of human endeavour for many answers to today's questions, there is a much richer and older source of inspiration and ideas that could help us solve many of our more tactical and systemic challenges.    And that is the natural world around us.  Over millions or billions of years of evolution, living organisms...

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Market Strategy

The Three Most Important Things in Marketing

Andrew Penny, February 20 2024

Take the image above for example. It looks like a collection of hammers but, in fact, each hammer is different and has a unique purpose: hammers for masons, hammers for welders, hammers for carpenters, joiners, framers, prospectors, and so on. If you were in the ‘hammer’ business, I would challenge you to determine which of these segments you...

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Customer Sales

Kano Coffee Shop

Graham Birkenhead, October 24 2023

I spend a lot of time in coffee shops.  I enjoy a good cup of coffee, fresh baking, ambiance, meeting people, and the opportunity to be somewhere different while trying to work.   Many coffee shops meet my needs, but I don't particularly have one that I always go to, I am indifferent to their differences. That was until recently. I found a new...

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Market Strategy

No One Wears Shoes

Andrew Penny, September 19 2023

Many years ago, a shoe-maker sent his best sales-person to a developing country to see if there was a market for shoes. He reported back, “The market is terrible – no one wears shoes”. Not being sure if this was true, the shoe-maker sent a consultant to double check, “The market is fantastic”, he reported, “No one wears

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Leadership & Management

Joining the Circular Economy

Graham Birkenhead, August 29 2023

The circular economy is an economic model designed to minimize waste and maximize the efficient use of resources. Within the Triple Bottom Line (Planet-People-Prosperity) model, this approach can make a significant contribution to the Planet consideration while ensuring the company's ongoing viability and Prosperity; it also can help People feel...

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Market Strategy

Wedge Categories

Andrew Penny, August 15 2023

Standing out and capturing attention can be difficult, especially when you're introducing a new product in a market where there are dozens of similar offerings. How do you find the right buyers and how do they find you. The larger the number of buyers, the more competitors you’ll have to face. A great way to solve this problem is to use a Wedge...

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