This appeared in todays Australian newspaper. – I thought that some of my answers might give more background on where we came from. What was your first business venture and how did it perform? Apart from trying to start a circus at eight years old my first business venture was a freelance marketing consultancy called Bright Marketing. It was a very viable business and made money, but because it was a personal services-based business and there was only one of…
Monthly Archives: April 2007
Clean Sweep.
Britt, one of my colleagues gave me a copy of Time Magazine Style and Design Supplement Autumn 2007. There is an article called ‘Clean Sweep – Goodbye to all that gaudy stuff. The growing trend among consumers and designers is about an attitude that is more conscientious than conspicuous…’ I like this quote particularly – I couldn’t have said it better myself: ” Experiences and relationships matter more than gadgets, stuffed shopping bags and shoes…People want health and peace of…
Why must we put petrol in the car.
Now Rod Beckstrom had many interesting ideas ? way more than those presented in his book The Starfish and the Spider. He is committed to the impact that we as individuals can have on the planet. If we want to do something about it, it is up to us. Ok so I met Rod at the event in Tokyo….(this will be my final blog from the Tokyo trip) but I met hundreds of other interesting people. So who is Rod…
Starfish and Spiders in Tokyo
Rod Beckstrom has founded, grown and successfully exited several businesses. But he is a curious sort of a guy…he wanted to know about the unstoppable power of leaderless organisations. So together with Ori Brafman he set about researching those organizations that are so very successful but they have seemingly no leader. I got to meet him at the EO event in Tokyo. He cited many interesting examples during his presentation on the power of organisations without known leaders. Alcoholics Anonymous…
When we let our personality shine.
Personality makes he world go round. We are all people and we are in the business of fun. RedBalloon is currently recruiting for many roles. This application really stood out… “Once upon a time there was a young girl devastated upon discovering the truth about Santa. To help cheer this sad little Vegemite, the girls mother invited her into the world of late night Christmas Eve gift wrapping, for those younger, still believing siblings. This special job became just as…
Leading the sales effort
Jack Daly had lots to say on sales management too. He firstly defined the difference between the role of a sales person and a manager. A sales manager’s job is to grow people (not sales). Getting the right people doing the right thing right. Sales management is a leveraged play. Here are his 8 sales leadership tips: Successful cultures need to be intentionally managed. Hire slowly. Fire quickly. Implement minimum standards of performance. Recruiting is a process, not an event….
A vision for absolute power
I was invited to speak at the global Entrepreneurs Organisation conference in Tokyo last week. What a privilege to meet 450 people who are all up to something. This is a group of people committed to making a difference and I was fascinated by the amount of conversation about global warming, and how it is up to us to do something about it. I would classify at least one of the participants as a serial entrepreneur. Peter Sage wouldn’t be…
Jack Daly ? Back to basics in the sales game
Clearly I met and learned a lot in my four days in Tokyo. Jack presented some straight up, easy to implement sales ideas that he says will add 30% to your sales results. (not a bad pitch ? he had me in) Great sales people ask questions and listen (on average the best sales people will ask six times more questions that a good sales person ? that could be 60 questions in one sales visit) The person who asks…
Ideas and Innovation
“If I’d asked the customer he would have asked for a faster horse” ? Henry Ford. It is up to us to imagine what we can create and then get on and do it. Creating from imagination not from the past (how it has always been done). If I had asked people about inventing an industry based on giving a voucher for experiences – I don’t think they could have understood it. I definitely didn’t have any idea the many…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
Meeting Ram Charan
At the launch of Telstra’s Next IP I had the privilege of meeting Ram Charan. Now I have quoted him many times ? infact in the little book of answers. Ram’s quote heads up one of the chapters. “The motto of successful CEOs: People first, strategy second.” Ram has written a new book simply called “Know ? How” ? the 8 skills that separate people who perform from those who don’t. Ram spoke succinctly about leadership and the qualities of…