I had the pleasure of listening to Darren Shirlaw this week – founder of Shirlaws business coaching. He shared his thoughts on the current economic climate and what businesses could do to come out ‘one top’. He noted that there is nothing ‘unprecedented’ about the current cycle. In fact by reviewing the ASX over the past century he was able to demonstrate how this recession follows a similar pattern to those of the past. He was very careful to outline…
Monthly Archives: March 2009
The ‘Black Swan’ moment can lead to the brand promise
Further to my blog on letting people know who you are (see below)- It is really important in building a brand to stand for something. This is not being all things to all people, rather having a single brand promise. Building the promise often comes from the ‘black swan moment’ in listening to customers. This video outlines how RedBalloon came to its brand promise. We have our promise loud and proud at the top of every page on our website….
An old one still worth remembering.
Years ago when I ran marketing workshops as part of my previous business I came across the old 1950′s print advertisement with the grumpy old man sitting in a chair who says… "I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your company. I don’t know your company’s product. I don’t know what your company stands for. I don’t know your company’s customers. I don’t know your company’s record. I don’t know your company’s reputation. Now – what was it…
Love the ones you’re with.
"It is not cash that fuels the journey to the future, but the emotional and intellectual energy of every employee" Hamel and Prahalad, Competing For the Future According to Hewitt 70% of Australian companies currently have head count freezes… makes you think you best make the most of the ones you have.
Company is Singular
This is not a lesson in grammar (though it is one of my personal bugbears – when I see a sentence ‘Company X are doing…’ versus ‘Company X is doing ….’) I am concerned about the current debate regarding work place legislation and its potential impact. It would be a disaster for Australian work places to return to a ‘Them versus Us’ attitude. The bosses versus the unions – have we not moved forward at all? And that is what…
Three actions to shorten the sales cycle
I wish I could shorten the selling cycle, especially with my corporate clients. I often wonder how can I get the client all the information they need so they can make a quicker decision. I don’t consider myself a particularly good negotiator. In fact after attending a workshop with Dr Victoria Husted Medvec recently and doing some role plays, I’m even more sure that I could sharpen my game when it comes to negotiation. These are the three things I…
And the winner is….
This is the winning entry for the movie category of the Sneaky Awards – See complete story on Employer Branding blog post below.
Taking Employer Branding to a new level.
Each Trimester we have a theme. This theme is designed to get every RedBallooner focused on delivering the critical component of the plan. But we make sure that we are fulfilling our fourth value of – a sense of humor and fun. After all it is okay to have fun in business. This years’ theme is from ‘Success to Significance’. One of the metrics we use to determine ‘Significance’ is the Google page ranking. Google will rank redballoon.com.au however it…
Big AND Hairy AND Audacious AND FUN….
I thought I would share some of what we have learned. Years ago I read Jim Collins ‘Good to Great’ – where he spoke of the importance of the BHAG. I have consistently, since hearing Verne Harnish speak of it five years ago, reinforced to the team why it is so important for us. We all need to be chasing the same goal, pulling in the same direction – in 1000% alignment. Our purpose at RedBalloon is to change gifting…
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...
I look but cannot see.
I write this blog as I sit on an aircraft on my way to Melbourne to present on the power of Employer Branding. I’m seated next to a thirty something mother and her young pre-schooler. The child reads aloud from his book… the mother flicks through the in-flight magazine. She stops her son reading and she says…’look at this’ and she starts flicking through the magazine – ‘Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad…’ she announces to her 4 year old ‘What…