Mixing it!
It’s not about old versus new, or tradition versus innovation or, creativity instead of convention and slow versus fast. It’s actually about combining the them and understanding how they add value to your business. No one should drop the conventional way of doing things overnight without thinking about how they are going to develop a culture of creativity. Nor, should anything be banished to the dungeons of the company just because it ain’t trendy anymore without careful consideration.
There is a danger in abandoning everything we know. Things are definitely changing, more rapidly than we ever imagined and it will only get quicker. But sometimes, it’s the traditional things you do that make you different and sometimes even better. Occasionally, it’s very important to go slow, very slow. Change the pace of things and issues look very different.
Retaining some of the old stuff can be just as significant as embracing the new way of doing things. The important point to know is how they impact, which ones to keep and develop and which new ideas you need to go full pelt at. Is what you are doing good enough and what is missing?
How to avoid poor design!
This is a great article from Smashing Magazine, presenting advice on how to avoid poor design! Common sense and provides an insight into what makes great design in business.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/06/25/10-common-mistakes-in-logo-design/#comment-361300
Copy?
If you are going to copy (or creatively swipe) don’t copy from your competition or own industry, it just produces sameness. Find another industry, look at what they are doing and do what they did. But don’t mimic the product, just mimic the process they used.
If you’re looking at building a community online go to Lego or Harley Davidson. If you want to radically change your customer experience look at Starbucks or Apple. Thinking about word of mouth marketing, consider what Ikea and Amazon did. Large companies I know, but so what? It worked for them and it can work for your small business.
Discover what they did, how they did it and then challenge yourself, your team and, if you’re adventurous enough, your customers to create similar developments. It’s likely that you will identify things that are just not done in your industry and that what will set you apart. Nice!!
Does small business success come from a magic number?
My latest article! Click on the link below:
Avoiding distraction
Excerpt from my book “Leading whilst on your own.”
Those focused on the goals ahead are rarely distracted by the mundane. They are destined for greater success. It’s evident all around us. Small business people who get distracted, lack focus, forget what they were supposed to be doing and then wonder why they are just surviving or it takes them a long time to implement something. These people are the ones that only get a product/service to the introduction stage of the product lifecycle. Then they get bored or distracted by something they perceiveto be more interesting. I call them Jackdaws. Examples:
- Shiny things like new products where there is no market in the first place.
- Worrying about the competition too much.
- Feeling de motivated which leads to an everdecreasing circle.
- Chasing the wrong customers.
- Coming up with lots of ideas they never execute. Not even one.
- Focussing on numbers rather than value adding activity.
Oh and one more, under confidence! It’s a hard line discipline you need to be aware of and learn to manage as soon as possible. Start today.
Social media and how to plan it!
A read of this book is a must if you are considering how social media might help you grow your business. Its structured well and, although the authors use case studies from corporate organisations, there is nothing to stop you from creatively swiping a few ideas.
Their segmentation of people using the internet and social media is particularly helpful as it demonstrates how getting identifying that correctly will dictate your social media strategy and consequently lead to success.
The best point; “Think about the customer relationship first not the technology.”
