Why Trusting Your Gut Instinct Might be the Best Thing You Ever do
Fifteen years ago I started a business from the second bedroom of my apartment. I had very limited funds and no experience in the sector that I intended to operate in. Before I started I shared my business plan with my friends and family. The majority of them advised me against proceeding. A good mate [...]
We can all learn a lot from the humble ant.
Have you ever watched ants close up? It’s an interesting study. A few months ago I watched a group of ants converge on some food scraps in a park. Over the course of several hours they carried all of the scraps away presumably back to their colony. Fascinated by this I set up a few [...]
How Apple Buried the Past, Avoided Bankruptcy and Became an Icon
In 1985 Steve Jobs got booted out of Apple, the company he co-founded back in 1976. In his absence the business plummeted to such a degree that bankruptcy was a distinct possibility. When he returned in 1997, following the acquisition of his company NeXT by Apple, he inherited a business with severe cash flow problems, [...]
Why Every Restaurant Should Allow Bill Splitting
I love a damned good plate of spaghetti marinara. In fact I’ll drive half- way across town to get a good one. Fresh seafood, garlic, a splash of wine and chilli served with al dente pasta really hits the spot for me. Two weeks ago I had one of the best ever in one of [...]
The Bull’s 10 Rules for a Successful Business
The first thing I’ll say is that the above title is written with a heavy dose of irony and my tongue wedged firmly in my cheek. The truth is that I’m not a big fan of rules generally and even less for those that get in the way of sensible progress. Break them and create [...]
From the Bull | The (Very) Public Face of Your Business
A couple of years ago my wife and I decided to install a pool in our back yard. We asked around among our friends and acquaintances for references of pool installers they knew. After some work we settled on a short list of five installers. We decided to check them out further, initially by looking [...]
From the Bull | Which levers should I pull?
When you break business down to its fundamentals it is actually a simple concept. Basically, you need to have a product or service that solves a market problem, that you can sell in large enough quantities and at high enough prices to earn an acceptable return on investment for the owners of the business. It [...]
FROM THE BULL | I’ve lost my job. What do I do?
Economists believe we are currently in the worst global economic times of the past 70 years. World growth rates are low or negative and unemployment has increased significantly. Some sectors have been hit harder than most with massive job losses in the finance and manufacturing sectors. The once-revered USA car makers have been fighting for [...]
From the Bull | “when the competition is drowning, stick a hose in their mouths”
Recessions and economic downturns can sometimes provide the best growth opportunities for a business, especially if it is at the expense of your competitors. Downturns can be tough for everyone but smart businesses won’t ignore the fact that during these times their competitors may be at their most vulnerable. They’ll smell their weakness and go [...]
From the Bull | You just can’t put an old head on young shoulders
These days I am always slightly amused about how much emphasis is placed on youth in business. It seems more and more that people over 50 are considered over the hill and are being replaced by the new young “guns”, many of whom are still wet behind the ears. Why is this? Do we really [...]
From the Bull | The Five Things Great Leaders do
A couple of years ago a guy I knew got fired from his role as a CEO of small public company. In the end the directors grew tired of his excuses for the company’s under-performance and the lack of a clear plan for the future. They also accused him of lacking the behavioural traits of [...]
From the Bull | The three customer groups that matter
A while ago a company that I was involved with commissioned some external consultants to help us understand our customers better. These guys were specialists in their field and were impressive. The work they produced was of a high standard and it satisfied the mutually agreed scope of works. Unfortunately, the output only scratched the [...]
From the Bull | Jumping in the deep end.
Several years ago I was an advisory board member of a services business that was struggling. The business had a reasonable market position and a decent customer offer but was going backwards fast. I couldn’t understand it. The messages coming out of the management team were contradictory, overly optimistic and, when compared to the financial [...]
From the Bull | Job vs. Responsibility
Jim Collins of Good to Great book fame has written a new book entitled “How the Mighty Fall”. In it he states: “one notable distinction between the wrong people and the right people (in key roles) is that the former see themselves as having jobs while the latter see themselves as having responsibilities. Every person [...]
From The Bull | Why seat 1A is to be avoided
Legend has it that a past-CEO of a major Australian airline would, when flying, sit in seat 1A with his back angled to the person in the seat beside him, with a newspaper up around his face. He would take no food or drink. He’d just sit and read the paper and talk to no-one. The cabin [...]
From The Bull | Becoming Slightly Famous
Remember Tim Shaw? He was the presenter of the infamous Demtel TV commercials encouraging us to buy with the memorable “but wait, there’s more”. Tim is an unforgettable personality but behind that quirky persona is a highly skilled business professional. He built a very successful business around being Tim Shaw. There are a lot of [...]
FROM THE BULL | On What Frogs Can Teach Us.
There is a parable that says if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water; it will jump out straight away. But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late. The frog’s survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes.
There are business lessons to be learned from the frog story. Essentially it is a cautionary tale about how change can occur in an organisation
FROM THE BULL | What’s behind you is important
Recently, I was invited to speak to the management team of a successful private company on the subject of leadership. At one point I played a small excerpt from the 1980′s movie, “The Gumball Rally” about the famous car race across America. One of the characters in it is Italian. He’s paired with an American [...]
FROM THE BULL | Don’t be a Wally
The first day at a new job should be the beginning of a great new adventure. For new employees, it is usually filled with some trepidation and excitement. It’s not unusual for them to “test-drive” the travel route to their new job in advance to make sure they’re not late on the first day. They [...]
FROM THE BULL | Get Your Hands Dirty (a personal story)
A positive attitude will overcome many barriers. So will a willingness to get your hands dirty. The earlier this lesson is learnt the better. I learnt it at my first job in 1982. I worked in a paint factory. For its time the factory was modern and well-maintained. However, the occupational health and safety standards [...]
FROM THE BULL:: A hole above the waterline won’t sink a ship.
W.L. Gore & Associates is a little-known company that has $2.5bn in annual sales, 8,000 employees and 50 manufacturing facilities worldwide. The company invented the water-proof, breathable Gore Tex fabrics and is a leading manufacturer of advanced technology products for the electronics, industrial, fabrics and medical markets. Gore is one of only 12 companies that [...]
Episode 1:: The IF Melbourne panel of experts discuss innovation, culture and social responsibility.
IF Melbourne on white spaces tv :: Episode 1 of 3 In late February, uncluttered white spaces hosted IF Melbourne @ Denmark House to a room for 40 guests from various networks in Melbourne to join in a forum on the broad topic of Innovation. The panel included Paul Breen, Mick Calder, Rebecca Scott, Sahil [...]
From the Bull :: The Little Things Matter
A colleague of mine, who has a business in the start-up stage, called me recently for advice. He had been chasing a big client for months and had finally got the call to come in for a meeting. The problem was that the meeting was in two days time and he was already committed to [...]
From the Bull:: On Being unreasonable
Being unreasonable… A small number of people have suggested to me that I have made a career out of being contrary and at times unreasonable. This always makes me smile and nowadays I accept it as a compliment. Like a friend once told me, “you don’t get a nickname like The Bull from baking scones [...]
