STRATEGY
Are you Boring?
September 24, 2012 | The Bull 3
If I was asked to provide one single hard truth of modern business it would be this – that the majority of businesses are boring, unremarkable and indistinguishable from their competitors.
They don’t stand out, they don’t produce…
Aim to be No. 1 in your Market
September 4, 2012 | The Bull
A friend of mine is an Indian restaurateur. He makes a mean curry and his tandoori chicken is to die for. He’s been in the game a long time and knows his market well. He’s a great innovator and regularly tweaks the restaurant’s layout, menu…
The Manifesto for Surviving and Prospering in Tough Times…
August 20, 2012 | The Bull 2
A few months ago I noticed in the press that a bike retailer had gone bust. It wasn’t a big news piece and it seemed to be just another retailer who had followed the long list of others who had gone to the wall in recent times. The owner of the business…
From The Bull: “In the long run men hit only what they aim at.”
July 23, 2012 | The Bull 1
“In the long run men hit only what they aim at.” Henry David Thoreau
In 1961 President John F. Kennedy set America one of its toughest challenges ever. In front of the U.S. Congress he told them that before the decade was over America…
The Susan Boyle Story – unearthing a genuine hidden talent
March 19, 2012 | The Bull
In the mid-1980s Susan Boyle was a 25 year old struggling singer performing in local pubs and churches around her village in Scotland. She had not had an easy life. Diagnosed with learning difficulties, she was bullied as a child and at school…
One of the Most Important Words in Sales
February 1, 2012 | The Bull 1
Like it or not we’re all in the business of selling. Whether we’re overtly selling a product or service to customers
or providing support to people that do we’re nevertheless all in the same boat. We’re all selling something, directly or…
Shifting Strategic Insights onto your 2012 Agenda
January 30, 2012 | Ben Rennie
uncluttered white spaces is a collaborative platform for good ideas. The magazine, now in our 4th year, produces 30% original content and 70% curated. We talk a lot about insight and make sure that all original content provides a deep level …
The Universal Job Description of Leaders
November 21, 2011 | The Bull
When it comes to language I am a basic guy that likes to speak in plain English. I try to avoid flowery language or “corporate speak” because it can be distracting and time-wasting. I have limited time, like everyone else, and like to get the…
The Hardest Five Words To Live up To…
November 9, 2011 | The Bull 1
It’s not easy to achieve something worthwhile. The odds are stacked against you. You’ll have to change the existing order, shake things up and overcome competitive challenges while dealing with long hours, lack of capital and …
Would you rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism?
November 1, 2011 | The Bull
I have a friend who is an artist. He is a wonderful guy and very talented but as he freely admits he’s a little highly strung and sensitive to criticism. He used to worry a lot about what others thought of him and his work. Then he changed – now …
Why Half-Delegating is Dumb Business
October 24, 2011 | The Bull
Would you book a plane ticket on an airline that you half-trusted? Or allow a surgeon to operate on you if he had only completed half of the required clinical training? Or lend someone money if you rated your prospects of collection no better than…
The Power of the 80/20 Rule
October 10, 2011 | The Bull 2
Here is a theory that I have. It’s not based on research but rather on 25 years of personal observation across many businesses. It is that the average person spends approximately 20-30% of their work time engaged in non-productive activities.…
Brands Betraying Expectations
October 7, 2011 | Andrew Fallshaw
We’ve all heard the stories of brands letting their most loyal customers down. Whether it’s Coke changing their formula or Sony thinking MP3 could be ignored, it can cause huge outpourings of emotion and radically reduce a company’s…Read More
Your ideas suck! Now what?
October 5, 2011 | Angelique Milojevic 1
We all need feedback for our business and it’s also vital as a business person. However, most of the time we don’t actively listen to feedback whether it’s something we’ve asked for or not. Feedback can be interpreted…
Rethinking Creativity and Innovation (and the importance of Play)
October 5, 2011 | Ben Rennie
This is a presentation based on a recent talk Ben Rennie conducted for the NSW government as a part of LiveWire 2011. The talk focused on Creativity and Innovation with a theme of rethinking how we create and how we run our organisations and companies.…
20 ideas that will provide entrepreneurs with plenty of opportunities in 2011
September 20, 2011 | White Spaces
In January this year, Springwise selected 20 business and marketing ideas that they believe will provide entrepreneurs with plenty of opportunities in 2011. In case you missed or god forbid, forgot, we thought we would help you revisit the…
Trends, Innovation, Good Ideas and Global Insights… Monthly.
September 5, 2011 | Ben Rennie 2
uncluttered white spaces, in collaboration with Seek+Design, 6.2 | an innovation lab and Laura Demasi launches the Black Report.
A premium content monthly Trends and Innovation report focusing on design, business, strategy, innovation,…
Getting Creative on Complex Problems
August 25, 2011 | The Bull 4
For every problem there is a solution. Sometimes the solutions are easy; sometimes not. However you decide to solve a problem make sure that you only have to solve it once. There is nothing worse than a problem that repeats itself every week. …
Start Asking Those “Dumb” Questions!
August 22, 2011 | The Bull 3
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Dumb questions are actually rarely dumb. Successful people understand this and consequently ask lots of questions, many of which may seem simple, naïve or even plain dumb. Essentially, they would rather be ridiculed than make decisionsRead More
What is your mission?
August 17, 2011 | The Bull
Author Harvey Mackay (“Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive”) tells the following incredible story about a ride with a New York taxi from Manhattan to New Jersey:
Harvey Mackay was waiting in line for a taxi at the airport.…
The Hierarchy of Digital Distractions.
July 28, 2011 | White Spaces 1
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Curated by the legendary Paola Antonelli, explores how innovations in communication design are transforming our lives. It features interactive objects, data visualizations, and brain-blending guerilla tech projects.…
Taking deadlines seriously
July 4, 2011 | The Bull 3
Maybe I’m old-fashioned but I take deadlines seriously. In my view, deadlines are a “promise to deliver.” They matter a lot because promises matter a lot. At least they do to me. Consequently I don’t consider deadlines to be …
Finding the Magic Number to Unlock Value in your Business
June 29, 2011 | The Bull 3
A few years ago I ran a 100+ store retail chain. I started it out of a spare room in my house. It grew quickly and within five years became the market leader in its sector. Looking back at how many mistakes I made in the early days it is amazing to think…Read More
Is it really better just because it’s new?
June 29, 2011 | Andrew Fallshaw 1
Have you ever thought of how funny the newspaper game is? Billions of dollars are spent around the world publishing news which can sell to millions before 10am, but is worthless after it. Once you’ve had your morning tea news gossip, you may…Read More
Boldly “not” going where we have never been before
June 24, 2011 | Ben Rennie
The global economy is broken and there is a shift taking place, in part brought about by the power of the internet and by the transparency created by online networks, new business channels, new technologies, new opportunities and…
Get unstuck fast
June 20, 2011 | The Bull
Many businesses just “do”. They do what they’ve always done without questioning whether it is still relevant or, more importantly, still the best way to do it. They don’t think about the future (beyond the next six months anyway) and…
There’s Only One Way to do Business – Ethically
June 15, 2011 | The Bull 1
It always amuses me when someone feels the need to tell me that they are honest, trustworthy and a person of their word. Even moreso when they use phrases like “to be completely honest with you” (what, you weren’t before??) or “you can…
A Cautionary Tale of Failing to Continually Innovate
June 6, 2011 | The Bull 1
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In the global phone handset market Motorola went from the market leader to market laggard in just six years. Its earnings fell from US$4bn to $0.6bn and its share price from $180 to $46 over this time. Theirs is a cautionary tale of whatRead More
Lessons from Apple – Narrow Your Focus.
May 30, 2011 | The Bull 2
“This is the most focused company I know, am aware of, or have any knowledge of. We say no to good ideas every day. Every single product the company makes would fit on the single conference table in front of me. And we had revenues last year…
Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should
May 26, 2011 | Angelique Milojevic
Henry Ford once said “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
Listening to your customers is vital but trying to please every one of them is futile. Giving your customers what they want, although…
Hurry up and get to the point
May 16, 2011 | The Bull 4
“I hate being presented to. Long, windy overhead presentations bore me to tears and I switch off when they’re on.
I don’t need to hear all the underlying research that lead to the conclusion presented on the final slide. What I need…
Product Versus Pitch & Why Nokia Should Pull All Advertising
May 12, 2011 | Joshua Capelin 1Nokia should pull all advertising.
Riding to work the other day I flashed past a bus shelter housing an ad for a new Nokia phone. I couldn’t tell you what model it was, I can tell you the headline. Actually, after trying for 5 mins and Googling…
The Big Difference Between Stubbornness and Persistence
May 9, 2011 | The Bull 4
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Sometimes it is difficult to find the difference between being persistent or just plain stubborn. The difference may seem only slight on the surface but underneath the gulf is wide. While persistence is a good thing especially whenRead More
A Matter of Emotional Resilience
May 3, 2011 | Angelique Milojevic
Running a business comes with thousands of moving parts and an abundance of challenges. These challenges impact our emotional state. How we respond to these emotions will either serve your business well or do harm.
Let’s take an example…
The Curse of the Expert
April 27, 2011 | David Gillespie 2
Tell me if you’ve heard this one: when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Familiar, right?
It’s a metaphor we tend to apply quite liberally to the businesses we work in and with, but rarely to ourselves. I call …
Making Ideas Happen with Rachel Botsman, Ash Donaldson, Jodie Fox, Seb Chan & Tim Longhurst
April 27, 2011 | White Spaces
On Wednesday night, uncluttered white spaces hosted our 6th quarterly IF talk in Sydney at the Hotel CBD.
Our panel of experts, curated by 6.2 and uncluttered white spaces included author and the illustrious leader of the movement collaborative…
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