Can’t We All Just Get Along? How Inner Tensions Limit Marketing’s Performance
As you read this, two or more people on your marketing team are probably at odds over some question – big or small – about the right way to do their jobs. Maybe it’s the right way to set goals or structure a campaign. Or allocate budget. Or utilize consumer insights. Maybe it’s something as …
Employee Led Innovation: How To Harness Creativity From Within Your Organisation
Innovation should no longer be reserved for companies that invent new products, or come up with life changing technologies. Every business should innovate, from corporate law firms, to design agencies, to manufacturers. Innovation and creative thinking can improve and enhance everyday processes. It can fundamentally change the way you capture customer data. It can lead …
Roger Federer And The Art Of Agile
Roger Federer is a hero in the world of tennis and is now unarguably the greatest Wimbledon champion of all time. He prevailed again this year with a characteristic and unparalleled mix of artistry, power, focus, and agility. While Federer’s achievements remain largely confined to the sports pages, there’s much to be learnt from him …
Why Managers Should Focus On Employee Strengths To Inspire Great Performance
As we evolve and progress as a society, so too should our performance management systems and the way in which we deliver feedback. We now know that certain methods of feedback promote enthusiasm and an eagerness to excel, while others can be demotivating and ultimately disengaging. As a performance management consultant, I’ve had the opportunity …
Why Your Agency Just Isn’t That Into You: 4 Essential Tips For On-Boarding
It all started so well. The contracts were signed and the champagne was flowing. But when once you saw yourselves as the next Unilever, capable of holding down those long-term agency relationships, now getting through the campaign you paid for will be an ask. Your agency has lost that spark from when you first met; …
Nurturing Creativity In A Corporate Environment
Corporations are building high-quality in-house design and advertising groups like never before. The In-House Agency Forum (IHAF), founded in 2005 to provide connections and community for in-house creative groups, now has over 250 member companies. Corporate in-house creative groups provide services internally and, in some cases, to external clients. Successfully nurturing talent inside giant corporations …
Strong Brands Are Built From Within
On numerous occasions, I’ve been asked what makes a strong brand. An immediate response is the company’s founders. Without a visionary founding, an organisation is soulless. The essence of the organisation is thus built around the vision and mission of its founders when the organisation is established. It is also important for me to mention …
The Singular Attribute That Will Predict A Leader’s Ability To Partner
All organisations – start-ups or long-standing blue chip companies – would state that collaboration is key to their success. Increasing shareholder value, raising seed capital, or launching an IPO all depends upon great partnering. The ability to partner successfully can be hampered sometimes, by the race to the finish line. Leaders are advised to make …
5 Ways To Identify And Motivate Your Social Employee Champions
Because social media is 24/7, you need an army of employee champions to be your eyes and ears, and your passionate amplifiers. However, you can’t simply tell people to be your social champions. You have to earn their ambassadorship. The process begins with education and inclusion; getting your own employees to become a part of …
The Paradox Of Disruptors In a Status Quo Organisational Culture
Corporations who have not made a commitment to disruption are guaranteed to either join the ranks of Kodak, Borders, and Blockbuster or sputter along as they try to stay profitable. Organisations often lament the dearth of innovative leaders. There is a concern and sometimes fear, a valid fear, that the current pool of talent will …