Every month for 4 years, I've published a post on a different topic in my newsletter. Here are the top pieces curated and categorized into 6 categories. Each piece is a three-minute read. I hope it gives you a new perspective and moves you into action!
Brand:
Brand is a loaded word. Here's how I think of it and work it: It's more than just communications that you layer on top of your product or service. It's about placing your story at the heart of your business to inspire, guide and drive everything you do. From product and experience design to community building. From hiring to internal culture behaviours. And from next day actions to five year plans. Brand is a lens for decisions, investment and action. It's a lens for innovation.
The Link between Storytelling and Innovation
Refresh, Rebrand or Revitalise?
Business:
Change sucks but irrelevance is worse. Companies often face a critical decision-making challenge known as the “explore vs. exploit” dilemma. This dilemma arises when organizations must choose between exploring new possibilities and exploiting existing resources or strategies. Exploration fosters innovation, encourages creativity, and enables companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Exploitation, on the other hand, leverages accumulated knowledge, maximizes efficiencies, and capitalizes on proven success. Committing too much to either approach can lead to missed opportunities or stagnation. Balancing these two approaches is crucial for long-term success.
Pivots: A fireside chat with R. Gopalakrishnan
Marketing & Advertising:
Marketing is more than advertising, right? Right? According to the annual CMO survey run by Duke University Business School in the US and London Business School in the UK, while brand and advertising are marketing responsibilities in 9 in 10 businesses; product development, pricing and distribution are marketing responsibilities in just 3 in 10 businesses. This shouldn't be controversial. Products, product innovation, and pricing and distribution model are absolute foundations for any brand. Organizations shouldn't restrict marketing to campaigns and vibes. We should be equally comfortable talking about communications, product, innovation, business when we talk about brands and marketing, because they're all part of the same continuum. That's how you build a future.
Bad briefs waste a third of ad budgets
Design:
Design is not just how something 'looks'. It’s how it fundamentally 'works'. It’s one of the most important skills that we’re going to need in the 21st century. It involves empathy, insight, imagination, synthesis, trying things out, learning, and iterating. For companies looking to move toward new and better futures, now is the time to put design thinking to work.
Rethink Work Culture for the Future of Work
Putting Design Thinking to Work
Innovation:
“Innovation” as a word has become tainted in the minds of some. It is almost immediately associated with the next shiny thing or fad. Creating new products is only one way to innovate and on its own, provides the lowest return on investment and the least competitive advantage. There are tools we can use to identify new opportunities beyond products and develop viable innovations. And then turn those investments into results, both in the short and long term.
How many types of innovation are there?
Sustainability:
Sustainability alone is not a big enough benefit. Consumers do want to be the hero and buy more sustainable products, but they also want to buy products that are delicious, fun, attractive, cheap, good-quality, useful and easy to use. Offer them something that’s better for the planet but falls apart, tastes bad or feels boring and you haven’t fulfilled the brief. Sustainability should offer your customers 'more'.
Is your brand’s sustainability where it needs to be?
Enjoy!
