Never take anything for granted
IKI means “life, alive” and KAI “result, benefit”. As such, the Japanese concept IKIGAI can best be described as a reason for being“. We have been using the concept of Ikigai in our Personal branding and Pitching workshops to help individuals better focus on “why they do what they do“, and help them make smart(er)…
We are entering a completely new world, a world that will be different from everything we have seen and experienced so far. Covid-19 has forever changed the world as we knew it. The new times will be exciting and difficult at the same time, because we are lacking experience in how to face and adapt…
We hope you are at home and doing fine in these difficult times of lockdown and quarantaine. Today, things do not longer go according to plan. Countries are closing, cities and villages look empty. Many businesses are reaching a critical point. The good times seem far away. We could conclude: it is beyond our own…
Here is a series of business books that have greatly influenced and enriched our understanding across various facets of the business landscape, including management, strategy, strategic marketing, innovation, creativity, brand management, customer loyalty, marketing communications and marketing metrics. We love these books because in one or other way, they have played a role in shaping…
Marketing is no longer about telling the world how great your products and services are. Marketing is not what you think it is.It is more counter-intuitive than you think. “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.” said the legendarey Harvard marketing professor Theodore Levitt. And actually, we do not…
One of the most stunning things we encounter when we run workshops about strategy, is the confidence managers usually have with respect to knowing their customers well. When we confront them with questions such as “how do you know this is exactly what your customers want”, “how do you know this is the way to…
When we talk to CEO’s and marketing & sales directors about competition, we often feel they are most worried about their closest competitors. Competitors that do exactly the same stuff as they do. Virtually every company gathers loads of information on direct competitors. At first sight, there is nothing wrong with that. Following up on what…
If you still want to be in business by 2020, you need to come up with a smart online strategy. A strategy that is different from what most companies do (showing off how great they are).What does that mean? In the first place you have to ban company-centric thinking and make sure the content of your…