Tag: impact

  • The importance of Demos

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    Most of what we sell is too hard to understand without a demo.

    If a picture is worth a thousand words,

    a demonstration is probably worth a million.*

    Steve Blank in The 4 steps to the epiphany.

    So let´s ask ourselves the following 6 questions:

    • Do you have a demo script?
    • Do you have a demo space?
    • Do you have a demo strategy?
    • Does your demo create a WOW moment?
    • Who does the demo?
    • How often do you demo?

    There is a direct correlation between:

    the amount of WOW moments you create

    &

    the growth of your business… *

    *YOU, once you got your demo-act together.

  • 2nd Wave 🌊 – being a start-up again…🚀

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    In the last couple of months many of us have been struggling for business survival. Now we are coming out of it we are at a crossroads.

    Option 1: Back to the future.

    Put all the bits and pieces into place just the way they were back in 2019. And hop back in the treadmill hoping that “this time my business will scale”. For the obvious reason that well,…that you picked things up where you left them middle of march.

    Along the journey we commonly forget its goal” F. Nietsche

    But this is the low-probability-option to a scaleable business. Our businesses oftentimes had become an amalgam of different services and products trying to serve many different customers. And therein lies the reason for a very low Result/Work ratio…

    Or Option 2: Hack value before you hack growth

    This means going back to your customers and find out what they truly love 💙 about you, your company and what you have to offer. Find what it is they cherish and crave. And drop the rest. Listen, ask, interview. That is where the secret treasure is to be found 🏆.

    Find your core, your focus, your true north through customer discovery.

    This the focus 🎯 for your start-up. Cut the rest.

    note: you have a number of asymmetrical advantages in your pocket already: existing customers that trust you, services and products you sold and got paid for, a team of knowledge people, sorted out the messy stuff of operating a company,… all things that allow you to spend all time and attention during the next few weeks on finding what it is people love about your company.

    Hack Value before you hack growth…It is the starting point for success and scale as a start-up.

    Now is the time to decide if you want to re-create the business you had or become the business you always wanted to be.

    Choose wisely and embrace the consequences.

     

  • Predicting the future

    Predicting the future

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    Today there are more futurologists out there than the total sum of “self-declared expert” national football coaches, presidents of nations and health experts in virology together.

    There is a type of of futurologists I find interesting though.

    Enter the “The Builders” -> Predicting the future by creating it.

    Marc Andreessen & his VC squad wrote a challenging piece recently “It´s time to build“. Check it out.
    Triple AAA: Actionable – Ambitious – A-political.
    What will you build?

    Tim Sweeney & the gaming gang on the metaverse. “Fortnite and the metaverse
    Going beyond the internet.
    How to escape the stronghold of Facebook, Google, Apple,…?

    Marc Cuban & his entrepreneurial posse on challenges and avenues for action. “What would you do as president“.
    Particularly interesting how Cuban mentions existing trends with transformative power.
    How do we amplify transformative trends for the better?

    Striking how all of them try to predict the future by asking questions, invite to action, look for perspective and see transformation as a way forward.

    Maybe, just maybe, we can learn from their approach?

    It will be harder for sure than sitting back and consuming what is fed to us.
    But it might just be more rewarding and have a real impact if we do…

    Small decisions with a BIG impact 🤜🏻.

     

  • The dark horse

    The dark horse

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    Every day we choose between 3 approaches for everything we do:

    • Custom, tailor-made, one-off
    • Personalised, configured, repeatable
    • One-size-fits-all, standard, commoditised

    But when we make our choices are we consistent, smart, see them in context?

    Ask which of the 3 approaches you choose in the following cases:

    • connecting with our customers
    • drafting and sending proposals
    • delivering control or audiovisual systems
    • hire and fire
    • remuneration
    • training
    • service
    • making cars, speakers, systems,…

    I dare to think we all use far too much custom and standard approaches…

    When the personalised, configured, repeatable approach is the dark horse* in the race for success.

    Custom is overrated

    One-size-fits-all is overused

    Personalisation is the dark horse…

    Asking ourself some simple questions may have a big impact 🤜🏻 💥

    *Definition “dark horse”:
    a candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds

  • Day 21 – Inside the 1st 🌊: We the people…

    Day 21 – Inside the 1st 🌊: We the people…

    For full video drop – click here.

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    End of week 3 in lockdown here in Spain. And in a similar situation in many other countries.
    Some are amazed how how much we have in common…
    As people. You, me, everyone else.
    The same is true for small businesses.

    As discussed in a previous post, people are the foundation of a businesses.

    Distilled from over 40 conversations over the last 3 weeks I propose the following Preamble in these times of business hardship, but hopefully also long after…

     

    WE THE PEOPLE OF SMALL BUSINESSES,

    believe in the Power of We, and therefore:

    • will grow and cherish the Community as a self-healing complex network of organizations. Each of which is the sum ⨋ of individuals to the power of their values. ⨋ (individuals)
    • will Connect with other people on a daily basis putting the relationship before any short-term gain. Connections are infinite and accumulate value over time.
    • will have the Courage to accept our own responsibility and attitude. Therefore we will empower others (team members, customers, suppliers) to allow them to rise to the occasion every day and thus contribute to the success of the organization. Freedom and the means to do so will be provided for all.

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    #thisisastoryaboutpeople

    Screenshot 2020-04-03 at 09.34.05

    As always – looking forward to hearing from all of you soon. ✌🏼


    For more on this “Covid19 – 3 wave 🌊 – storm”… click here