1.
50 WAYS TO BE YOUR BEST

2.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
50 WAYS TO SOLVE TRICKY
BUSINESS ISSUES

3.
SEVEN STRATEGY AREAS
1. COMMERCIAL
2. BRAND
3. CUSTOMER
4. SALES
5. PEOPLE
6. INNOVATION
7. COMMUNICATION

4.
WHAT IS STRATEGY?
1. COMMERCIAL: Will this make money?
2. BRAND: Do people like us?
3. CUSTOMER: How do we reach them?
4. SALES: Can we generate enough?
5. PEOPLE: Will our staff make it happen?
6. INNOVATION: Do we have smart new ideas?
7. COMMUNICATION: How do we explain it?

5.
• Winning aspiration?
• Where to play?
• How to win in chosen
markets?
• Capabilities needed?
Smart Strategy Warning
Too many priorities

6.
• What do we want to do?
• What do we need to do?
• What is possible?
• When should we react?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t plan before thinking

7.
• A number is not a strategy
• The hard art of standing
apart
• Concrete and aspirational
• How will we know when
we’re done?
Smart Strategy Warning
Avoid wishful thinking

8.
• Who has done this
before?
• Ooch – run small tests
• Range of outcomes?
• Admit if you are wrong
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t go narrow early

9.
• Ask everyone first
• Find pockets of expertise
• Remove structural fog
• Leave your desk
Smart Strategy Warning
Strategy isn’t just for strategists

10.
• Identify the nonsense
• Find uncommon sense
• Forget the competition
• Ignore the HIPPO
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t box tick

11.
• Identify your bull’s-eye
• Work out the NEMO
• Remove everything else
Smart Strategy Warning
No multiple objectives

12.
• Map the market
• What are the factors?
• What direction is needed?
• Where is the opportunity?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t follow fool’s gold

13.
• What don’t we know?
• What is the challenge?
• Are we all thinking the
same?
• Reinterpret the brief?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t use old assumptions

14.
• Do we have a brief?
• Have we asked why?
• Do we have WYSIATI?
• Are we feeling or thinking?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t rely on limited evidence

15.
• Have we diverged?
• Have we converged?
• What might happen?
• What if your company
didn’t exist?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t toe the company line

16.
• Is it all too neat?
• Strong or weak filters?
• Are we empowered?
• What is the adjacent
possible?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t remove messiness

17.
• Less is better
• What is Minimum Viable
Progress?
• What is the priority?
• Can we do a reverse pilot?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t make it long-winded

18.
• What kind of thing?
• What can we copy?
• What might it look like?
• How would we apply it?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t just steal blindly

19.
• What do they really think?
• Have we led the witness?
• Trustworthy data?
• Can we live test?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t accept all research

20.
• Is there a gap?
• Are they on autopilot?
• What can we trigger?
• Do we understand this?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume people will just
do what you want

21.
• Delighting people doesn’t
work
• Satisfaction = loyalty?
• Are we driving disloyalty?
• What needs to change?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t annoy customers

22.
• Are customers leaving?
• Who are they telling?
• What behaviour can we
predict?
• What interventions might
help?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume satisfaction

23.
• Understand service recovery
• Recovered = stronger
• What often goes wrong?
• What can we do next?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t panic when things go
wrong

24.
• What automatic decisions
do customers make?
• What are their defaults?
• What errors can we
anticipate?
• What can we re-engineer?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume rational behaviour

25.
• How can we appeal to
better nature?
• What small change can
we make?
• What effect might result?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t always think big

26.
• How do we sell?
• Do customers know more
than we do?
• Are we framing?
• Ambivert selling?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t leave selling to sales

27.
• Do we challenge?
• Do we differentiate?
• Do we tailor?
• What should we change?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t hard sell

28.
• Are we too cheerful?
• What can we reframe?
• What makes it more
difficult?
• What can we solve?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t be too optimistic

29.
• What’s the grabber?
• Where is the pain?
• What can we prove?
• Remove the bed of nails
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t tell too long a story

30.
• Are we obsessed with new
business?
• How can we improvise with
existing customers?
• Are we looking after old
business?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t just chase new business

31.
• Are we mass or niche?
• What is weird about our
product or customers?
• What oddness can we
celebrate?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t sell everything to everyone

32.
• Do we have a gap?
• How do we bridge it?
• Too many features?
• Too many opinions?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t overcomplicate things

33.
• Numbers don’t motivate
• Staff communication?
• Staff views?
• Purpose and principles?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t emphasize numbers

34.
• What can we influence?
• Absolute or relative?
• Feedback and adjust fast?
• Err on what side?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume people get it

35.
• Why do we exist?
• How do we behave?
• What is most important?
• Who must do what?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t ignore the basics

36.
• Clear goals?
• Immersed in activities?
• Enjoying immediate
experience?
• Truly engaged?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t interrupt people in flow

37.
• Dysfunctional teams?
• Absence of trust?
• Fear of conflict?
• Team analysis?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume they agree

38.
• Autonomy?
• Mastery?
• Purpose?
• What can you master?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t allow passive
aggression

39.
• Tell them what not how
• Provide organized space
• Connect with clever peers
• Shelter from
organizational rain
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t underestimate clevers

40.
• Must meet a customer
and company need
• Resource constraints?
• Growth goals?
• Multi-disciplinary teams
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t suspend money
questions

41.
• Systematic Inventive
Thinking
• Subtract, divide, multiply
• Task unification?
• Describe it in 5 words
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t take anything for
granted

42.
• Forget products
• How is this a service?
• Customer ideas?
• External ideas?
Smart Strategy Warning
Avoid the commodity trap

43.
• Something different that
has impact
• What if?
• Provoke and prototype
• Who is the protagonist?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t stifle provocateurs

44.
• Do everything at once
• How many ideas have we
got?
• How many can we do free?
• How fast can we adjust?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t limit effort to one thing

45.
• Is there a true need?
• Do the numbers work?
• Does it matter?
• Learn and adjust fast
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t spreadsheet dance

46.
• Start with the customer
• What is cheapest or free?
• Who else can help?
• What can start-ups teach
us?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t rely on big budgets

47.
• How brief can we be?
• Map, tell, talk, show
• Talk, actively listen,
converse
• Deep brevity wins
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t be vague or lengthy

48.
• What is the audience?
• What should our approach
be?
• What should our tone be?
• WIFM?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t broadcast blandly

49.
• What social currency do we
have?
• What emotion can we elicit?
• Why should they agree?
• Why should they share?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume they’ll engage

50.
• Get out of victim stage
• What is possible?
• Use constraint to spur better
thinking
• We can if…
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t wallow in constraints

51.
• What have we done?
• What can we tell people?
• What is overclaim?
• Should we change
something before
communicating anything?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t claim what isn’t true

52.
• What is the audience?
• What is the right language?
• Have we rehearsed?
• What is our message on a
postcard?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t use cliché and jargon

53.
• What mistakes are we
making?
• What is realistic?
• What do we need to clarify?
• Can we make it simpler?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t make fanciful claims