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Giving up the illusion that you can predict the future is a very liberating moment. All you can do is give yourself the capacity to respond...the creation of that capacity is the purpose of strategy. - Lord John Browne Given a choice between perfect planning and agility, I choose
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Imagine being at a social gathering and walking up to someone to introduce yourself, "Hi my name is Jan. I work for a company that is the absolute best printer in town. We have been around for 100 years and everyone loves us." It's not much
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One of the hardest things for an entrepreneur to determine in their journey towards growing a business is whether to pivot or persevere. This is especially challenging for the entrepreneur who is characteristically hard working, risk-taking and determined. If things get hard, their instinct is to keep pressing on. What
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All people are not equal. There are those that consume what is hip, cool and stylistic and those that tell others what they should be buying. I don't think it's a great idea to treat your customers like a democracy. Wrong mindset for how things work.
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What happens to your funnel if you stop creating and distributing valuable content via inbound marketing? You may not have thought being in the publishing business was important, but the lack of engagement and commitment can create problems for your brand and business. Consider the following: * Your SEO will decline.
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Friction is when you create work or obstacles intentionally or inadvertently with your audience or buyers. It is a common term that helps marketers and business owners think about their customer experience, especially since many sellers think about themselves first. It's pretty human to err with such self-focus
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"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else."
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One of the challenges of interrupting people to get attention is that a new event has to be created each time. You have to increase the glamour, noise and novelty each time. It is tiring and relentless. Your efforts are only as good as the last good ad, image or
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Time is ticking. The information age is relentless in commoditizing your business and your job. It may not be right now, but it is happening. It is easier than ever to: * Get music when we want it * Have on-demand legal services * Order anything in our underwear and have it tomorrow
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When someone is ready to do business with you, it's because they were a fan first. This is true for businesses that depend on relationship, more than transactions, which is increasingly the case today. Marketing is about building relationships. Inbound marketing is a system, approach and rigorous work
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If you have not watched the video of Susan Boyle From Britain's Got Talent then take a moment to indulge. There are multiple moments that capture how the judges, audience and we react to what we see with the eye. Then our hearts get pulled as we engage
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A core part of effective leadership is having strong vision. Vision is what brings clarity in the midst of noise, adversity and options. It is what a team rallies around in a leader. I have had some recent dialogue on this topic and have been thinking about the deficit of