Company values are difficult things. Distilling a set of guiding principles down to a few words often squeezes the meaning out of them. That’s why I love talking to business leaders about what drives them and what they stand for. During these conversations their values are fleshed out by the stories they tell. After that,… Read more
Is your firm an osteopath in disguise? (Perhaps it should be.)
I saw an osteopath for the first time in the mid-1990s. Even though it was more than 20 years ago, I still remember feeling amazed that he was bothering to spend so much time finding out about my general well-being. Not just about my specific back pain, but about my lifestyle. What I found rewarding at work…. Read more
You’d never want to make your customers feel stupid, would you? But many well-meaning companies do…
The good news is, there’s a simple way to avoid this trap and improve company culture and bottom line while you’re at it. How often does a product or service sabotage itself because of the way it’s delivered to you? Quite a lot, when you stop to think about it. I stopped to think about… Read more
Starting up, scaling up and the art of sacking yourself
Cocoa Loco started when Sarah Payne took a career break from her computer programming job to look after her children. She discovered that she was very good at making brownies. They were always in great demand when she went round to her friends’ houses. So one day she said to her husband Rory, “I’m going… Read more
