12 Ideas I've Been Thinking On...

Hey!

As I go through the archives of the newsletter: I see that there are a couple of core themes that have been with us over time:

• The importance of strategy. Especially strategy before tactics.

• The power of your brand.

• Change! Change! Change!

I bring this up since I’m always focused on creating value and focusing on improvement.

This week, I wrote down 12 new ideas for articles/posts/courses and I’m going to share all of them with you with a bit of a note about my thinking on each of them.

These aren’t in any particular order and I’ll be curious to see which one sticks with each of you so hit me with the reply to let me know.

Brand Codes for Consultants: I think everyone needs to focus on their brand codes. I’ve been a bit negligent in the newsletters, but I have my logo. I also use “Focused! Effective! Profitable!” but not as consistently as I should.

Your brand codes are those images/sounds/colors/taglines that you want people to associate with you.

Do you know yours?

Metabolism of Change: In 2019, when I went to Australia, I talked about change.

Then, we had 2020.

In my opinion, change comes faster and slower than we can imagine.

We have to do a better job of understanding what is permanent or persistent versus what is transient.

We also need to manage change so that we are moving in the direction we want to move.

Price is a commodity discussion: You know me and price.

Discounts are for dummies.

And, if you are talking price, you are often talking commodity.

Does every business need a strategy? Umm, yes.

In fact, smaller businesses need one more because they have less resources to fix their mistakes.

Is strategy ever finished? Not really.

You set your ambition.

You understand your target market.

You pick your position.

Then you meet the market.

Markets are living things, so is your strategy.

Does “Brand” Really Matter? If it doesn’t, I’ve written a lot of crap.

I think there is a divergence: brands matter more than ever unless you are in a commodity category and the price of branding can’t be recovered.

Like batteries where the Kirkland Signature or Amazon Basics models work just fine.

But that’s the sleight of hand because those are brands as well.

See what I did there?

Value changes depending on the situation: Value is not stagnant or one size fits all.

Context matters.

Change strategy: Change is the only thing certain in life.

Growing in today’s market: If I were cynical, I’d say that CNBC, FOX Business, and other news outlets are praying for a downturn or economic uncertainty.

In fact, this is just the time to refocus on the basics.

Growth right now begins with:

• Strategy: ambition, targeting, positioning

• Brand: use your codes to establish your place in the market

• Tactics: the 4 Ps are still magic

The through line of strategy: Consistency counts. If you have a new strategy every week, it isn’t a strategy.

Do consultants need advertising? I don’t think so. There are better ways to build a brand.

Innovation in crisis: I have a simpler definition of innovation because I focus on improvement.

I feel like improvement is a good idea in every situation.

What do y’all think?

Dave