Playing the Long Game If there is one company that epitomises long-term strategy, it is Amazon. On May 15th 1997, Amazon sold shares to the public for the first time. They were priced at $18 per share. Later that year, alongside their first annual report Jeff Bezos wrote a letter to Shareholders. That letter was […]
What Do You Wish You Were You Good At?
Management Innovation When people think about innovative businesses what excites them? I’ve heard plenty of people getting frothy about their new phone and all the fancy apps it comes with but I have yet to hear anybody getting agitated about washing machines and microwave ovens. Domestic appliances or “white goods” do not set the imagination […]
Can You Buy Better?
Organisational Change There are a couple of ways an organisation can improve: 1. It can change its strategy A company can change what it does. This type of change is sometimes called a “stroke of the pen change”, because any chief executive can, with enough money, make it happen. It could be a change in product […]
Is Big Always Strategic?
The small project Today you (and I) will be confronted by a handful of “small projects”. Things that you could nail down within a couple of weeks. Small things that will make your business work better. Perhaps you could: Free up some space on the servers to make them run more efficiently. Draw up a […]
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
What does that mean? It sounds like management claptrap. Let me repeat it, and attribute it. Culture eats strategy for breakfast ~ Peter Drucker Anybody who has worked in a large organisation will know that we prize strategy above all else. It is an intellectual pursuit, highly valued in the boardroom. We hire consultants to […]