Effort vs. results

The Pareto Principle is also referred to as the 80/20 rule, and the concept originated from an observation made by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. This principle suggests that approximately 80% of effects are driven by 20% of causes. Therefore, I think one should focus on the 20% that yields 80% of the results as not everything is a priority.

Remember that results must be S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) and should be defined in terms of goals that can be clearly measured. If the goals are achieved, the results are accomplished, and the job is done. Efforts are actions and they specify the plan that must be executed to achieve the results.

Chefs vs. cooks analogy

The difference between the cook and the chef. While these verbs are often used interchangeably, there is an important nuance. The chef is a trailblazer, the person who invents recipes, he knows the raw ingredients and how to combine them. The cook, who reasons by analogy, uses a recipe, he creates something, perhaps with slight variations, that’s already been created. The difference between reasoning by first principles and reasoning by analogy is like the difference between being a chef and being a cook. If the cook lost the recipe, he’d be screwed. The chef, on the other hand, understands the flavour profiles and combinations at such a fundamental levels that he doesn’t even use a recipe. He has real knowledge as opposed to know-how.

Metrics that matter

It’s import to focus on five key principles when building a brand regardless if it’s your personal brand or a commercial entity. The 5 key principles are:
• Creativity
• Authenticity
• Providing value
• Staying consistent
• Interacting with your audience


I think that it’s important that one does not get distracted by irrelevant metrics and instead approach brand building by reasoning from first principles or through analogies. As this approach encourages a more strategic and effective approach to brand development. Contact me via e-mail for a 1:1 overview of your brand strategy.

Follow the leader

In my experience good leaders know the value in wanting others to shine more than they do, and they do what they can to put their team in a position to win. Strong leaders inspire their teams with a clear vision for the future and aligns everyone’s efforts towards the common purpose through meaningful communication. I think effective leaders are the ones who delegate tasks and responsibilities, trusting team members to carry out their duties. Empowering them and providing guidance takes courage and team members usually reward these leaders with loyalty. It’s always good to know that leadership is not a “one size fits all” concept, different situations may require different leadership styles.

Reconciling different goals

Image: Aaron Lynn ©

Goals: What’s best for the customer? What’s best for the local community? What’s best for the planet? These are all noble causes, but often teams can’t come to an agreement on these goals. It’s not uncommon for teams within organisations to have conflicting or even opposing goals where the only common ground is they all work for the organisation, and they all want it to be successful. Therefore, they turn to a question that much more straightforward, much easier to measure and far more sinister: What’s best for the organisation?

Whenever we ask that question it’s all over, as I think the primary focus shifts to what's best for the organisation in terms of profitability, which can sometimes lead to decisions that prioritise financial gain over other considerations such as employee well-being, environmental impact, or ethical concerns. Organisations today demand constant scale and growth, and when push comes to shove, we have to be able to support our family and we all want stability in our lives. When the decision is about feeding our families or stretching the truth, I think most people are going to choose the latter.

Creativity in the moment

We don’t have time in our everyday lives to tap into every little detail before taking a decision, so we tap into mental shortcuts e.g., authority, scarcity, etc., etc., to help us make decisions. And this is why good photography matters, and this is why good design matters, and this is why good branding matters. These mental shortcuts are based on reliable information, unfortunately, designers and brand managers try to exploit these shortcuts for their own gain, by using counterfeit evidence and shady tactics to make you buy their products under false pretences.

 

Social proof is relying on others’ opinions to make choices especially when we don’t have enough information to make an informed decision. Social proof is more effective when the people promoting the product seem like our peers. And that’s why marketers focus on using the terms, “best-selling and highest rated.” As then they don’t have to convince you that the product is good, they just have to convince you that other people think it’s good. And this is why I think social proof can be used for manipulative purposes.

What's social proof?

The first time I came across the term, “social proof” was in Robert Cialdini’s book ”Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” from the mid-80’s. Cialdini wrote… the principle of social proof says the greater the number of people who find any idea correct, the more the idea will be correct. Social proof is a phenomenon where people follow and copy the actions of others in order to display accepted or correct behaviour, based on the idea of normative social influence. Here are some current examples of social proof, customer testimonials, online reviews, social media shares, celebrity endorsements, and case studies. I think we all use the actions of others to decide on proper behaviour for ourselves, especially when we view those others as similar to ourselves.

Visual signalling

When people make purchasing decisions, it's not solely about the product itself; trustworthiness and the reputation of the brand plays a significant role. The presentation of the business, for example, website, packaging, shop fronts, etc., as well as the emotional aspects of branding also influence consumer decisions. These are all signals that the business is trustworthy and is counting on repeat business. I think humans rely on both verbal and visual communication. And logic may not always be the primary driver of human decision-making emotions and perceptions can be equally or more important factors.

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Be present

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Sometimes the best way to support and help others is to give your undivided attention, reading the room and balancing one’s contributions to ensure a value exchange that benefits all. I think that when you are waiting for a pause so that you can speak, you are not truly listening, and the most important part of listening is the ability to hear the unsaid. Everyone you meet knows more about something than you do, therefore, the goal is to leave people better than when you found them, and show you care more about the people around you.

Evaluating digital performance

What damage is caused by using bad metrics in digital marketing?

To improve the impact of digital marketing and undo the damage caused by using inadequate metrics, we must find a high-margin, transactional product to sell and market. Currently, a major issue with e-mail marketing is the optimisation around transactional metrics rather than emotional metrics. It’s important to point out that learning from digital marketing mistakes is not always easy or straightforward. I think it’s essential to exercise caution in this aspect and change our focus towards emotional engagement in order to obtain more effective results.

“Making mistakes is something everyone does. Learning from them is not. ”
— Burrellism
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Making the right choices

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““Dear Managers,
Your job is not to make people work harder. Your responsibility to help your team achieve their goals, let them know that their work matters, and then recognise and reward those who consistently help the team deliver timely, high quality and positive outcomes.””
— Vala Afshar

I think we all have different opinions, the problem starts when we feel our opinion is worth more than what anyone else can say. Authentic leaders know they can learn a lot from those that think differently than they do. Contact me via e-mail for a confidential 1:1 session

Don't just tell me

What happens when performance doesn’t match the promise?

Teamwork is generally understood as the willingness of a group of people to work together to achieve a common aim. It’s not enough to call yourself a team just because you work together. I think you are only a team when you trust, respect and care for each other. This also the case with branding, as a very few customers will return a second time when brand performance doesn't match brand promise.

““Pay less attention to what men say. Just watch what they do.” ”
— Dale Carnegie

Easier said than done

Do you know when to speak and when to listen?
I think when given a choice of being clever or kind, being kind is right choice all the time. The Open University’s Dr Jacqueline Baxter makes the case for a quieter approach to leadership in collaboration with BBC Ideas, the 3 minute video is about balancing ambition with value.

““True leadership is not about proclaiming your own greatness. It’s about enabling others to find purpose, meaning and the capacity for greatness in themselves.””
— Lolly Daskal

This may give you perspective

I think we often underestimated how similar people are to each other, just as businesses tend to share common challenges. My focus primarily revolves around assisting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and I support them in three key areas:

  1. Traffic Generation: This involves attracting potential customers, whether it's driving foot traffic to physical brick-and-mortar locations or directing online traffic to their websites.

  2. Competitive Differentiation: Businesses often grapple with standing out from their competitors, and I work with my clients to help them establish a unique and compelling identity in their respective markets.

  3. Market Expansion: Finding new opportunities and markets for their products or services is a crucial aspect of business growth, and I provide guidance in identifying and tapping into these untapped areas.

Contact me via e-mail for an initial discover meeting.

A little about me

Graphics c/o Karla Hallam ©

The skills I consistently bring to every job is understanding the customers I sell to, delivering value to them and not only focusing on the features and functions of the products or services. What has helped me meet so many people stem from my ability to demonstrate that I have a comprehensive grasp of their business and identifying challenges they require solutions for. My priority focus is pinpointing their pain problems and offering suitable solutions for them irrespective of the ROI.

Nowadays most companies have a start-up mentality, and I have worked for several companies where the response have been, “I have never heard of you!” I used to enjoy the thrill of approaching potential buyers and driving outcomes, even in the absence of brand recognition. I don’t want to just manage accounts where they just keep coming back purchasing from us as there is no frill in that. I am driven by solving problems and creating meaningful impact for companies.

Act like you know

If you are not in charge of yourself and your life, for example, your emotions and thoughts, then what you do and what you don’t do, really doesn’t matter as you are not free. I think creating structure and rules may feel limiting like you are giving up freedom, but in reality, you are actually gaining freedom that a lot of people have never ever tasted. Therefore, true freedom comes from being in control of oneself, including our thoughts, actions, and decisions.

““When a man can’t find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.””
— Viktor Frankl

Variety is the spice of life

I try to be tolerant with others and strict with myself!
This is what I expect of myself, and this is how I am wired, and this is how I operate best and then I’ll understand that other people are wired differently, they have different ways of living and different ways of being. My job is to figure out how to adapt myself to them instead of forcing them to be like me. It’s my objective in life to express virtues of acceptance and flexibility, meeting people exactly where they are. I think one should look for the good in people and do not try change people to make them just like yourself. Don’t write people off because they don’t reach the same high standards as yourself, lead by example with inspiration and discussions.

Attitude and impacts

I think a diverse workforce closes the gap between a company and the consumer. If customers look into that mirror and don’t see themselves reflected back, they are more likely to search for a business that they feel does reflect them. Decades of research and studies have proved that diverse and inclusive workforces will outperform homogenous teams because they often think more logically, are more creative, and are more adept at identifying errors in thinking. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. The more diverse your workforce, the better equipped you are to balance out one person’s weaknesses with another person’s strengths. A representative workforce will help you understand consumer values, needs, and wants, and will help your organisation to recruit the dynamic and vocal Generation Z.

““Ability determines if you can; attitude determines if you will.” ”
— Frank Sonnenberg
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Overcoming rejection

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There are three ways we experience rejection:

1)    Real rejection

2)    Perceived rejection

3)    Anticipated rejection

Whether the rejection is anticipated, perceived or real, it creates an emotional response. The hardest part of the selling process, which is top of the funnel is interrupting a stranger and asking them for their time – emotional control in these situations is of paramount importance. I cannot teach you how to take away the “sting” of the client saying “no” when you are reaching out to clients, but what I can teach you are frameworks that you can use in context to control the emotion and flip the buyer’s script, so you can ask again and get what you want. When I have leveraged this for sales teams, I have seen results exponentially increase with the number of meetings the sales team gets. 

Adopting a new strategy

The changes we see in the global landscape is changing the way our clients do business, causing the reimagination of whole industries, increasing customer expectations and behaviours, and creating a whole lot of uncertainty. What we do in sales is help people and companies change, we change the products and services they use, and we change the way they use these products and services. And when we perform at our very best, we help our clients and the people we serve to transform their businesses and their results. The change process is non-linear because any process that includes human beings, especially in groups is non-linear. This means that the process is very rarely a straight line, and very often a process that doubles back over ground it has already covered - stops, starts again and then picks up in an unexpected place or direction again. Is your sales process is designed and written in a linear form?