Four Words Of Wisdom

It was Francis Bacon who coined the phrase – knowledge is power.

Others have added to it over the years.

For instance, American sociologist Robert Staughton Lynd said knowledge is power only if you know what facts not to bother with.

Kofi Annan, the seventh secretary general of the United Nations, said knowledge is power, information is liberating and education is the premise of progress.

Here’s my take – know more, guess less.

You Need An Enemy

Every brand needs an enemy…

A competitor to hate, a rival to compete with, a brand you detest but secretly admire.

You need an enemy that keeps you awake at night.

Hating for hating’s sake is a waste of time.

Hating for motivation’s sake is anything but a waste of time.

Harness the hate so that a rival’s achievements galvanise you to greater triumphs.

Use the accomplishments of your foes to power you to victory.

Look On The Brightside

I see the positives, not the negatives.

I look at the upside, not the downside.

I spot what can go right instead of worrying about what might go wrong.

It’s made me a sunrise person, not a sunset person.

Which would you rather be?

Dare To Be Different

If you are the same as all your competitors – you’re in trouble.

If all you do is what your rivals do – you’re in trouble.

If your service is no better than your opponents – you’re in trouble.

Without a USP you are simply a generic product.

If you don’t have a USP, identify what makes your brand different.

It’s the difference that will make you stand out from the crowd.

Take Control

Is your job getting you down?

Change it!

Life is too short to spend time doing stuff you hate.

Lives are transformed by following your passion and doing what you love.

Every day should be exciting, fulfilling and rewarding.

If your life is not like that – change it.

Inject Some Fizz Into Your Social Strategy

Eighty-five percent of Coca-Cola’s social content is generated by consumers who have no paid connection to the brand.

It’s a tribute to the fact that Coke’s stratospheric social strategy has created amazing brand love.

We live in an age where it’s claimed people, especially millennials, don’t watch adverts.

Truth is, millennials watch adverts if they are called videos and if they are entertaining and shareable.

Brands only have themselves to blame if no one is watching.

To stand out you need content that makes them laugh, cry or think.

Stop Chasing Your Tail

We have all seen dogs chasing their tails.

In business we sometimes do the same. We go round and round in circles and we never catch what we’re chasing.

To get different results, we need to break the cycle.

It means thinking creatively, planning innovatively and acting decisively.

To get something you’ve never had before, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done before.

Speaking With Confidence

Sometimes I feel like a bozo – especially when learning words for a speech or lines for a video.

It’s so hard to drive what I read into my bird brain.

Some people find it so easy. The words seem to trip off their tongues.

Here’s a tip if, like me, you struggle to learn your lines.

Read the words out loud!

It’s much easier to memorise a script if you reinforce the written words orally.

The Revolution Is Upon Us

The digital revolution has thrown out the old and brought in the new.

But there’s a danger in thinking digital is everything, and everything including routes to market, should be digital.

Balderdash!

Tried and tested platforms such as TV, newspapers and magazines still have an important place in the marketing mix.

In the world of marketing the old and the new can exist side-by-side.