Pricing Genius for Consulting Firms & Creative Agencies
People use theories for two different purposes, one of which is much more helpful than the other. The recent death of Clayton Christensen of The Innovator’s Dilemma – “disruptive innovation” – fame reminded me of controversies related to the theory. The book was hugely successful in the business world, and then came the backlash – … Read more
I used to do a lot of speaking to groups of Chief Executives. Results were quite mixed – I seemed to be a “Marmite” – love it or hate it – proposition. On one occasion I did a natural controlled trial. I went to one group, then travelled 50 miles to stay overnight and do … Read more
The time I should have been doing an MBA, I spent studying Taoist philosophy. It’s a maddening, fascinating collection of elliptically expressed ideas from a bunch of characters who were probably completely fictitious. That was 33 words that probably drove away 90% of the readers who happened across this. If you are still with me, … Read more
In a conversation recently I heard the words “activity rate.” This took me all the way back to a conversation I had in Madrid in the mid-90s, and an issue that has come up repeatedly since then. I was talking to Santi, the Spanish country manager of a big UK medical publisher. He was under … Read more
You know the story – Hercules was set twelve supposedly impossible tasks, with the reward of immortality if he achieved them. The fifth was to clean the stables of King Augeas. These contained 30,000 cattle and had not been cleaned for 30 years, yet Hercules had 24 hours. Hercules did it, by diverting two rivers … Read more
The name of Sun Tzu will be familiar to just about anyone who has studied business strategy. I know one business school academic who told me that it was the only text you needed to read to pass the course. But yet, if you read Sun Tzu carefully you discover that he is actually quite … Read more
Very often I find myself helping clients with pricing. It’s one of the biggest levers to raise profitability. Usually I’m showing them ways to raise prices, but here in this video is an example that goes one better, changing the transaction from “I pay you” to “you pay me.” It’s also shot on a lovely … Read more
Or, if you prefer, How to Be a Genius:
I meet many organisations who have a learning and development function, but never with an unlearning and development department. The unlearning department might be the more useful; the video explains why.
Remember the story of King Arthur? At the start, he’s a nobody. A poor relation tolerated in a noble family, a lowly squire serving the son, Sir Kay. One day when they are staying in London, Kay forgets to take his sword with him and sends Arthur back to the inn for it. The inn … Read more