And while we can look at the legacy of human endeavour for many answers to today's questions, there is a much richer and older source of inspiration and ideas that could help us solve many of our more tactical and systemic challenges. And that is the natural world around us. Over millions or billions of years of evolution, living organisms...
Read MoreBut if we look with even greater curiosity - then something quite amazing comes into sight. An individual bird, when seen with bright light, suddenly displays a spectrum of colours including blues, greens, purples, and browns - and an array of bright dots. And that is only what we humans can see; bird-vision extends into the ultraviolet...
Read MoreYou don't build a business – you build people – and then people build the business. Zig Ziglar
Read MoreOne of the first things I ask of an audience when running my Strategic Thinking workshops is "raise your hand if you think you are a strategic thinker". I am always amazed at how few people raise their hands straight away - probably about a fifth if that, and then a few do the slight raising lowering thing which implies they think they maybe,...
Read MoreSmall and medium-sized businesses constitute the backbone of the North American economy. They make up a staggering 98% of all businesses and generate approximately 40% of total business revenue. Of those, around 60 to 70% are supplying other businesses (B2B) - as opposed to serving an end customer directly (B2C). Therefore, most businesses are...
Read MoreI spend a lot of time in coffee shops. I enjoy a good cup of coffee, fresh baking, ambiance, meeting people, and the opportunity to be somewhere different while trying to work. Many coffee shops meet my needs, but I don't particularly have one that I always go to, I am indifferent to their differences. That was until recently. I found a new...
Read Morecircular economy However, while many business owners and CEOs like the idea of doing good for the environment, and society, the reality is that the business has to be prosperous - and the more prosperous it is, then the more opportunity there is for undertaking further projects that contribute to the triple bottom line (PPP or
Read MoreUnlike the traditional linear 'value chain' model which follows a "take-make-dispose" pattern, the circular economy approach aims to minimise the 'take and dispose' elements. It does this by focusing on creating closed-loop systems where products, materials, and resources are reused, refurbished, or recycled to extend their lifecycles. The goal...
Read MoreA sense of purpose is a crucial element of the well-being of any individual. Similarly, a sense of purpose can be a crucial aspect of any company’s culture and health. We like to think of a company’s purpose as being something much bigger than the company itself, something the company maybe couldn't achieve alone, something that they would...
Read MoreTo be fair, while some companies (certain large corporations for example) may have a deliberate approach to greenwashing (disinformation), many other companies may genuinely want to make a positive contribution to the environment and society, and yet get caught up in felt need to use 'green' jargon, or they may themselves be making assumptions...
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