Posted by Joe Strategy on May 21, 2010 in Directions & Destinations
If you “google” on the word “branding”, you’ll get 50,900,000 hits in .22 seconds. You’ll find articles from academic experts, marketing gurus, design divas, advertising whizzes, and thousands of companies ready and willing to help you create a powerful brand.
You’ll also find several definitions of the word “brand”, most of which sound something like this one, which most people would agree doesn’t even begin to describe what branding really is: “A distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market”. Read more
Posted by Joe Strategy on May 7, 2010 in General, Random Acts of Thought
I love to read about people and companies that have succeeded by being unconventional. 37Signals is one such company that has reached the pinnacle of success by doing things their own way. They have millions of users, have made millions of dollars and are revered by the technology community and thought leaders like Seth Godin.
The owners of 37 Signals recently published Rework, a book that outlines their world view of business. Anyone who follows the Company knows that part of their approach/strategy is to be provocative; they embrace the path less traveled and like to turn conventional wisdom on its head. They see value in picking fights with competitors, embracing work/life balance and sadly, they shun planning. Read more
Posted by Joe Strategy on April 30, 2010 in Planning Tools
Yes, there are signs of recovery out there, and we have been officially told by our so called officials that the Great Recession is over. But the economy does not affect all sectors equally and many businesses are still struggling.
Therefore I wanted to offer this blueprint for strategic planning during a downturn. It is critical that businesses engage in strategic planning during difficult economic environments so that they 1) completely understand the realities and possible outcomes from the current situation, 2) they spend their money and time in the most productive manner, and 3) they capture opportunities that often arise through shifting market and customer circumstances.
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