Driving transformation

One of the first steps in business transformation is communicating purpose, everyone should very clearly understand that “Why?” In uncertain economic times, having a clear north-star objective is what can keep organisations on the right path. It’s what guides leadership decisions, from cost-cutting to entering new markets and creating new products. The North Star in this case means every single person in an organisation should have a very clear sense of understanding the reasons why the organisation does what it does and why the organisation exists.

Nowadays, you've got to listen to the employees you have today, because they are more qualified than anyone else to know what your clients want.
- How are the consumer needs changing? 
- What are the consumers demanding?
This kind of insight into how consumer behaviour is changing will allow organisations to remain relevant and retain their competitive edge in a post-pandemic reality. 

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Courage is a choice

Courage is the willingness to act in the face of fear, doubt or uncertainty. It’s a choice to move forward, knowing that come what may, you will do whatever it takes to deal with it. Alternatively, you can retreat and do what has always been done, what you know and keep receiving what you’ve always gotten. Remember courage will bring us to new places, into new relationships and help generate new results.


Here’s a few action points that will allow you to connect with anyone immediately:
·      Smile
·      Make eye contact
·      Use their name
·      Ask questions
·      Listen with interest
·      Pay attention
·      Be present

Trusting your gut means having the courage to not simply go with the majority. A study group asked a group of Californian entrepreneurs, “How do you make your decisions?” These are entrepreneurs who have built businesses from nothing to over $100 million, and they more or less said the same thing - “I am a voracious gatherer of information, I want to see the numbers but if it doesn’t feel right I won’t go ahead with the deal.” The part of the brain that thinks in words has a very rich connection to the gastrointestinal tract to the gut, so this is why we get a gut feeling.
When you are making decisions, do you trust your gut feeling?

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Let's talk about it

Which one do you think is best?
I do not give you these answers, my technique is all about self-discovery and taking a deeper dive into the decision-making process by asking alternative questions, for example:
a) Why do you think they did that?
b) How could you have prevented that?
c) What do you think is going to happen next?

My procedures revolve around the 4 D’s (Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver). I systematically investigate, analyse, and optimise the points of contact between the customer and the organisation throughout the relationship. It’s not just about knowing the skills; it’s about applying them. Do you have a systematic way of getting better every day?

“Without doubt, there are lots of ways to measure the pulse of a business. But if you have employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow right, you can be sure your company is healthy and on the way to winning.”

— Jack Welch

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Set a goal

I was recently asked whether I was problem conscious, or solution orientated?

My goal is to help as many people as I can, and I think that there is no substitute for strategy and careful planning when you have goals. You will work hard and get things done in the pursuit of achieving or accomplishing goals. Activity creates excitement and you will need to be excited if you are to achieve and accomplish your objectives. Never confuse activity with accomplishment…


When you have a dream, make a list with the following framework:

1. Identify the goal
2. Identify the benefits from reaching the goal
3. List the major obstacles stopping you from reaching the goal
4. Identify the skills or knowledge required to reach the goal
5. Identify the individuals, groups, and organisations to work with on the goal
6. Develop an action plan
7. Set a completion date


This list may help you to reach your goals, as motivation without instruction and education is ultimately frustrating. When you have a target list, you will focus on the goal and what is essential to achieve your objectives. Contact me via e-mail for a goal setting workshop.

“Logic will not change an emotion but action will.”

— Burrellism

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Stay alert

c/o Coutts.com

How often do you rush to judge, and does this judgement serve you well or is it a hindrance when trying to reach your goals? 
This question struck me both intellectually and emotionally and I started to consider why our minds are meaning-making machines, constantly making assumptions, judgements, and looking for patterns. This is not bad trait as it has kept humans safe as we evolved for a very long time. However, these internal narratives can be filled with bias, they can be self-destructive, or can also result in hurting someone else. At the end of the day, our judgments can be the lens through which we understand the world and that lens is foggy.

“Be curious, not judgmental.”

— Walt Whitman

What can stand in the way of spotting opportunities?
I think curiosity is what really unlocks the ability to spot opportunities and it is available to every single one of us. All we have to do is ask questions and continue to believe that we can discover and probe and learn more and more every single day. The Achilles heel for many business people is that you believe you are an expert, so anyone who is already believing that they have a certain expertise in any variety of business or any part of life, stops asking questions and that’s a dangerous thing. If you want to spot opportunity and create something new or just keep up to date in a rapidly changing world then curiosity is your friend. Curiosity genuinely doesn’t know, it wants to find out more, whilst judgement already knows enough. Curiosity is a tool and goes by names like listening, appreciation and connection. Stay alert…

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Barriers to risk

I see organisations today trying to reduce expenses by hiring inexperienced people to pound the phones, e-mails to arrange meetings and rush the sales process without looking into how companies buy. I think that it’s a good idea to look at the company culture and determine how much risk they are willing to take. Are they really involved in innovation or it’s more of a lip service?


The following questions will give you a feeling of what their culture really is like:
1. Do their executives lead by example?
2. How much experimentation is allowed?
3. How much resources (time and money) do they put into new ventures
4. What metrics are they measuring? 
5. And are those metrics connected to new things, for example, new to the market type of products?




Over the past few years, I have studied corporate cultures and change, and what fascinates me is when we speak about change is that we think in terms of “Good vs. Bad.” I don’t think it’s as simple as that, I think corporate complacency is the worst kind of culture. I think the world has become so complexed that we keep more and more ridiculous processes in place. And this results in employees becoming complacent and no longer think that they can affect change, they just give up and hide behind the mentality of “things are just fine!” Contact me via e-mail when you willing to make incremental change in your organisation.

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You want an agreement

There’s nothing that raises your self-confidence faster than to feel that you have been successful in negotiating a contract and that you have got a good deal as a result. On the flip side, there is nothing that lowers your self-confidence faster than to think that you have been out negotiated into a poor deal that you will have to live with. Therefore, negotiating skills are an important part of your personality development and of your sense of personal effectiveness and self-confidence. When you are a good negotiator, your self-confidence is higher, and you feel more positive towards yourself and other in everything that you do.


Very often negotiations depend on setting conditions; what you can offer depends on what the other side can do. It’s a good idea when negotiating to keep things calm and avoid direct criticisms. The skills you need to be a good negotiator are rarely something you learned as part of a formal education. Some people think they are good negotiators, but in reality are not. Contact me via e-mail for negotiation training and workshops.

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Improve your outcomes

Some people are good at negotiating for their own interest and some people are not. Which one of these two types of people do you want to be? One of your main jobs in life, one that will lead to increased levels of self confidence is to become more effective in influencing others by learning great negotiation skills and choosing good questions to ask. I think the best negotiators all have basically the same characteristics and qualities, they are pleasant people, they are warm, friendly, and humble. You have an automatic tendency to trust someone with great negotiation skills and feel what they are asking for is in the best interests of both parties.


Skilled negotiators are usually quite concerned about finding a solution or an agreement that is satisfactory for both parties. They look for “win-win” situations, where both parties are happy with the results of the negotiation. It’s imperative that you choose good questions to ask and try to understand what both parties are trying to achieve from the negotiation. I think that finding good questions to ask about a customer’s needs is the only way you will be able to find out what exactly is important to them in a negotiation. And it is important to show the customer other benefits they are receiving.


Good negotiators are patient, and they concentrate first on getting agreements on all the parts of the contract that the two parties have in common, before they go on seeking for amicable ways to settle the other issues. Good negotiators also take their time to prepare good questions to ask to get clarity and understand each point as they go along to ensure  that there are no confusions later in the negotiations. Remember, price is not always the most important thing in negotiations. Contact me via e-mail for negotiation training and workshops.

What's your take on it?

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have worked with some outstanding people and these opportunities has enabled me to work across businesses and functions, allowing me to understand organisational dynamics through people, process and technology. This has been proven to be invaluable as I engage stakeholders and explore ideas and opportunities in line with business priorities.

“Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box.”

— Italian Proverb

I have had the pleasure of working for global companies and have acknowledged that humans and knowledge are the two of the most important resources. There are huge financial incentives that keep the status quo locked in place with the “this is just how it is” attitude. I think that all successful people begin with these two beliefs: 
1. The future can be better than the present, and
2. I have the power to make it so.
Do you agree? I have seen great results and productivity improvements in organisations leveraging this framework. Contact me via e-mail and let’s have a conversation.

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The harder you work the better you become

Business is a vehicle for self-expression, for dreaming about creating the future we desire, for accomplishing together what we cannot do alone and for creating extraordinary amounts of value. Business is far more than a profit machine and can be the primary vehicle for building a better world, if we appropriately respect and care for people. You will need to design a strategy that attracts the target market in the right way, and you will need to immediately have the right mix of products and solutions developed so that they can engage you immediately.

We are not in a “You” economy, it’s a “We” economy. We are sharing, we are growing, we are expanding, we are finding ways to add value. The secret to business is to think about others, not about yourself! I think a meaningful life is serving something greater than yourself. When we are excited about something, the first thing we want to do is share it with our loved ones. A lot of people think you have to get it right before you start, the most important thing is to get started and begin learning as quickly as you can.

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What is holding you back?

Culture and employee engagement are a rising topic in business and when people know that their contribution matters to their company, they are less likely to leave. I think organisations that intentionally create and cultivate a healthy culture are more likely to earn the trust and loyalty of their stakeholders. According to David Sturt there are 6 aspects of a great company culture:

1. Purpose - connecting employees to your organisation’s reason for being or the difference you make in the world.

2. Opportunity - providing employees the ability to learn new skills, develop, and contribute.

3. Success - giving employees the opportunity to innovate, do meaningful work and be on winning teams.

4. Appreciation - acknowledging and recognising employees’ outstanding work and unique contributions.

5. Well-being - paying attention to and constantly working to improve employees’ physical, social, emotional, and financial health.

6. Leadership - connecting employees to purpose, empowering them to do great work, and creating a sense of camaraderie.

You can watch David Sturt’s brilliant “Can talking to strangers boost your creativity?” TED Talk here.

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You need to let go

“You need to let go!” It’s easier said than done…
Living under stress weakens your physical health and makes you feel tired. I think that there is a powerful connection between emotional culture and business performance.

“The only thing you can really control is how you react to things out of your control. ”

— Burrellism

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The keys to power

There are times when we should be competitive and there are other times when we should share. According to my Oxford English Dictionary, the word, “courage” means the ability to do something dangerous, or to face pain or opposition, without showing fear. I think we need courage to brings us to new places, to new relationships and new results. What is your typical reaction when you are experiencing change?

·      Do you get defensive and retreat? 

·      Do you know what causes either of these reactions?

·      Do you engage in self-talk that may impact your courage to embark on change?

·      Do you fear losing something by being courageous?

Have you thought about what you could gain by being courageous?

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Focus on the finish line

Image c/o Strategy Sprints

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than land and it works the same way as the mind does not care what we plant, whether it be success or failure. A concrete worthwhile goal or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on but whatever we plant it must return to us. The human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth, it contains riches beyond our wildest dreams, it will return anything we were to plant. Well you might say that if that’s true why are people struggling to meet their goals?

Emily Balcetis explains how motivation is not enough if you want to achieve your goals, see the video here. Emily Balcetis, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology at New York University and author of “Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World.”

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The basics

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Reducing the environmental impact

c/o Forbes

I was in Woodstock in 2016 and I saw how cafes and bars were using digital receipts, this practices is slowly making its way to Northern Europe. Last week at during Copenhagen Fashion Week, I saw several sustainable packaging companies. I think reducing sizes and volume as well as reusing packaging are simple ways for online brands to start their sustainability journey. Sustainability used to be a differentiation point for a business, nowadays it’s a licence to operate.

Small businesses usually have a less bureaucratic decision-making processes, agility is a plus point and more often than not they are closer to the customer. Being local and having a brand or product story the consumer can identify with at an emotional level is also is advantageous. I think it’s easier for small companies to demonstrate that they are delivering both social and environmental practices by promoting more diversity at every level, especially at senior and board level. Send me an e-mail and let me know what you think.

Business as usual

Today marks the end of Copenhagen Fashion Week and I think that part of being an artist is about bringing more personality into the work we do. Let’s be clear here, I don’t need to know anything about your sexuality or where you live, all I need to know is how you open yourself up and put an emotion on the table. A good example is Apple, they don’t make cheap and replaceable products - Apple comes out with products that welcome personal criticism and when I say personal, I mean I made this and for someone else to say I hate that. Nowadays, we are too focussed on how to avoid criticism and not focussed enough on how I make a difference.

After visiting the trade fairs on Wednesday, I came home out with the feeling that safety was paramount this season. There were many beautiful collections, polished with no edge, it almost felt as though they had been designed by a committee. And the designers were saying, “It’s not my fault”, there’s no vulnerability there, I really missed the collections which said metaphorically, I can stand up against the system and I show vulnerability. This made me think about Brené Brown’s wonderful Ted Talk, “The Power of Vulnerability” which has now been viewed almost 55 million times. I also think that vulnerability means putting something into the world and being willing to let the world respond or react. Do you dare to be different? Contact me via e-mail for a deeper dive into how you can make a difference, but only if you dare.

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A little bit about me

c/o BBC

My skill set is not industry specific, I have dotted across different industries as a consultant and had a good varied career across the board. I am fortunate to have worked for a mix of large corporations right through to new start-ups, and everything in between. I think the definition of a creative is showing up, doing the work and putting it out there even when you have no idea if it will resonate. What do you think?

I’ve done the start-up thing where you are fumbling around trying to find  the right product-market fit and your not entirely sure what they might be and you are leveraging your network to get some deals done. It’s fun but I think that it’s not necessarily sustainable for me and with my skill set, I prefer to work for organisations that have least have a little bit of product-make fit, and have some established customers so you can build upon. I’ve also worked in some hugeorganisations which are a polar opposite of start-ups, they are great for getting your foot in the door because everybody will see you because you have that brand recognition. In terms of getting anything done internally or creatively, it is a lot more challenging than to sell, due to the corporate politics.

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Why measurement is hard

One of the first steps in solving a problem — data science or otherwise — is determining the right measure to gauge success. When we want to objectively find the best solution, we should recall the concept of Goodhart’s Law and realise that rather than using a single number, the best assessment is usually a set of measurements. By choosing multiple metrics, we can design a solution without the unintended consequences that occur when optimising for a narrow objective. Goodhart’s Law states: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” In other words, when we set one specific goal, people will tend to optimise for that objective regardless of the consequences. This leads to problems when other equally important aspects of a situation are neglected.

When using technology, people tend not to listen to their eyes and ears. Instead, a person is only making a judgement about a person through the distilled information. I have recently completed a digital marketing course and know now how to “game algorithms”. This has now convinced more than ever that in person meetings are a better gauge of a person’s integrity compared to looking at their social media feeds. When meeting face-to-face we can pick on mannerisms, for example, how the person speaks, how they appear, how they engage with their surroundings and a whole host of tangible and intangible behaviours.

Life is a balancing act, and social media has opened the world to the tensions of two forces: the ones measuring and the ones behaving. I think Goodhart’s Law is one of those paradoxes not to be solved but to be balanced. Contact me via e-mail when you are ready for an external perspective on your organisation’s measuring tools.

Business Model Canvas

“A business model is nothing else than a description of the value a company offers to one or several segments of customers and the architecture of the firm and its network of partners for creating, marketing and delivering this value and relationship capital, in order to generate profitable and sustainable revenue streams. ”

— Osterwalder & Pigneur

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