I love the Business Model Canvas*. I know it’s a bit sad but ever since I first saw it in the book “Business Model Generation”, I have been besotted. It just fits the way that I see things, the way that I think about businesses. As a tool, I’ve used it** with businesses of all […] Read More…
No-one wants to read your business plan. I know you’ve spent hours on it. And that’s just the formatting. But no-one’s interested in reading it. It’s a work of fiction that’s out-of-date the second you finish it. It’s about as relevant to your business as Game of Thrones but, without the sex and violence, much […] Read More…
Process. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. When something goes wrong (I mean properly wrong, like Fukashima nuclear plant or the Deepwater Horizon oil rig), we are told it is due to processes being inadequate or missing altogether. But we’re also told there is too much process, too much red tape, and it’s […] Read More…
I am a big fan of the Business Model Canvas as a tool to get people to think about their business models and play around with ideas. It’s fun, it’s accessible and it generates lots of questions and discussions. I use it a lot. www.businessmodelgeneration.com I ran a workshop the other day to introduce it […] Read More…
Product is important. It’s central to your business. But it’s not your business. That App. That’s not your business. That Website. That’s not your business. That cool piece of kit. That’s not your business. There’s a ton of other stuff you need around the product to have a business. One that has sales, customers, and […] Read More…
This was said to me by one of the start-ups I work with at the Wayra Academy in London. They have had their app out for several months but have come to realise that it is a necessary but not sufficient condition for having a successful business. The reasons for this break down in to […] Read More…
People get very excited about their idea for their start-up. They’re supposed to, that’s why they are doing it. And they get that they need to be solving a problem, meeting a need. They have read “The Rework” and often they are trying to solve their own problem, which is good. Only, when I ask […] Read More…
“Salespeople are the most important people in the business. Because without a sale, you don’t have any business” I read this old saying in a blog post the other day and it didn’t make any more sense than the hundreds of other times I’ve heard it (normally from salespeople). Sales is just one part of […] Read More…
There seems to be two approaches to process. None, as expounded by the JFDI, action-focused, now-is-too-long entrepreneur. Or loads, as implemented by the risk-averse, detail-obsessed control-freak. I’d like to say I am exaggerating here but people really do seem to fall into these two camps. So which is right? Neither, obviously. Without process, a business […] Read More…
There’s a lot of stuff in the blogosphere and tech media about the current patent wars between Apple and Samsung. The merits of each side’s case are debated fiercely and people are defending their allegiances with an almost religious zeal. In truth, it shows neither company in a great light as they push the boundaries […] Read More…