According to Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, the key to running a successful business is happiness. By developing happiness habits, embracing a happy work-life, and prioritising your customer's happiness, Tony believes businesses can succeed. For this week’s Knowledge Nuggets, let’s explore the book Delivering Happiness and learn to live lives full of purpose, passion, and profits.
Knowledge Nuggets: Delivering Happiness
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge NuggetsHistory’s Greatest Strategists: Sun Tzu
Marketing Strategy, History's Greatest StrategistsThe more specific we can be about our category, the better chance we have to be remembered and related to by our customers. Are you in the right category?
Knowledge Nuggets: Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge NuggetsBefore attempting any significant endeavour, you should always have a strategy. Having developed one you should always ensure that is achievable. There has been a myriad of companies that have implemented strategies that have turned out to be less than successful. The fact is that many companies are unaware that they are implementing bad strategies.
History’s Greatest Strategists: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Marketing Strategy, History's Greatest StrategistsThe more specific we can be about our category, the better chance we have to be remembered and related to by our customers. Are you in the right category?
Knowledge Nuggets: Thinking, Fast and Slow
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge NuggetsThinking Fast and Slow
Have you ever wondered how your mind works? Have you ever desired to improve your judgement and decision making skills? In this week’s Knowledge Nugget, let’s delve into Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
The author Daniel Kahneman is a renowned psychologist and Nobel Prize Winner. And in his seminal work, Thinking Fast and Slow, he analyses the two modes of thought and how they affect our judgement and decision making.
History’s Greatest Strategists: Admiral Horatio Nelson
Marketing Strategy, History's Greatest StrategistsThe more specific we can be about our category, the better chance we have to be remembered and related to by our customers. Are you in the right category?
Knowledge Nuggets: The 4 Disciplines of Execution
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge Nuggets, Sean Covey, Execution, DisciplinesUPDATED as of 28 August 2020
The 4 Disciplines of Execution
Plans and strategies may change. Behaviours, however, not so much. At least, not as quickly. It is important to understand that good execution is not only a condition of knowledge and skill, but it is also a condition of the will.
How do you, as an organisation, move forward as a team when goals are already challenging enough on your own? The key lies in two words— first principles.
In this special interview, the 4 Disciplines of Execution co-author Sean Covey expertly delivers insights and anecdotes on:
- The 4 Disciplines in a nutshell
- How purpose and discipline affect your execution
- Sustaining your Wildly Important Goal even in the midst of chaos
- What successful organisations are doing right and what others are getting wrong
Too often history shows that a good strategy fails to deliver a productive outcome in terms of the bottomline. Strategy and execution are in a word— inseparable. They are the two sides of the same coin. In order to successfully execute on your goals, you need focus.
One thing you already know about acting on a great idea is the fact that chaos will be involved. It is very easy to lose focus when you have to wade through a quagmire of priorities and goals daily. As teams lose focus, they eventually lose power, which is why you need a game plan.
In this week's Knowledge Nuggets, let us take a look at the 4 Disciplines of Execution by authors Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling, who address the issue of what constitutes the disciplines of excellence in execution of strategy.
When it comes to running a business, it is important that you stand above the competition. And in the dog-eat-dog business world it is no longer enough to just offer great products. It is also necessary to take your customer’s comfort into account.
What’s the use of having the best tech and services if your customers can’t get a hold of your product in the most efficient way possible? Or if they do get the product, it becomes a struggle to have it repaired or returned. This is where Experience Disruptors come in.
Knowledge Nuggets: Scrum
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge Nuggets, Scrum, Team EfficiencyDeveloping Team Efficiency
UPDATED: Change continues to unravel itself daily. Whether it’s premeditated like a goal you’ve been meaning to achieve or something that’s caught you by surprise such as a pandemic– the truth that change will always be with us still remains.
The choice between simply managing change and leading change, however, makes all the difference.
In a special interview, Scrum Co-author J.J. Sutherland talks about:
- The importance of embracing change and using it for growth
- How Scrum-oriented organisations are faring in the midst of drastic change
- The value of happiness and connection among teams in relation to productivity
- His new book The Scrum Fieldbook: Faster Performance. Better Results. Starting Now.
- Whether you are setting up a small business or running a multi-million dollar company, team efficiency is what sets you up for success.
In this week’s Knowledge Nugget, let us take a closer look at Scrum by Jeff and JJ Sutherland.
Understanding different aspects of human behaviour is crucial to every strategy. In this week’s Knowledge Nugget, we’ll take a closer look at Switch by Chip Heath & Dan Heath.
Knowledge Nuggets: The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge NuggetsHow are today's technologies and current trends shaping and changing the world we live in, and how is it impacting today's businesses?
In this week’s Knowledge Nuggets, we’re covering The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Klaus Schwab, chairman of the World Economic Forum.
Knowledge Nuggets: Exponential Organizations
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge NuggetsExponential Organisations
UPDATED: In this Special Interview, Step Change CEO Ashton Bishop picks the brain of Futurist and best-selling author of Exponential Organizations and Exponential Transformation – required reading at the world's top organizations – Salim Ismail.
Hear them discuss:
- The characteristics of successful new business models
- How organisations are changing in order to adapt
- The economic shift from selling scarcity to businesses based on abundance
- How can organisations make money in a demonetised, digitalised world
- Innovation at the edge - the way to disrupt industry
Watch the entire interview below:
Neither size nor depth, nor scale can guarantee the continuity of businesses for tomorrow. We therefore ask the question, what can organisations do to be more future-ready? In this week’s Knowledge Nuggets, a special guest will help you better understand the premise in the book Exponential Organizations by Salim Ismail.
Dual Transformation: The 5 Key Concepts Behind Business Transformation In Response to Disruption
Business Strategy, Ashton Bishop, Knowledge Nuggets, Dual Transformation, Mark W. JohnsonUPDATED as of 10 July 2020
In a special interview with Step Change, Dual Transformation co-author Mark W. Johnson shares valuable insight for businesses looking to reposition themselves in this new normal while creating the future ahead of them.
The business model innovation and new growth strategy expert also discusses:
- The A+B+C model business seeking transformation and momentum should adapt
- What successful businesses are doing right and what others are getting wrong in their transformation journey
- The importance of having a vision and a hands-on approach to leadership
Watch the video now.
Disruption is imminent, and organisations must find a way to be more resilient as they step forward into growth and implement their transformation efforts.
Platform Revolution: The 4 Key Points to Consider When Creating a Platform Business
Ashton Bishop, Knowledge Nuggets, Marshall Van Alstyne, Platform RevolutionEcommerce Trends in 2020 and Their Marketing Implications
Marketing Strategy, DigitalLast year saw tremendous growth in Australian ecommerce and is expected to maintain an upward trend in the next few years. Are retailers still on track with their online marketing strategy for 2020?
Once upon a time, everyone turned to CMOs to become champions for the brand for advertising, brand management, and market research. But today’s emerging technologies have pushed CMOs to wear new hats and take on a more blended role across IT, sales, and finance.
Big Step Changes Ahead as Our Creative and Digital Divisions Merge with Our Friends at The Zoo Republic
Step ChangeAfter almost a decade of association and working together at a project level across strategy, creative, and digital, we are solidifying our relationship with The Zoo Republic via a merger. Read on to find out more.
What Goes On in Business Strategy and Value Proposition Intensives?
Business StrategyStep Change works with some of Australia’s largest and fastest-growing businesses to effectively communicate business strategy and market insights from the bottom up.
The year 2020 is an exciting year for the ever-changing landscape of marketing. As we enter into a new decade, we share four important trends marketers need to keep their eyes on.
Top 10 Articles C-Suites Read in the Step Change Blog [2019 Edition]
Business Strategy, Step Change, Branding, Marketing Strategy, Culture & Leadership, Fintech, Marketing AutomationThe new year is here! And as we venture forward with fresh business insights and useful strategy, here are the top 10 articles most popular with C-suites in 2019 that you may have missed.
Addressing the Synergy Problem in Procurement Teams and Marketing Agencies
Business Strategy, Marketing StrategyMany companies today are opting for procurement to manage their marketing spend. But marketers and agencies have always been at odds when it comes to procurement. Understanding the role that procurement plays and how it impacts marketing is crucial to not only save on costs but to pave the way for better alignment in achieving the brand’s vision.
Customer-centricity used to be something that the marketing department was responsible for. But in the Age of the Customer, it needs to be at the heart of the business, which then ripples right through every department — from operations to marketing, sales, management, legal, and compliance.
How to Accelerate Your Marketing for Business Growth in 2020
Marketing Strategy, DigitalToday’s marketing strategies are constantly evolving. As we close out the last few weeks of the year, it’s important to reflect on what current marketing strategies continue to deliver the best results so you can plan for 2020 ahead with the right precision.
Acquiring 300 leads every month won’t make a big difference if none of them ends up buying from you. Going after every lead can be very costly.
Robert Steers, our Director and Head of Digital, made a special guest appearance in the #Katietalks podcast to share his insights on social media trends and the changes he’s seeing in today’s business environment.
With over 18 million active social media users in the country, having a social media platform is vital for the success of your brand. But it’s not enough to post content regularly. It’s all about the long game, so it’s equally vital to know if your efforts have a positive impact on your brand.
The year is coming to a close and we want to end it with a bang through a series of free events and key offerings lined up for you that are sure to help augment your strategy and add value to your business now and into the future.
Brands are overwhelming people with so much content when what they actually need are authentic connections. But running on creativity without data just misses the mark. To build authentic and lasting connections with your customers, you need to use data-driven creativity.