• Launching a business in a recession – 3 of 4 – Pre-Launch

    This is a post in a series of four detailing how you can start a business during a recession (find them all eventually under the startup innovation tag). I think it is a commonly held view that we are about to enter into or are already in a recession. For whatever reason you are thinking…


  • Why globalisation is still important despite headwinds and here is how to leverage it

    I’ve just returned from a week in Japan with colleagues from all over the world – the featured image has yours truly pictured in one of sessions we held 😎 I look after Microsoft Japan’s global accounts in EMEA (disclosure) from a customer success point of view – these are global companies with regional operations…


  • Launching a business in a recession – 2 of 4 – Branding

    This is a post in a series of four detailing how you can start a business during a recession (find them all eventually under the startup innovation tag). I think it is a commonly held view that we are about to enter into or are already in a recession. For whatever reason you are thinking…


  • Launching a business in a recession – 1 of 4 – Business Planning

    This is a post in a series of four detailing how you can start a business during a recession (find them all eventually under the startup innovation tag). I think it is a commonly held view that we are about to enter into or are already in a recession. For whatever reason you are thinking…


  • A jobs to be done primer to transform your innovation thinking

    Tony Ulwick, Founder of Strategyn and leading proponent of Jobs to be Done (JTBD) theory and innovation thinker extraordinaire, ran a webinar the other day. I could not attend due to the time it was being held but I did watch the recording that was sent out to registrants. Fascinating stuff and here are my…


  • Infinite experience at the intersection of employee and customer

    As I have written a trend report on the subject (Employee Customer Experience Connection), I’m always on the lookout for new indicators that the trend is catching on through the writing or research of others. I’ve found two such pieces just today which are definitely good indicators, especially of the “connection” part. The first is…


  • At the intersection of inner and outer worlds – the individual and company

    The inner and outer worlds are indivisible and if you are to make a sucess of yourself as an individual, you need to think of both. When it comes to work, companies also have to think about these worlds, in relation to employees and customers. We have to think about how we, as individuals, bring…


  • How Artificial Intelligence is Changing Marketing Forever

    Today, marketers need to be agile, intuitive and strategic to thrive. In future, they’ll need intelligence, of the artificial kind. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how we market forever. AI is the ability for computers to process data and make decisions based on that information. It can solve complex problems, identify patterns in data and…


  • How Microsoft Viva can drive Performance – Correlating and Tracking Business Outcomes

    I’m doing a lot of Microsoft Viva work with customers (disclosure) as well as working on a trend report on a related subject, so I am constantly thinking about where this work leads to. The obvious question is what kind of business outcome you are trying to achieve and how do you measure it. This…


  • The SenseMaking Funnel

    I’m pretty keen on SenseMaking as a key 21st century skill and I also use it as a main category I write under. In most posts where I use the category, I am writing or doodling (an integral part of the process) to make sense of things for myself and sharing it in case it…


  • Managing innovation is a misnomer – better to prepare for serendipity

    I’ve been involved in many innovation activities in the past, from participating in and supporting hackathons, corporate ventures to being involved with startups. I’ve observed that often times, best results come not from better management, but from being ready to pounce when serendipity presents its sweet opportunities. Okay maybe startups are slightly different in that…


  • Starting out as a customer success manager – first 10 things to do

    I was asked by a new colleague who is just two months into his role, what advice I could provide. Here it is in a short, sharp list of 10 things to focus on. I’ve tried to make it generic since there are some things specific to the company I work for that I could…


  • The employee customer experience connection – 6 reasons to focus

    With a world that is so binary I’m not surprised there isn’t more attention on this topic. People are either in the one camp, or the other, mostly. There are some, and I consider myself one, that straddle both sides. Here is why I think this is going to become increasingly important and a key…


  • Management under pressure – time for a rethink

    You don’t need to go too far these days to find evidence that management is under pressure. Mostly it’s getting a bad rap from some ill equipped or egotistical CEO. Look no further than Better.com CEO Vishal Garg who has now taken indefinite leave of absence for the way he treated 900 employees whom he…