What's next?

Simple questions for post-pandemic reality 

A business I work with is based in another country. We meet regularly for board meetings, audit reviews, advisory sessions and related catch-ups. That takes roughly three days, bookended by two days of travel to get there and back. In short, a working week. 

Last month we did it all in five hours on a Wednesday.

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The case for agnostic management

Do you really know that you could be wrong?

How confusing is the outlook for this year? With so many odd predictions it’s impossible to identify reliable forecasts.  

History tells us most will be wrong. Early last year Amazon announced it would start selling groceries. Some say that’s why Amazon’s share price rose about 40% by Christmas. Yet if you were asked to name a stock that would do even better and you answered old-school grocer Walmart, you’d be right. Amazon had the hype but the facts were that Walmart wasn’t in too bad a shape either.

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Planet of the Apps

Old ideas for managing new technology.

Your business is ticking along nicely. Out of left field a low-cost start-up zooms into your market and starts picking off customers. They’re small, so they can cherry-pick. Their cost base is low and they undercut you. They sell via an app that’s soooo easy to use and they outsource delivery to a logistics firm that gets the product to the customer quicker than you can.

Welcome to the digital challenge.

It is hard to think of an industry where this isn’t happening. For many managers it’s overwhelming. Wherever they look, everyone is talking digital delivery on mobile devices. The sheer breadth and scale of new technology can be threatening. It’s constantly changing. How do you cope?

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