Simple changes, big effects

Posted on July 29, 2011 by duncanbucknell

Visited a rural town recently and noticed an extremely busy bakery had put a walkway right through their shop out the back to the car park. The car park had once been just that, a dead old car park.

Recently though with some demolitions and fancy new shops going in, it has become the promenade for a buzzing shopping and entertainment area – behind the bakery.

Providing a walkway through from the main street was a brilliant idea, clearly added another service of value to customers and let them smell the delicious bread as they went through.

They had to squash up a bit in the baking area at the back, but it looks fine – and how do I know – because they put their team and equipment on show with big windows for the passing public to pause and watch – which they did. Another great move…

[image credit: rc!]

5 unlikely lessons from Alexander the Great

Posted on June 25, 2011 by duncanbucknell

1 – Don’t be a fool – even after conquering the known world, you’re still susceptible to sycophants, arrogance and your own hypocrisy.

2 – His greatest achievement and greatest legacy was when he decided to build something positive rather than tear things down – Alexandria.

3 – Unbridled energy, enthusiasm and clear, big goals together with strategic thought goes a very long way.

4 – Like Henry Ford, retain people who are better than you. Parmenion probably had a bigger hand in it all than history records today…

5 – It all catches up with you in the end.

[Image credit: Dime01]

How about a dive with sharks, the most dangerous in the world, without a cage and at night…

Posted on June 22, 2011 by duncanbucknell

Here’s a trailer for a film that Robert Cantrell is working on at the moment. Awesome stuff.

Notice how they planned it all out, really understand the situation and the animals and then went for it.

Robert is of course one of the IP Strategists at Think IP Strategy.

Get the fundamentals right first

Posted on June 20, 2011 by duncanbucknell

Sometimes even small slip ups can be exaggerated when you’re trying too hard to do the wrong things.

Here’s a high class hotel in India – so high class that they have a pillow menu…

So I get through security and they won’t give me my bag back. They want to take it up to the room for me.

They take it over to the desk for me and hold it there.

After checking in I insist on taking it up myself. I can’t be bothered being disturbed in 10 minutes when they bring it up. I’m tired, I just want to go to sleep. And I can carry the darn thing anyway.

They relent, they give it to me.

I get up there and look at the tag that they’d put on it – someone else’s name.

Wow – glad I insisted or goodness knows where it would end up…

Maybe better focus on these basic processes first, guys, rather than extravagant pillow menus.