Dive deep into business, brand and strategy.
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We love to talk strategy
Big words. Grand visions. Five-year plans. But what happens when the rubber meets the road? Suddenly, it’s all about this quarter’s numbers. Next month’s targets. Tomorrow’s stock price. We’re strategic thinkers with short-term actions. Visionaries with myopic tendencies. It’s like planting a seed and digging it up every day to…
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Why your ‘customer-first’ BS is fooling nobody
Ever sat in a meeting where “customer-centric” was thrown around more times than a Frisbee at a beach party? Yeah, me too. It’s easy to say you’re all about the customer. But actually doing it? That’s where things get tricky. Let’s cut through the jargon and get real about customer…
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We’re obsessed with numbers.
Metrics. KPIs. Growth hacking. But what are we really measuring? Often, it’s just noise. Short-term gains that fade like mist in the morning sun. What if we zoomed out? Saw the forest, not just the trees. Brand isn’t fluffy. It’s not a checkbox on a to-do list. It’s the bedrock…
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We often think brands are built by logos and slogans.
But that’s surface-level thinking. The real brand? It’s built by actions. Coca-Cola knew this when they created Coke Studio. A soft drink company launching a music platform? Fizzy, right? Wrong. It was genius. Because Coca-Cola understood a fundamental truth: Your business is your brand. What does that mean? It means…
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Doom scrolling for hours and still found nothing to watch?
That was the problem Reed Hastings faced in 1997. His solution? Netflix. But Netflix didn’t become the streaming giant we know overnight. It started with a bold business decision that eventually redefined its brand. Remember when Netflix was all about DVD rentals by mail? No late fees, no trips to…
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What do reusable rockets have to do with business and brand?
Let’s launch into it. It’s because we’ve been throwing away rockets after every launch. Imagine buying a new car every time you want to drive somewhere. Crazy, right? Enter SpaceX and its reusable rockets. In 2015, SpaceX did something revolutionary. They landed a rocket after launching it into space. Why?…
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Toyota’s ‘Just-In-Time’ Manufacturing
In the 1970s, Toyota fully implemented its Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing system, tailored to eliminate waste by producing only what is needed, when it is needed, and in the exact amounts required. JIT is a ‘pull’ system that delivers components to assembly lines only when needed and in the exact quantities…
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“We’re not trying to win on price. We’re trying to win on value.” — Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO
This quote encapsulates a core business strategy significantly shaping Nvidia’s brand and market position. Let’s talk about Nvidia’s Value-Driven Strategy Instead of engaging in price wars, Nvidia focuses on delivering superior value through cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions. This wasn’t just a marketing slogan or words on a PowerPoint slide.…
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“Patents are for the weak.” — Elon Musk
In 2014, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk made a shocking announcement that sent ripples through the automotive industry: Tesla would open-source its patents, making them freely available for anyone to use “in good faith.” This unconventional move perfectly illustrates how a business decision can profoundly impact a brand. At its core,…
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Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacket” Campaign
In 2011, Patagonia’s CEO, Yvon Chouinard, made a bold business decision that perfectly illustrates how business strategy (inside-out) can profoundly impact a brand (outside-in). On Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, Patagonia ran a full-page ad in The New York Times with a provocative headline: “Don’t…
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Your ‘business’ is your ‘brand’
I see a troubling disconnect between holistic brand-building and the relentless pursuit of measurable growth everywhere I look. Where are all my ‘B2B SaaS’ folks at? Just kidding. This fixation on numbers has led many to view brand-building as a “fluffy” endeavour, relegating it to a mere checkbox on a…
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The case for ‘brand’ to a metric-obsessed executive
“In their relentless pursuit of measurable ROI, today’s data-driven marketers are inadvertently killing the very essence of what makes premium brands valuable. By fixating on short-term metrics like click-through rates, conversion percentages, and cost per acquisition, they’re sacrificing the intangible magic that elevates a brand from commodity to luxury. Brands…
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