Category Archives: Strategy

Don’t Get Stuck In The Ruts Of Success

My new article, Don’t Get Stuck In The Ruts Of Success, has just been published by my friend and partner, Alan Weiss, on his blog, Contrarian Consulting. Click here to read the article. © Stuart Cross 2011. All rights reserved.

Posted in Growth, Innovation, Performance Improvement, Strategy | 2 Comments

Lies, Damn Lies, And Strategy

If you let headline statistics blindly drive your actions, you’re likely to become quickly confused. Yesterday, for example, the IFS reported that the number of people in poverty is forecast to increase in the next few years. The news headlines … Continue reading

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How Do You See Your Business? A Lesson From Steve Jobs

I think that, with the death of Steve Jobs, the world has lost the greatest business entrepreneur since Henry Ford. Others will be able to deliver a far better, more personal obituary than I could offer – for example, try … Continue reading

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London-To-Paris Milestones

Tomorrow I am cycling from London to Paris, as part of a group of 10. We aim to complete the 300-mile route in three days, and after extensive calculations I’ve worked out that this means I must cycle 100 miles … Continue reading

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Steve Jobs’ Biggest Management Lesson

Given Steve Jobs’ announcement that he is stepping down as CEO of Apple (although he’s staying on as Chairman), I expect that there will be many stories written about his remarkable turnaround of the company that he returned to in … Continue reading

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Gozo, Google and Growth

As part of our holiday to Gozo, the island that neighbours Malta in the sparkling, azure Mediterranean Sea, we visited a local farm. Martin, the farmer, proudly showed us the series of terraces, water tanks, pumps, pipes and channels that … Continue reading

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Beyond The Handshake: 5 Practical Steps To Effective Partnerships and Alliances

Partnerships and alliances are an increasingly popular corporate route to growth. They can enable you to reach new markets at greater speed and lower risk and investment.  Taken from my upcoming book, The CEO’s Strategy Handbook, here’s an edited list … Continue reading

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How To Deliver Strategic Initiatives Successfully

Focus on a few, big priorities. Dave Packard, co-founder of computer giant Hewlett Packard once said, “More organisations die of indigestion than starvation.” In other words, business leaders try to do too much at once, lose focus and become irrelevant. … Continue reading

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What ‘Fast Followers’ Can Learn From Mark Cavendish

I was watching the Tour de France yesterday, where the British sprinter Mark Cavendish yet again won the stage. Cavendish doesn’t ride alone, however: far from it. In fact Cavendish relies on his HTC teammates to create a slipstream for … Continue reading

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The Next Best Thing

If customers couldn’t use your company’s products or services, what’s the next best thing they could do? Now, ask yourself two further questions: How much better are you than the next best thing? How different are you to the next … Continue reading

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