Thoughts

collected since 2008

Notes on acts,
not ads.

What I think and what I notice: reflections, principles, the habits behind my work, and organisations that act instead of advertise. Use what helps, and tell me how it went.

Start here

Three I come back to most.

each one tried for real

Rituals Remote Quarterly Review. A few days away, somewhere quiet, to work on your own goals instead of everyone else's. Read →

Principles If you can't fix it with ice cream. A made-up principle about what actually repairs trust. Read →

Reflections Acts, not ads. People and companies are defined by what they do, not by what they say. Read →

“It isn't about what the gesture costs.
It's about what it says.”

From If you can't fix it with ice cream.

By topic

Five things I keep thinking about.

44 pieces, open to everyone. The models and structures I use with teams are in the toolbox.

Making a strategy land.

How to get a strategy out of the deck and into the organisation.

All 2 on this → + 5 tools in the toolbox →

Meetings that work.

Formats that make the time together count: before, during and after.

All 2 on this → + 9 tools in the toolbox →

Acts, not ads.

Organisations that show who they are by what they do, not by what they say.

All 18 on this →

Working on yourself.

Rituals and reflections for the one person you can always change.

All 7 on this →

Hospitality.

Small gestures from hotels, shops and people that make guests feel seen.

All 20 on this →

From the archive: Hyves for marketers (2006).

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