Category: Strategy

Strategy

Apple Does it Again!!

  I just finished watching the replay of iPhone 7 launch event. What is most interesting for me is that the way the Apple team has been able to keep their user at the centre and used technology to deliver some amazing features, some solving issues or problems that the users had forgotten all about, as we were so used to it that we were practically blind. I am a big fan of Apple products – I use a iPhone 6, iPad Pro 12.9 and a MacBook Pro. I share this so that you know that are aware that you […]

Business Model, Ideas, Innovation, Strategy

The Future of Banking –  Promises and Threats

The past decade has already seen a lot of industry structures being redefined with leaders going bust and new age companies taking their place. One of the industries that seems to be on the cusp of going through a similar upheaval seems to be the banking industry.  If you look at what a bank does at its core, it is only two things:  Collect money from parties (individuals, businesses and governments) and keep them safe and pay them whenever they need the same back. Banks in most economies pays a simple interest (and in some countries, charge a fee to […]

Strategy

Three Rules for Success in Business

I came across the TEDx video from Michael Raynor where he shares his three rules for success in business: Better before cheaper Revenue over cost There are no other rules I agree with his assessment of business and his rules. I would just add one more rule to this list that i strongly believe in: Customer before everyone else This completes the set of rules that can help businesses to succeed. The rules are simple but not necessarily easy to follow. Following these rules require companies to communicate these rules to all their employees and use these as the basis for […]

Entrepreneurship, Strategy

Why Startups Fail?

There are only three things that can kill a startup: Running out of cash: This is the biggest reason why most startups and even some of the large organisations fail. They run out of cash. Startup founders would give themselves a much better chance of success if they are able to figure out a consistent cash flow. Profitability can come later in the life of a startup, cash flow must come first. This is akin to oxygen for humans. No oxygen, no life. No cash, no startup. Cash can come from investors, customers or founders. The most sustainable of the […]

Ideas, Strategy

Strategies for Success

It is that time of the year, when most of us schedule mid-year appraisals for ourselves and assess progress against the goals that we set up at the start of the year. While this is a good practice (if you do this, not just as an activity to just tick off of your to do list, but in all its sincerity, you are already better than most people), this still isn’t setting yourself up for success. I am as guilty of this as anyone else. Is this your story? I did my half yearly appraisal earlier this week and realised the following: […]