Turns out the #1 excuse sales people use for losing the sale isn't even in the client's Top 10 decision factors.

The most awful conversation I've ever had with a business partner.

Customers will ask you for a discount as a matter of course. You'd better have a plausible answer ready.

Want to know how to remember things more easily? To step above the daily grind of to-do lists and find out what's really important to you?

How not to execute a rebrand. Musk has a genius track record, but now he's a man with nobody telling him what he needs to hear.

Human Group's owner just got 15 years' jail for her $19M scam. Some event industry friends talk about their firsthand experiences.

Some tips on how to not get fired if new owners come in.

It’s amazing how many salaried people will straight-up ask suppliers to work for their company for free. Would they do their job for free?

An introvert's tips on why this skill is essential to futureproof your career, and how to make it less terrifying.

Your customers and staff are not the same as you. If you think you and your friends are the universal customer, you'll be confused forever.

After I bought an electric car, I had a crack at selling to the general public. Frankly salespeople earn whatever they're paid and more.

The real cost of AI: please stop creating unnecessary work for others around you

Milkrun is gone, but its founder acted in an honourable way we can all learn from.

If I’d let that fucking airline win, it would have put me in a mood for days and interfered with the rest of my work and general sense of self-worth.

It starts small and boring, then later on, it suddenly starts to pay off on a large scale. Don't be like Alan Joyce.

If your business involves any contact between customers and your people, permanently-employed people will outperform them almost every time.

A question to ask when you communicate with clients is: does this thing I'm saying imply they’re complete idiots?

Gender diversity is an ongoing effort in every industry. But for traditionally bloke-heavy sectors like ours, it's an epic struggle. Here are some strategies we've tried.

Are you willing to invest in gatherings with the sole objective of making people feel good? You should.

If your business runs entirely on documented process, like the MBA people would like, you're not ready for when the Nazis turn up. Here's a better, simpler, quicker way to make decisions in your business.

It's an essential skill a lot of would-be entrepreneurs don't know about. Don't get run over by the no-cash bus.

Last week I crossed a grim line in the sand, and there is no going back.

When I hear someone say "I've worked hard all my life" I reach for my TASER

We all have these legacy relics. You can't see them any more, but customers can.

Whoah it's the blog's 5th birthday! But do any of these ideas work? And have I learned anything in that time?

Their products are powerful compliment magnets, but you must be prepared for some tough love

So you don't think you're a sales person. That's fine, neither do most of us but you can still bring the money through the door.

If you have constant staff churn, you'll pay through the nose in recruitment, training and new-staff mistakes.

Two Code Red alerts that make us run away from angel investments as soon as we see them

You think you're unique and cool, but through the eyes of customers, you're probably indistinguishable from your competitors. The sameness is about to go to galactic levels with new AI tools like ChatGPT.

It’s been fifteen years. How do we finally realise the value of this beast we’ve created? And what are we going to do with all the money?

If your people have had a few too many and they're all standing on a table with linked arms singing Horses, that is a great sign for the future of your business.

Look behind Elon Musk's behaviour at Twitter and you'll find the real villains: the leaders who sold out their staff and took all the cash.

AI is coming to change your working life. Some of your precious skills are doomed and you can't stop it happening. Here's what you can do.

How four people have created great businesses using hyper-specialisation. It's a great way to make customers love you.

How would redesign your business if you got taken out for 2 months? It's the key to getting your business past the cottage industry stage.

Please don’t start new businesses in areas you know nothing about.

Do you or your staff suffer from Consequence Blindness? And why over-reliance on automated customer surveys could put your business in deep trouble.

Being a good customer has always been something enlightened businesses aim for. Now it's more important than ever.

Does your organisation crush interesting ideas because they don't come with logic and data? It might be costing you future breakthrough success.

Power balances between buyers and sellers have shifted. Rules that have operated forever have been turned upside down, at least for a while.

Most business inspo is about where you’re going and what you're going to get. The riches. The power. But in many ways the early years are the most fun.

So you think you're a badass business rebel. You want to stand out from the boring crowd. But is your rebellion just a different type of conformity? And will it cost you money?

Running a business means suppressing your strongest instincts. Like when staff decide to leave. Easy tiger, this is a long game.

No adult with a proven track record should have to do psychometric testing. One of many reasons to set up your own business.

One of the burdens of business is overcoming the lifelong legacy of lies, from others who got to your customer before you. Some thoughts on how to overcome that.

Does more website information mean more sales? Or is it a distraction, burying your core advantages beneath a mountain range of generic info-spam?

Week one of Undisruptable in Advice Column Mode. How do you plan future office space with remote work and the need to keep everyone happy in a skills shortage. Plus: swaggering fools who can't recognise that advice is for them.

It’s a business model that seems to have cherry-picked all the worst, hardest, most expensive elements of running a business.

I’m going to switch the blog to Advice Column Mode soon, send me your curliest questions.

People are always reluctant to take action. It's so hard to persuade them. Here's a lesson on how to do it, from when I almost ended up losing half an ear to a melanoma.

It's one, simple, obvious thing that loses you the client. This week: what that is, and how to avoid doing it yourself.

Don't be a product that people only buy once. How to make marketing a force for honesty and profitability in your business instead.

I have a non-exit strategy and it works for me. Learn why, plus we look at a business that's still leading its field after 650 years.

Our industry has gone from starvation to indigestion in record time. Here are some tips to help your business deal with the shortage of good staff.

Most businesses could radically lift their profit margins, but choose not to. Because they think short term, and believe two big myths about marketing.

Hey it works for Elon Musk. 6 essential theatre rules that apply right across the world of business. Each will help you stand out and get remembered.

You need a lot less management than managers would have you believe. Our entire approach is: better people on the front line, as little management as possible.

The big breakthrough moment for your business is finding someone you trust to handle 80% of stuff the way you would.

Use your own product. I guarantee you will find at least one thing that will make you hang your head in shame.

Inflation is on the march. Here's why you need to act now on your pricing to stop your margins going backwards.

Finding great up-and-comers is vital and one of the great pleasures of business. Here's the one characteristic to help you spot future stars.

Early on in your business, you will do humiliating new business pitches. Here are two of our worst, and why it was good for us long-term.

How to avoid customer complaints as skills shortages hit, and why we all have a duty to be nice to trainees.

Business book smackdown time. This week, The 10X Rule vs Parkinson's Law. One has made me a lot of money, and the results might surprise you.

Payment terms are in the top 5 disciplines for SMEs, yet most people are terrible at it. 

Good daily habits are essential. They can also be a way to distract yourself from taking the big steps you need to be happy.

My first post-lockdown 2.0 business trip was super-productive and an absolute joy. It was a reminder how powerful and energising face-to-face contact is.

Other people's jobs are harder than you think. When you use these phrases, it reveals you underestimate other people, and that leads to bad decisions.

A supplier cut off our entire cash supply for trading illegally except we weren't. How their mistake could have killed our business, and how to manage weird risks that can take you down.

Every industry has its cliches invisible to those inside. Here's a quick 3-step cliche reduction checklist to help your proposals, websites and tenders.

I've just been through home loan hell after buying a place up the coast. I've learned a lot and here it is.

Bert Newton was a beacon of happiness and beloved by people of all ages.mThis week: how and why to be more Bert.

If your business goes all-virtual, there's no culture. Some ideas on making your staff want to get back to the office.

The Great Resignation is here: 40% of workers want out of their current job within six months. Here's how to turn it your advantage.

We've all worked with them. Here's what to do when you end up working with liars and fantasists.

Nine tips that helped me have a nice career as a paid idea-haver, hopefully some of them work for you.

Ideas will keep you from being replaced by software. Robots and code can do what they’re told at vast, efficient scale but they don’t break any new ground.

Time to share our investment secrets that are not really secret and are probably wrong for you.

JobKeeper was great policy, then it became a snouts-in-the-trough free-for-all, as Australia’s Least Needy helped themselves to free money.

How can a few short words become a powerful competitive edge? This week we look at opportunities most companies ignore, to make customers like you.

A story for quiet people who always get left out of things.

Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People is an essential reminder human nature doesn't change, whatever the tech boosters say.

Even though our businesses are shuttered with little prospect of revenue until next year, I'm OK. Some ideas on how to cope with this endless loop of cancelled hopes and plans.

It seems so obvious, yet so many people are oblivious to the Grand Canyon gap between the knowing and doing sides of their business life.

A story of why it pays to be yourself in business. Rather than trying to suppress your instincts and second-guess what people want you to be.

People talk too much in business. In speeches, in sales, in everyday conversation, using silence adds impact and makes you look thoughtful.

Australia's new realistic philosopher king: why we can learn more from Nick Kyrgios than Olympic gold medallists.

Hey I was young and stupid. Here’s a simple yardstick to guide your behaviour when your age starts with a 2 or more

Your business isn't a TV show, and Celebrity Apprentice isn't business. But there's still lots to learn from Lord Sugar's show.

Subservience feels good to a certain type of client, but they’ll always find someone willing to lick them all over more thoroughly than you.

Firing clients isn't something you should do often, but you need it in your emergency toolkit to show that you have your staff's backs.

Undisruptable is through a 6 month edit and off to press. Here's some interesting things I learned through the whole publishing process.

Plus some handy tips on how we used a dog to increase our margins for years to come.

Lots of customers aren’t as good at using your product as you expect. You have the specialist skills. Customers like me don’t. We can be stupid, distracted, impatient, half-drunk, or all those things.

Yes you're stressed and nervous but don't hit 2022 and realise you missed some of the biggest opportunities of your business life.

Businesses in tourism, events, hospitality, the arts and entertainment are in deep trouble. Some realistic tips on how to survive.

Hard times bring the advisory scammers out of the woodwork. They are skilled at seeming like the answer to your problems. Be very careful.

Twelve horror months on, we’re certain our businesses will survive. A big reason for that is a mindset business owners don't talk about much: be less Gerry Harvey, and more like Gareth.

Corporate artificial intelligence deciding to burn your money is a major risk issue for your business. Like Facebook did to me last week.

There are two sorts of businesses. One is exciting and fulfilling to work at. The other will crush your soul.

Have you fucked up lately? We all do it. What separates the long-term winners from the clowns is owning it like an adult.

If your only COVID strategy right now is hoping for government rescue, you’re doomed. And frankly you deserve it. Here's how to survive.

In this week’s video, learn the 3 Essential Business Lessons Of The Bin Chicken. An adaptable, persistent inspiration to us all.

It's all happening! The book's on pre-sale. I'm - uh - pivoting to video. Blog rebrand coming up! Welcome to 2021!

I haven’t been able to write about some of the most fucked-up parts of this year. Here's one that's been lurking for the last three months.

So many businesses are still wedded to sales and marketing methods that, if they were any more 80s, would have stepped out of a Delorean in a CHOOSE LIFE t-shirt.

The DIY mindset runs deep in the small and medium business world. In the long-term, not paying experts will cost you.

Most people get nowhere because they risk nothing. They’re afraid of mistakes and what people might think. In 2020 you can get away with it.

Governments seem unaware any other industry exists. So tradies get subsidised despite being unaffected by COVID-19.

Make all the grand strategies you like but your staff's informal communication habits can cancel your plans. Open management is the answer.

Business people laugh at The Donald's shtick but their businesses still just talk all about themselves. And why being boring can be a good strategy.

From deep in the sulphuric ash-pit that is the year 2020, I’ve ticked off one of my biggest life goals.

An amazing tech breakthough, but as tech replaces your identity with avatars, what do you build your reputation on?

From deep in the sulphuric ash-pit that is the year 2020, I’ve ticked off one of my biggest life goals.

A moment’s silence for the passing at age 25 of Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s unloved web browser. A reminder that nothing is permanent in business.

Why do regular businesses deliver on their safety and financial duties to staff, while global tech companies like UberEats just ignore them? With fatal consequences.

No point in sugar-coating this, weaker businesses are going to die as JobKeeper winds down. Let's try to stop your business being one of those.

The stars of tomorrow will become visible by how they behave through this bastard year. If you can recognise them and give them a bit of extra guidance, you're set to thrive in the future.

We analyse a government 'Staycation' ad that's all middle aged guys in suits. Why ignore women when they have so much purchasing control?

You don't need to be a pushy extrovert hustler to achieve greatness and make a lot of people's lives better.

Lessons learned as we attempt to pivot a business shut down by COVID laws

Why a lot of people need to harden the fuck up about their workplace stress right now. And why pivots are a media myth.

3000 laid-off Virgin airline workers get a photo autographed by Richard Branson. It's a tone-deaf dick move in a terrible year. Sometimes the best marketing is: no marketing.

Most people treat LinkedIn like a video game, focused only on the high score. Some counter-intuitive ways to get better results.

People learn by watching. If you keep everyone doing all remote work, in a few years you’ll have an ominous skills and culture black hole.

Gen Z are calling out millennials for saying 'adulting' and they are right. This week, how to be an adult, and why it's a valuable skill in any situation.

Facts and logic have never been so irrelevant for persuasion. 5 tips to change people's minds in an era when they construct their own reality from Facebook comments.

COVID has brought out new entitled habits that are really bad if they infect your business. Learn if you're a Karen, and what to call a male Karen.

It's an essential skill. But all the liar-detection tips you read in self-help books are just wrong.

Most managers speak in rubbery words that let their staff choose their own adventure. How to avoid that, plus why it's time to drop the Corona platitudes.

Learning about your clients' businesses is a valuable education tool as you try to skill up to survive the post-virus wasteland.

My real-life teenage crime exploits, and how Black Lives Matter has taught me that I need to do a whole lot better.

Why do customers say one thing then do another? Because understanding them takes deeper understanding than your spreadsheet model.

Taking advantage of suppliers and staff under these conditions is just looting. Your small, dirty wins will be cancelled out many times over long term by your damaged reputation.

The opportunity times are drawing near. What sort of behaviour and mindset will come up a winner in the post-Covid business world?

Should you change careers if your industry has ceased to exist for a while, or stick it out and hope for the good old days to return?

What business people can learn from the world’s favourite peroxide-mulleted, tattoo-eyelinered, polygamous, murder-conspiring tiger farmer, Joe Exotic.

The human touch: we didn't realise how much we all needed it until it was taken away

The only way you're going to survive the coming months is being absolutely true to yourself. Your clients can handle it. Plus what to do sales-wise when there's nobody buying.

We went from the occasional videoconference to it being our entire business life in about a week. Some tips to cope with that change and stay professional.

Essential tips from a commercial leasing pro and a large commercial client, plus a template letter you can use

Laying people off is a gut-wrenching experience for anyone who likes their staff. If you have to do it, some points to consider.

Week 2 of the Covid business hellscape. All the rules are changing. More tips on cash flow, negotiation and government stimulus deals.

Why should Covid-closed businesses take the full expense of public health, while landlords keep sending the bill like there's no virus?

Keeping your business alive during Covid 19 will test you to your limit. Here are some survival tips I learned in previous downturns.

How my friend got a sales strike rate of 60% using interesting things in a box rather than the usual spam.

Who knew that being lazy, or even wrong, could make you a better manager?

A torrent of bad news at work this week. What can you do about it? And did Roxy Jacenko really spend $75K on office curtains?

Being able to say no to business opportunities that don't suit you is the greatest luxury of all. It's a better success goal than material wealth.

A big philosophical topic reduced down to a short, one-question quiz. It’s never wrong.

Some semi-patriotic Australia Day thoughts.

You're going to have to do some calls. Phone calls. Here's a technique to make them less stressful for you and your clients.

The coal industry is sitting pretty as it suffocates entire, far bigger business sectors. Industries are being smashed by fires, and its time to move into the 21st century.

Are you planning a successful 2020 right now? Here's what that's a really bad idea.

Most organisations have people who are deadwood burdens on the payroll. They don't achieve much at all, but they're soooo good at looking busy.

Write well, and you can get an unlimited number of people to feel that they like you. Getting better at writing makes your thinking better.

The Cybertruck launch was a festival of armchair design advice from people who will never buy it. Ignore the socials and embrace creative dictatorship.

Sure the De Rucci bed guy makes every trip to the airport a nightmare but we can all learn from his ominous presence.

It's essential (and fun) to keep an eye on your competitors. But there's a giant, invisible competitor right in front of you.

Our whole business was set up with the rule: whatever MBAs would do ... do the opposite of that. It works really well.

How an insurance broker saved us from our own stupidity, and how epic stories can be great for your brand.

When business gets hard, it's easy to slip into a 'good old days' mindset. It's bad for you and bad for your business.

Lessons from Apple, Tesla or Nike can be too intimidating for small/medium biz. Here’s a marketing case study that cost about $7500 and really established us when we were a small outsider brand.

How do you know if you’re working for a solid, dependable business, or one that’s teetering on the edge of doom?

So many businesses do elaborate pitches without researching who they're presenting to. Here's what happens.

Customer churn is a complete waste of your sales efforts. You’ll make tons more money winning a smaller number of customers and keeping them.

You may find the humble ibis disgusting. I find them a source of business inspiration. They've adapted to change and thrived. Learn how and why to be more ibis.

It's easy to go into business with people. Getting out is hard and expensive. 6 essential signs of good long-term business partners.

You don't know what management are up to unless you know their secret code words. A handy guide to what your boss really means.

The clingier you get, the more it drives people away. Confidence attracts people, and that becomes a positive cycle as your business grows.

Restaurants and cafes have a casualty rate right up there with John Wick movies. Why is that?

Escape the endless content recycling bin that is LinkedIn and business advice in general. You'll get skills and ideas others will never find.

Humor and jokes at work. Is it the passport to charm and success that everyone tells you it is? How to get it right.

Business needs maniacal optimism, but it helps to have a feel for when that's misplaced, so you don't over-promise and get blowtorched later.

Every terrible job you have is coding in skills that will last the rest of your life. Embrace it. Five essential lessons I learned as a lowly amusement ride operator.

The decor, processes and technology that make your business look like the one that turned up to the party in Crocs.

Recruitment ads paint an idealized picture that sets everyone up for disappointment. How to write self-selecting ads that attract fewer, better people.

Some thoughts on all those fucking books with bleeped-out swearing on the cover, and my Top 10 Business Books for 2019

How do you get attention when everyone just wants to look at hot people holding up random products?

Creepy things bosses do, and why obsessive staff surveillance and measurement is actually counter-productive.

When the procurement raccoons take over, it's all about understanding risk, and building your relationships higher up the food chain.

As almost everything becomes digital, physical objects can become a standout marketing tactic.

Dealing with people who always get swayed by the last person they spoke to.

Everyone thinks of marketing as something for customers, but the effect on your own staff can be just as important.

Every so often you should do something large and insane. It can be more effective than your lame search word campaign, and a ton more fun.

Sometimes bigger isn't better. Shoes of Prey had a great, sustainable business. Then they took the unicorn bait.

Using a tarot reader to make your business decisions seems insane. But it's still better than what a lot of people do: make no decisions at all.

Growth risks swamping people in process. If you hire good people, they do good work. They don’t need a ton of process.

New clients just make your business bigger. Good clients make your business better. And they make your life better long-term.

One of the biggest business lies is One Stop Shop syndrome, where a business claims to cover all your needs, but is mediocre at most of them. Don't do that.