Six tools to boost your business brand

I have been running Sleeping Lion for over 10 years and have picked up a large amount of experience and materials
along the way.
I thought I should take some of this knowledge, combine it with the wisdom of some of the best business books around,
and find a way to share it.
So in addition to my normal marketing consultancy, I now offer the Sleeping Lion Business Improvement Toolkit.
It covers a range of practical techniques in six areas: branding, customer loyalty, marketing, people development,
business ethics, and future planning.
Feel free to use any of the material as you wish. If you need any help, do let me know.
Sarah Duncan

SIX AREAS TO THINK ABOUT
BRANDING
• How robust is your branding?
• What does your business stand for?
• What makes your business special?
PEOPLE
• How engaged are your people?
• How well do they embody your brand?
• How well do you nurture your talent?
CUSTOMERS
• How well do you know your customers?
• What do your customers ‘love’ about you?
• How do you reward your customers for their loyalty?
ETHICS
• How strong are your business ethics?
• How can you introduce better business practices?
• What more can you do for the planet?
MARKETING
• How powerful is your overall marketing strategy?
• How imaginative are your current marketing initiatives?
• What are your most successful routes to market?
FUTURE
• How well prepared are you for the future?
• How inventive are you with your brand?
• How do you deal with the tricky stuff and move on?

BRANDING
1. DEVELOPING MARKET MAPS
2. DEVELOPING A STRONG BRAND
3. FORWARD THINKING BRANDING
4. ESTABLISHING BRAND PRINCIPLES
5. COMMON SENSE BRANDING
6. THE BRAND BOMB
7. CREATING A BUSINESS MODEL AROUND YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION
8. THE BRAND PERIODIC TABLE - AN ADVANCED TECHNIQUE FOR BRAND DEVELOPMENT
9. GENERATING CONSISTENT BRAND MESSAGING
10. UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF BRAND COMMUNICATION
RECOMMENDED READING
• Purple Cow – Seth Godin
• Brand Manners – Hamish Pringle & William Gordon
• Eating the Big Fish – Adam Morgan
• The Long Tail – Chris Anderson
• Meatball Sundae – Seth Godin
• The Brand Innovation Manifesto - John Grant
• Zag – Marty Neumeier
• In Search of the Obvious – Jack Trout
• Value Proposition Design – Osterwalder & Pigneur

CUSTOMERS
1. CREATING CUSTOMER PROFILES
2. CREATING PRODUCTS THAT MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS
3. UNDERSTANDING THE NET PROMOTER SCORE
4. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS
5. DEFINING WHAT CUSTOMER LOYALTY MEANS TO YOUR BRAND
6. GETTING, KEEPING & GROWING YOUR CUSTOMER BASE
7. VALUING YOUR INVISIBLE CUSTOMERS
8. GAINING CUSTOMER INSIGHTS
9. REWARDING THE BROADCASTERS AND FLUSHING OUT THE FALSE FOLLOWERS
10. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
RECOMMENDED READING
• The Ultimate Question – Fred Reichheld
• Commitment-Led Marketing – Jan Hofmeyr & Butch Rice
• Herd – Mark Earls
• Decoded - Phil Barden
• Organisations Don’t Tweet People Do – Euan Semple
• Value Proposition Design – Osterwalder & Pigneur
• The Workshop Book – Pamela Hamilton

MARKETING
1. CREATING INTERESTING MARKETING INITIATIVES
2. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN INITIATIVES (STRATEGY) & TACTICS
3. CREATING A MARKETING INITIATIVE WITH A RANGE OF TACTICAL APPLICATIONS
4. MARKETING THROUGH THE RIGHT CHANNELS
5. SOCIAL MEDIA PLANNING
6. BRINGING REALISM TO MARKETING INITIATIVES
7. UNDERSTANDING YOUR MARKETING BRAVERY SCALE
8. PAID, OWNED, EARNED & SHARED MARKETING ASSETS
9. CONSIDERING NEW REVENUE STREAMS
10. WEB DEVELOPMENT BRIEFING DOCUMENT
RECOMMENDED READING
• Essentialism – Greg McKeown
• Marketing Judo – John Barnes & Richard Richardson
• Organisations Don’t Tweet People Do – Euan Semple
• The End of Marketing As We Know It – Sergio Zyman
• The Long Tail – Chris Anderson
• Copy, Copy, Copy – Mark Earls
• The Diagrams Book – Kevin Duncan

PEOPLE
1. CREATING A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE
2. CREATING THE BEST WORKPLACE ON EARTH
3. CREATING A ‘MAGICAL’ TEAM ENVIRONMENT
4. MOTIVATING MAVERICKS
5. EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE
6. SERVICE RECOVERY
7. THE F TRIANGLE
8. PERSONAL MOTIVATION
9. IMPROVING DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAMS
10. THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER
RECOMMENDED READING
• Why Should Anyone Work Here? – Goffee & Jones
• The Pirate Inside – Adam Morgan
• Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit – Inghilleri & Solomon
• Drive – Daniel Pink
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
• The Ideal Team Player – Patrick Lencioni
• Clever – Goffee & Jones

ETHICS
1. WORKING OUT WHY YOUR BUSINESS EXISTS
2. THE 12 PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE
3. SIMPLE CSR TEMPLATE
4. WHAT DOES ‘GREEN’ MEAN?
5. CREATING ETHICAL MARKETING PRINCIPLES
6. THE GREEN MARKETING CHECKLIST
7. 14 KEY AREAS OF SUSTAINABILITY
8. BRINGING TRUTH TO YOUR BRAND
9. DEFINING YOUR ESSENTIAL INTENT
10. ETHICAL PRACTICE INFOGRAPHIC
RECOMMENDED READING
• Start With Why – Simon Sinek
• Why Should Anyone Work Here? – Goffee & Jones
• The New Rules of Green Marketing - Ottman
• Tell the Truth – Unerman & Salem Baskin
• Good Business - Steve Hilton & Giles Gibbons
• Screw Business As Usual – Richard Branson
• Essentialism – Greg McKeown

THE FUTURE
1. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
2. THE RIGHT STIMULUS
3. THE IDEAS MEASURE TOOL
4. THREE GOOD / THREE BAD
5. CATEGORY STEALING
6. THE FOUR CORNER WALKABOUT
7. EYES OF AN EXPERT
8. THE IDEA STRETCHER
9. FUTURE TRENDS ROAD MAP
10. PREMORTEMS
RECOMMENDED READING
• The Ideas Book, The Smart Thinking Book – Kevin Duncan
• Essentialism - Greg McKeown
• Culturematic – Grant McCracken
• Future Minds – Richard Watson
• Futurescaping – Tamar Kasriel
• The Workshop Book – Pamela Hamilton
• Thinking Fast & Slow – Daniel Kahneman

TEN TOOLS TO HELP WITH BRANDING
1. DEVELOPING MARKET MAPS
• How to establish your current & future brand positioning (from The Diagrams Book)
2. DEVELOPING A STRONG BRAND
• How to build a great brand (from Zag)
3. FORWARD THINKING BRANDING
• How to get the basic elements right (from Zag)
4. ESTABLISHING BRAND PRINCIPLES
• How to work out what you are and what you are not
5. COMMON SENSE BRANDING
• How to bring common sense into your branding (from In Search of the Obvious)
6. BRAND BOMB
• How three simple questions can anchor your brand
7. CREATING A BUSINESS MODEL AROUND YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION
• How to create products and services that people really want (from Value Proposition Design)
8. THE BRAND PERIODIC TABLE - AN ADVANCED TECHNIQUE FOR BRAND DEVELOPMENT
• How to categorise your brand (from The Brand Innovation Manifesto)
9. GENERATING CONSISTENT BRAND MESSAGING
• How to easily see what your current brand communications are saying to your customers
10. UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF BRAND COMMUNICATION
• How communications really work (from Zag)

ONE: DEVELOPING MARKET MAPS
How to establish your current and future brand positioning (from The Diagrams Book)
The Market Mapping tool is a highly
effective and very flexible way to
establish clarity and strategic authority
when looking at any market.
Start by selecting two important factors
in your market. For example, for
restaurants this might be Price and Menu
Complexity.
Plot two overlapping axes and place
your company plus your competitors on
the grid.
Use the results to identify gaps in the
market, or significant overlaps.
Being out on your own could be good,
as it makes you distinctive in the market
place. However, it could be what is
known as ‘fool’s gold, white space’,
meaning there’s no one else there
because it’s not a good place to be!
This is particularly effective if you are
looking to shift your brand positioning, as
per the diagram.

TWO: DEVELOPING A STRONG BRAND
How to build a great brand (from Zag)
This is a comprehensive brand building tool that takes you on the whole journey and helps you find your ‘uniqueness’ (or ‘onliness’ as it’s referred
to in the book).

THREE: FORWARD THINKING BRANDING
How to get the basic elements right (from Zag)
This is a quick and simple method to sense check if you’ve got the key elements of your brand right.
When focus is paired with differentiation, supported by a trend, and surrounded by compelling communications, you have the basic ingredients
for a forward-thinking brand.
Do you have true conviction?
How well do you communicate?
What makes you special?
What trend are you riding?

FOUR: ESTABLISHING BRAND PRINCIPLES
How to work out what you are and what you are not
Brand principles help distill the essence of a brand. This works best when you can grade each of your brand principles to show a form of
hierarchy. Finally, it is important to add what your brand anti-principles are - highlighting what your brand should NEVER become. Thanks to Saint
Design for first introducing me to this technique.
Brand X is ……. Brand X is not …….
Customer focused (5)
Friendly (5)
Bold (3)
Straightforward (3)
Funny (1)
Authentic (4)
Happy (3)
Cool (1)
Intriguing (3)
Selfish
Arrogant
Insipid
Complicated
Too serious
Fake
Mean
Old fashioned
Bland

FIVE: COMMON SENSE BRANDING
How to bring common sense into your branding (from In Search of the Obvious)
GET YOUR EGO OUT OF THE SITUATION
Good judgement is based on reality. The more you screen things through your ego, the farther you get from reality.
AVOID WISHFUL THINKING
We all want things to go a certain way. But how things go is often out of our control. Good common sense tends to be in tune with the way
things are going.
BE BETTER AT LISTENING
Common sense by definition is based on what others think. It’s thinking that is common to many. People who don’t have their ears to the ground
lose access to important common sense.
BE A LITTLE CYNICAL
Things are sometimes the opposite of the way they really are. That’s often the case because someone is pursuing his or her own agenda. Good
common sense is based on the experience of many, not the wishful thinking of some.

SIX: THE BRAND BOMB
How three simple questions can anchor your brand
The BOMB acronym stands for Brisk Objective Methodology for Branding. It is extremely effective in defining in plain language what a company
or brand stands for.
These three simple questions will reveal ‘diamonds in the dust’: things that you already do well but do not necessarily articulate or publicise. They
are equally effective when asked of management, staff, and customers.
WHAT WE ARE
Describe what the company or brand is in less than 10 seconds
e.g. We are:
WHAT WE DO
Describe what the company or brand does in less than 30 seconds
e.g. We do/provide:
WHAT WE ARE
Describe what the company or brand is like to do business with in less than 30 seconds
e.g. We describe ourselves as:

SEVEN: CREATING A BUSINESS MODEL AROUND YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION
How to create products and services that people really want (from Business Model Generation)
Try using the Business Model Canvas to illustrate how your business creates, delivers and captures value.

THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
Customer Segments are the groups of people and/or organsations a company or organization aims to reach and create value for with a
dedicated value proposition.
Value Propositions are based on a bundle of products and services that create value for a customer segment.
Channels describe how a value proposition is communicated and delivered to a customer segment through communication, distribution, and
sales channels.
Revenue Streams result from a value proposition successfully offered to a customer segment. It is how an organization captures value with a
price that customers are willing to pay.
Key Resources are the most important assets required to offer and deliver the previously described elements.
Key Activities are the most important activities an organization needs to perform well.
Key Partners shows the network of suppliers and partners that bring in external resources and activities.
Cost Structure describes all costs incurred to operate a business model.

EIGHT: THE BRAND PERIODIC TABLE
AN ADVANCED TECHNIQUE FOR BRAND DEVELOPMENT
How to categorise your brand (from The Brand Innovation Manifesto)
The days of companies being able to define one single Unique Selling Proposition (USP) are gone. Competitors can copy too well and too fast.
A more modern, flexible approach is to regard the brand as a cluster of cultural ideas - a modular structure to which new refinements can be
added, so long as they are genuinely true to the company.
John Grant offers 32 types of idea that can be stolen or cross-pollinated to reinvigorate brands. This interlacing of traditions, beliefs, instincts, and
so on provides a fertile ‘periodic table’ of choices.
It’s certainly an advanced technique, but can be very helpful for businesses that have been around for a while and are suffering from tired or
repetitive thinking.

NINE: GENERATING CONSISTENT BRAND MESSAGING
How to easily see what your current brand communications are saying to your customers
Wordles (www.wordle.net) is a great tool for assessing the consistency (or confusion) that conveys.
Enter in any piece of copy (like your brand manifesto, a press release, company vision statement) and it automatically highlights the most used
words by making them bigger.
This is a great way to ensure the essence of all your communication is truly focusing on the important elements of your brand.

TEN: UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF BRAND COMMUNICATION
How brand communications really work (from Zag)

TEN TOOLS TO HELP UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS
AND BUILD GREATER LOYALTY
1. CREATING CUSTOMER PROFILES
• How to understand your target customers better
2. CREATING PRODUCTS THAT MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS
• How to get the right product/customer fit (from Value Proposition Design)
3. UNDERSTANDING THE NET PROMOTER SCORE
• How to get to grips with NPS (from The Ultimate Question)
4. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS
• How to find out more about your customers (from The Workshop Book)
5. DEFINING WHAT CUSTOMER LOYALTY MEANS TO YOUR BRAND
• How to understand where your customers’ loyalty lies
6. GETTING, KEEPING & GROWING YOUR CUSTOMER BASE
• How to create separate strategies to get, keep and grow your customer base
7. VALUING YOUR INVISIBLE CUSTOMERS
• How to identify real customer loyalty
8. GAINING CUSTOMER INSIGHTS
• How to gain valuable customer insights (from Value Proposition Design)
9. REWARDING THE BROADCASTERS AND FLUSHING OUT THE FALSE FOLLOWERS
• How to stay focused on genuine customers
10. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
• How to keep your customers satisfied (from Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit)

ONE: CREATING CUSTOMER PROFILES
How to understand your target customers better
Once you have identified your different customer profiles (or target audiences), this tool can really help you get into the mindset of each target
group – matching them with the right product, understanding how best to reach them and establishing what messaging will work best.
REVENUE STREAMS
What are main associated revenue streams?
COST IMPLICATIONS
What are the main associated costs?
TRIBECA CUSTOMER SEGMENT : I.E. COMMUTER CHARLIE
ATTRIBUTES MOTIVATION/
ATTITUDES
BRAND
ASSOCIATIONS
ATTITUDINAL
PHRASES
PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIP
MARKETING
CHANNELS
KEY
DIFFERENTIATORS
What am I like? What do I want/need? What do I read, wear,
watch, eat, drink?
What brands do I
associate with?
How do I express my
needs?
What products/
services are we
offering to meet
these needs?
What relationship
do we have with this
customer?
How can we best
reach/communicate
with them?
What makes us so
special?

TWO: CREATING PRODUCTS THAT MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS
How to get the right product/customer fit (from Value Proposition Design)
This draws out two of the main segments from the Business Model Canvas (see Branding) and allows you to drill down and ensure your
products/services (your Value Propositions) are properly designed to meet the needs of each of your customer segment profiles (i.e, product-
customer fits).
Gain Creators
Pain Relievers Pains
Gains
Products
& Services
Customer
Job(s)
Value Proposition Customer Segment
copyright: Strategyzer AG
The makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer
The Value Proposition Canvas
strategyzer.com
What are your customers looking
to improve in their lives?
What are your customers needs,
what do they want?
What pains and annoys your
customers that you can help with?

THREE: UNDERSTANDING THE NET PROMOTER SCORE
How to get to grips with NPS (from The Ultimate Question)
The NPS is one of the most widely cited, and incorrectly used, customer loyalty systems ever invented. It asks customers one simple question, on
a scale of 1-10: Would you recommend us to a friend?
Anyone scoring the company at 0-6 is a clear detractor. 7-8 out of 10 are too passive and so still not promoters. Only those scoring 9 or 10 are
true promoters, so the standards are high.
An equation then subtracts detractors from promoters, where P minus D = NPS. Used properly, the NPS can provide an excellent barometer of
whether your company is generating sufficient customer loyalty. Once identified, these customers can become not only your most operationally
valuable, but also your most
effective fans and promoters.
It is also worth noting that there
are two main areas where
companies apply the NPS
incorrectly:
1. Having slightly more
promoters than detractors
isn’t enough on its own,
although the author
suggests that increasing the
NPS by 12 points versus a
competitor can double a
company’s growth.
2. A company needs to have
the patience to track the
movement of the NPS over
at least a year – a one-off
snapshot could be quite
misleading.

FOUR: GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS
How to find out more about your customers (from The Workshop Book)
In addition to internal customer profiling, direct feedback from customers is invaluable. This can be done in one-on-one interviews or small
customer feedback sessions.
Here are some great questions to ask:
WHO ARE YOU?
Ask them about themselves, their family, their work and their general life
HOW DOES OUR ORGANISATION/BRAND/PRODUCT FEATURE IN YOUR LIFE?
Ask how aware they are, when they use your brand/product, how important it is to them
WHAT ARE THE MOST POSITIVE ASPECTS OF BEING OUR CUSTOMER?
What do we do that’s better than the competition, what are the best aspects of the products they buy from you
WHAT IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE MADE?
How can we improve our service, how could we make our product better
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE US TO IMPROVE THE WAY WE SERVE CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU?
How can we improve our offer in the next five years, is there anything we are not doing that we could start doing

FIVE: DEFINING WHAT CUSTOMER LOYALTY MEANS TO YOUR BRAND
How to understand where your customers’ loyalty lies
Customers can appear deceptively loyal but actually be uncommitted. It’s worth working out what else your customers could be ‘committed
to’ and how fragile your current relationship is with your customers. Use this tool to tick any boxes that might apply and decide how best to
tackle this.
PEOPLE
I like (or know) a particular member of staff and will follow
them if they move on.
THIRD PARTY
I’m actually not loyal to you, I’m loyal to a third party
selling your product (supermarket, app, booking engine)
LOCATION
You happen to be the nearest, but if someone else opens
up closer I would be open to switching allegiance.
LATEST TRENDS
It’s cool right now (but probably won’t last)
CONVENIENCE
You deliver and no-one else (currently) does.
CELEBRITY CONNECTION
If it’s good enough for Kim, …..
PRICE
I simply can’t afford the alternatives (at the moment).
FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
I’m scared to try something new
HABIT
I’ve always bought it, but habits can be broken.
OFFERS/PROMOTIONS
Where’s the free gift?

SIX: GETTING, KEEPING & GROWING YOUR CUSTOMER BASE
How to create separate strategies to get, keep and grow your customer base
A successful business needs robust strategies not just to win new customers but to maintain their loyalty and, ideally, grow their purchasing
or influence.
Strategies to
GET CUSTOMERS
Acquisition strategies
Strategies to
KEEP CUSTOMERS
Retention strategies
Strategies to
GROW CUSTOMERS
Cross-selling & referral strategies

SEVEN: VALUING YOUR INVISIBLE CUSTOMERS
How to identify real customer loyalty
Businesses tend to focus on ‘getting’ and ‘growing’ customers using a range of promotions and incentives to attract new business or encourage
existing customers to buy more or introduce friends. But remember the ‘invisible’ customer who simply continues to loyally buy a certain product
or service – they need rewards too if you want to keep them.
MARKETING REWARDS FOR LOYALTY = GENUINE REWARDS FOR LOYALTY =
• rewarding new customers for purchase
(hoping for future loyalty)
• rewarding customers for introducing others
• rewarding customers for buying more stuff
• rewarding customers for just consistently
buying your product (the invisible customer)

EIGHT: GAINING CUSTOMER INSIGHTS
How to gain valuable customer insights (from Value Proposition Design)
Here are a range of methods to help understand your customers better.

NINE: REWARDING THE BROADCASTERS & FLUSHING OUT THE FALSE FOLLOWERS
How to stay focused on genuine customers
Many companies and brands get carried away with the volume of likes, retweets, or followers that they get on Social Media.
The pure numbers can be very misleading. Proper analysis in this area can distinguish between:
a) false followers who are one-off promotion grabbers who are of little or no long-term benefit, and
b) genuine fans who broadcast your best assets and deserve suitable long-term rewards.

TEN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
How to keep your customers satisfied (from Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit)
This tool is a simple reminder of the four main elements of customer satisfaction.
In short, customers are looking for the perfect product, delivered with care, and on time. If anything goes wrong (that’s fine, it happens!),
customers want the problem fixed effectively.

TEN TOOLS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING
1. CREATING INTERESTING MARKETING INITIATIVES
• How to use the ‘Three Buckets’ technique to classify marketing initiatives (from The Pirate Inside)
2. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN INITIATIVES (STRATEGY) & TACTICS
• How to separate tactics from initiatives
3. CREATING A MARKETING INITIATIVE WITH TACTICAL APPLICATIONS
• How to create a simple plan for your marketing initiative and tactics
4. MARKETING THROUGH THE RIGHT CHANNELS
• How to plan multi-channel marketing campaigns
5. SOCIAL MEDIA PLANNING
• How to plan interesting social content
6. BRINGING REALISM TO MARKETING INITIATIVES
• How to use the ‘IF Triangle’ to be realistic when planning your marketing initiatives
7. UNDERSTANDING YOUR MARKETING BRAVERY SCALE
• How to establish how brave you really want to be with your marketing
8. PAID, OWNED, EARNED & SHARED MARKETING ASSETS
• How to use a smart mix of media
9. CONSIDERING NEW REVENUE STREAMS
• How to establish potential new revenue streams (from The Long Tail)
10. WEB DEVELOPMENT BRIEFING DOCUMENT
• How to get your website right

ONE: CREATING INTERESTING MARKETING INITIATIVES
How to use the ‘Three Buckets’ technique to classify marketing initiatives (from The Pirate Inside)
The Three Buckets exercise was introduced by Adam Morgan in his book The Pirate Inside.
It is an extremely helpful way to categorise projects and work out how effective they are likely to be.
Each project must be placed in one of the three buckets.
On the left is Brilliant Basics. These represent ‘excellence as standard’. You or your company should be doing these well as a matter of course,
just like your competitors.
In the middle is Compelling Difference. These should be ‘significantly better than normal’. These are demonstrably better than your competitors,
but not genuinely remarkable.
On the right is Changing the Game. These are ‘truly extraordinary’. They are utterly distinctive in the market, and genuinely remarkable.
This exercise will reveal whether a sufficient proportion of your projects and initiatives are going to make a genuine difference to your business.

TWO: DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN INITIATIVES (STRATEGY) & TACTICS
How to separate tactics from initiatives (from The Diagrams Book)
One of the trickiest things businesses struggle with is the difference between initiatives (strategy) and tactics, and how to plan their shape.
This Year View tool helps to clarify matters.
The initiative or strategy is the overarching thought. This is the constant theme and direction that never varies, and against which all other
activities can be judged and measured.
The tactics are specific actions - examples or proof of the strategy, and their deployment must have a clear beginning and end.
The year view helps clearly distinguish the two elements, and enables you to map out precisely when the tactical initiatives should occur.

THREE: CREATING A MARKETING INITIATIVE WITH TACTICAL APPLICATIONS
How to create a simple plan for your marketing initiative and tactics
MARKETING INITIATIVE PLAN TEMPLATE

BUSINESS OVERVIEW – WHAT ARE
WE OFFERING?
TARGET MARKET
COMPETITION
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE – WHAT
MAKES US SPECIAL?
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 THINGS THAT
ARE GOING TO HELP?

THREE: CREATING A MARKETING INITIATIVE WITH TACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Continued
MARKETING TACTICS PLAN TEMPLATE
TACTIC HOW MUCH WILL THIS
TACTIC COST?
WHAT IS THE EXPECTED
RETURN ON
INVESTMENT?
TIMING OWNERSHIP

FOUR: MARKETING THROUGH THE RIGHT CHANNELS
How to plan multi-channel marketing campaigns
Marketing is all about getting the word out consistently through the most effective channels. A single initiative will have various tactical
applications depending on the marketing channel. Successful marketing campaigns need meticulous planning.

FIVE: SOCIAL MEDIA PLANNING
How to plan interesting social content
Social media can be an enormous time drain and needs careful planning. Here’s a basic template to get you started.
TIME TYPE
Promo, fun,
teaching,
general info
TOPIC POST LINK
Internal or External link
MONDAY
BLOG
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
OTHER

SIX: BRINGING REALISM TO MARKETING INITIATIVES
How to use the ‘IF Triangle’ to be realistic when planning your marketing initiatives
The If Triangle is a great realism tool when planning marketing initiatives.
In an ideal world we all want projects delivered quickly,
cheaply, but still of the highest quality. This is, however,
rarely realistic.
For example, if your budget is limited, realistically, you
may have to compromise on quality.
If you need something created (or activated) super
quick, you will inevitably need to pay more (or, again,
compromise on quality).
Working out what the priorities of each project are, and
using this formula, will help on many levels – not least in
explaining internally why all projects can’t always be
‘perfect’.
It’s called the If Triangle because, if you begin a
sentence with the ‘If’, you will always add a condition
to the second half.
For example: “If it’s imperative that this is delivered by
Friday, we will need to use a more expensive third party
which will significantly increase the budget needed.”
“If the budget is restricted, we will need to cobble
something together internally rather than bring a
professional agency in.”

SEVEN: UNDERSTANDING YOUR MARKETING BRAVERY SCALE
How to establish how brave you really want to be with your marketing
The Marketing Bravery Scale is a good tool to help establish how adventurous you want to be with your brand and marketing initiatives before a
lot of time and effort is spent brainstorming crazy ideas.
Before diving in, consider:
• How adventurous really is your company culture?
• Do you have (or are you likely to ever get) full agreement/conviction from all stakeholders to become more adventurous?
This can also be a good tool when working with and briefing third party marketing and design agencies. There is no point them going off and
creating wacky new concepts or marketing initiatives when they don’t and probably never will sit with the real company culture.

EIGHT: PAID, OWNED, EARNED & SHARED MARKETING ASSETS
How to use a smart mix of media
A smart mix of media will not only strengthen your marketing but can help when managing tight marketing budgets.

NINE: CONSIDERING NEW REVENUE STREAMS
How to establish potential new revenue streams
The Long Tail was described by Chris Anderson in the book of the same name.
The received wisdom in most markets is that high volume ‘hits’ are the best way to make money, as in a million-selling album.
Anderson’s Long Tail theory points out that the arrival of the internet has removed the need for much of the infrastructure required to generate
and support a hit, such as costly premises, storage facilities, distribution, packing, labour, and so on.
Instead, a ‘long tail’ of many niche products selling at modest volumes can actually add up to more sales in total than the one-off hit.
Overall, use of The Long Tail tool helps to identify the pros and cons of a high volume business development project versus a series of smaller
volume niche projects potentially requiring far less investment and resource.

TEN: WEB DEVELOPMENT BRIEFING DOCUMENT
How to get your website right
What is the overall goal of the site?
In other words, when it’s working perfectly, what
specific outcomes will occur?
Who internally needs to be involved?
Who are we trying to reach?
What are the sites this group has demonstrated
they enjoy interacting with?
Are we trying to close sales?
Are we telling a story?
Are we earning permission to follow up?
Are we hoping that people will watch or learn?
Do we want people to spread the word via social
media?

Are we wanting to attract subscriptions?
Do people find the site via searching? What are
they particularly looking for?
Is the site part of a larger suite of places online
where people can find out about us, or the only
place?
If part of a suite, what specific jobs do each of the
platforms perform?
How many times a month do we want people to
come by? And for how long?
Who needs to update the site? And how often?
Does showing up in search engines matter? If so,
for what terms? And at what cost?
Will the site need to be universally accessible? Do
issues of disability or language come into it?
How much money do we have to spend?
What, if any, aspects of the above are we willing
to compromise on?

TEN TOOLS TO HELP BUILD AN AMAZING TEAM
1. CREATING A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE
• How to improve your company culture (from Why Should Anyone Work Here?)
2. CREATING THE BEST WORKPLACE ON EARTH
• Staff survey from Harvard Business Review (from Why Should Anyone Work Here?)
3. CREATING A ‘MAGICAL’ TEAM ENVIRONMENT
• How to learn from Disney’s success (from The Magic Kingdom)
4. MOTIVATING MAVERICKS
• How to get the best out of your exceptional bright stars (from Clever)
5. EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE
• How to deliver exceptional customer service (from Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit)
6. SERVICE RECOVERY
• How to win customers back after a bad experience (from Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit)
7. THE F TRIANGLE
• How to effectively handle customer complaints (or overcome objections to a sale)
8. PERSONAL MOTIVATION
• How to understand your people better (from Drive)
9. IMPROVING DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAMS
• How to recognise elements of good and bad teams (from The Five Dysfunctions of a Team)
10. THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER
• How to recognise the qualities of an ideal team player (from The Ideal Team Player)

ONE: CREATING A GREAT COMPANY CULTURE
How to improve your company culture (from Why Should Anyone Work Here?)
Here are some simple reminders of what makes a good company culture.
DIFFERENCE: Let people be themselves
RADICAL HONESTY: Let people know what’s really going on
EXTRA VALUE: Magnify people’s strengths
AUTHENTICITY: Stand for something more than just shareholder value
MEANING: Make the work make sense
SIMPLE RULES: Make the rules clear and apply equally to everyone

TWO: CREATING THE BEST WORKPLACE ON EARTH
Staff survey from Harvard Business Review (from Why Should Anyone Work Here?)
A great template for surveying staff (and establishing how strong your company culture is).
GREAT OVERALL QUESTIONS:
Where are you strongest?
Where do you need to improve?
Where is the best place to start?
Where will you need to make a trade-off?
DIFFERENCE
I can be myself here
• I am the same person at home as I am at work
• I am comfortable being myself
• We are all encouraged to express our differences
• People who think differently from most do well here
• Passion is encouraged, even when it leads to conflict
• More than one type of person fits here
RADICAL HONESTY
I am told what is really going on
• We are told the real story
• Information is not manipulated
• It is not disloyal to say something negative
• My manager wants to hear bad news
• Many channels of communication are available to us
• I feel comfortable signing my name to comments I make
EXTRA VALUE
My strengths are magnified
• I am given the chance to develop
• Every employee is given the chance to develop
• The best people want to perform here
• The weakest performers can see a path to improvement
• Compensation is fairly distributed throughout the organization
• We generate value for ourselves by adding value to others
1 = strongly disagree
2 = disagree
3 = neither agree nor disagree
4 = agree
5 = strongly agree

AUTHENTICITY
I am proud of where we’re coming from and what we stand for
• I know what we stand for
• I value what we stand for
• I want to exceed my current duties
• Profit is not our overriding goal
• I am accomplishing something worthwhile
• I like to tell people where I work
MEANING
The work makes sense
• My job is meaningful to me
• My duties make sense to me
• My work gives me energy and pleasure
• I understand how my job fits with everyone else’s
• Everyone’s job is necessary
• At work we share a common cause
SIMPLE RULES
I believe in the rules
• We keep things simple
• The rules are clear and apply equally to everyone
• I know what the rules are for
• Everyone knows what the rules are for
• We, as an organization, resist unnecessary rules and paperwork
• Authority is respected
ANY ITEM SCORING 1 OR 2 IS WORTH ATTENTION.
ANY AREA WITH AN OVERALL SCORE BELOW 18 SUGGESTS THIS AREA REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT.

THREE: CREATING A ‘MAGICAL’ TEAM ENVIRONMENT
How to learn from Disney’s success (from The Magic Kingdom)
This book may be some years old, but its seven lessons still sum up how to simply do things better than anyone else. If you’re not sure about
Lesson 7, think about how much damage just one broken typewriter key could have!
SEVEN KEY LESSONS FROM DISNEY
LESSON ONE:
The competition is anyone the customer compares you with
LESSON TWO:
Pay fantastic attention to detail
LESSON THREE:
Everyone walks the talk
LESSON FOUR:
Everything walks the talk
LESSON FIVE:
Customers are best heard through many ears
LESSON SIX:
Reward, recognise, and celebrate
LESSON SEVEN:
Xvxryonx makxs a diffxrxncx

FOUR: MOTIVATING MAVERICKS
How to get the best out of your exceptional bright stars (from Clever)
DOS AND DON’TS FOR LEADING ‘CLEVER’ PEOPLE
You need a particularly astute approach to leading smart, creative people. Research shows that a handful of star performers create
disproportionate amounts of value for their organisations.
These invaluable individuals are called clevers, and although they can be brilliant, they can also be difficult and sometimes even dangerous.
Their cleverness is central to their identity; their skills are not easily replicated; they know their worth; they ask difficult questions; they are
organisationally savvy; they are not impressed by hierarchy; they expect instant success; they want to be connected to other clever people;
and they won’t thank you.
Even worse, they take pleasure in breaking the rules, trivialising the importance of non-technical people, they are oversensitive about their
projects, and are never happy about the review process.
So traditional leadership approaches won’t be effective. Instead, bosses need to tell them what to do (not how to do it), earn their respect with
expertise (not pull rank with a job title), and provide ‘organised space’ for their creativity.

FOUR: MOTIVATING MAVERICKS
continued
Dos Don’ts
Earn their respect with expertise, not a job title Use hierarchy
Tell them what you want done Tell them how to do it
Provide boundaries – ‘organised space’ for their creativity Create bureaucracy
Give them time Interfere
Give them recognition (amplify their achievements) Give frequent feedback
Encourage failure and maximise learning Train
Talk straight Use bull or intentionally deceive

FIVE: EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE
How to deliver exceptional customer service (from Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit)
THERE ARE FIVE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN DELIVERING BRILLIANT SERVICE:
• Selecting, training and inspiring loyalty virtuosos at all levels
• Handling service breakdowns in a systematic way that makes customers more loyal than if the mishap hadn’t happened
• Gathering and using customer preference data
• Ensuring you meet customers’ timeliness and quality expectations
• Personalising the experience

SIX: SERVICE RECOVERY
How to win customers back after a bad experience (from Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit)
THE FOUR SIMPLE STEPS TO GREAT SERVICE RECOVERY ARE:

SEVEN: THE F TRIANGLE
How to effectively handle customer complaints (or overcome objections to a sale)
This is a great little tool to use when handling tricky customers or in a sales context.
The three components are feel, felt and found.
The idea is to construct a sentence that encourages a sceptical customer to reconsider their opinion.
The construction of the sentence will run along these lines:
“I understand you feel x about subject y, other customers have felt the same why, but once they discovered z, they found it made sense for us
to do it the way we do”.

EIGHT: PERSONAL MOTIVATION
How to understand your people better (from Drive)
Nothing gets done if no one can be bothered. And that means
that motivation has to be effective, with everybody working at
a consistently high level.
That’s easier said than done. In his book Drive, Daniel Pink boiled
the essence of motivation down to three crucial elements.
Autonomy is the desire to direct our own lives.
Mastery is the urge to get better and better at something that
matters.
Purpose is the yearning to do what we do in the service of
something larger than ourselves.
The people involved in enacting an idea need ample quantities
of these characteristics if there is to be a reasonable chance of
it happening.
Use this motivational tool to work out if your team has the desire,
the skill, and the sense of purpose to make it happen.

NINE: IMPROVING DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAMS
How to recognise elements of good and bad teams (from The Five Dysfunctions of a Team)
There are five dysfunctions that can ruin the effectiveness and cohesion of any team, particularly leadership teams:
1. Absence of trust. This stems from an unwillingness to
be vulnerable within the group. Those who are not
open about mistakes and weaknesses make it
impossible to build trust.
2. Fear of conflict. Teams that lack trust are incapable
of engaging in unfiltered debate. Instead they
resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.
3. Lack of commitment. Without having aired their
opinions in open debate, team members rarely, if
ever, buy in or commit to decisions, though they
may feign it in meetings.
4. Avoidance of accountability. Without committing
to a clear plan of action, even the most focused
people fail to call their peers on counterproductive
actions and behaviours.
5. Inattention to results. Failure to hold one another
accountable creates an environment where team
members put their individual needs, or those of their
departments, above those of the leadership team.
• Trust comes from overcoming invulnerability and
admitting to weaknesses.
• Constructive conflict needs to replace artificial
harmony.
• Creating commitment means removing
ambiguity.
• Accountability involves raising low standards.
• Inattention to results can be addressed by removing status and ego issues.

TEN: THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER
How to recognise the qualities of an ideal team player (The Ideal Team Player)
There are three essential virtues that make someone the ideal team player: being humble, hungry and smart.
You can plot everyone on a Venn diagram examining these qualities, and the ideal team player has a combination of all three, most of the
time.
Humble: humility is the single greatest and most indispensable attribute.
Hungry: these people are self-motivated and diligent.
Smart: these people demonstrate common sense when dealing with others (it’s not the same as intellectual smartness).
Things start getting interesting when you look at
people with only one or two of the attributes. Those
with just one are fairly easy to spot:
Humble only = the pawn, who often gets left out
Hungry only = the bulldozer, who often annoys
everyone else
Smart only = the charmer, with great social skills
but low contribution
Those with 2 out of 3 are much harder to spot:
Humble and hungry = the accidental mess-
maker, unaware of their effect on other people
Humble and smart = the lovable slacker, only
does as much as asked
Hungry and smart = the skilful politician, out for
their own benefit

TEN TOOLS TO HELP BUILD A MORE ETHICAL BUSINESS
1. WORKING OUT WHY YOUR BUSINESS EXISTS
• How to use the Golden Circle principle to start getting your priorities right (from Start with Why)
2. THE 12 PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE
• How to form the basis of business ethics
3. SIMPLE CSR TEMPLATE
• How to create a robust CSR policy
4. WHAT DOES ‘GREEN’ MEAN?
• How to start creating a green business (from The New Rules of Green Marketing)
5. CREATING ETHICAL MARKETING PRINCIPLES
• How to understand the new principles of ethical marketing (from The New Rules of Green Marketing)
6. THE GREEN MARKETING CHECKLIST
• How to ensure credibility for your green marketing claims (from The New Rules of Green Marketing)
7. 14 KEY AREAS OF SUSTAINABILITY
• How to address sourcing, society and environment issues (from The Sustainable Restaurant Association)
8. BRINGING TRUTH TO YOUR BRAND
• How to create a ‘truthful’ brand (from Tell the Truth)
9. DEFINING YOUR ESSENTIAL INTENT
• How to distinguish between a bland set of values and an inspirational and concrete objective (from Essentialism)
10. ETHICAL PRACTICE INFOGRAPHIC
• How to present your ethical credentials creatively

ONE: WORKING OUT WHY YOUR BUSINESS EXISTS
How to use the Golden Circle principle to start getting your priorities right (from Start With Why)
Most companies start by working out what they do, then work out how. They often don’t get onto the ‘why’. It’s more effective to start with why,
then move onto the how and what.
WHAT
Every organisation on the planet knows WHAT they do. These are products they
sell or the services they offer.
HOW
Some organisations know HOW they do it. These are the things that make them
special or set them apart from their competition.
WHY
Very few organisations know WHY they do what they do. WHY is not about
making money. That’s a result. It’s a purpose, cause or belief. It’s the very
reason your organisation exists.

TWO: THE 12 PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE
How to form the basis of business ethics

THREE: SIMPLE CSR TEMPLATE
How to create a robust CSR policy
Good CSR policies drive corporate change. With well defined
objectives and measurable targets, your CSR policy will provide
the foundation for steps towards running a more sustainable and
ethical business. The process of writing a CSR policy begins with an
assessment of every aspect of your business and its operations.

THREE: SIMPLE CSR TEMPLATE
continued

FOUR: WHAT DOES ‘GREEN’ MEAN?
How to start creating a green business (from The New Rules of Green Marketing)
If you are just starting out on a road to a greener business, this can help understand the many areas you will need to consider.

FIVE: CREATING ETHICAL MARKETING PRINCIPLES
How to understand the new principles of ethical marketing (from The New Rules of Green Marketing)
To adopt a new ethical approach to marketing you will need to challenge some of your existing habits and behaviours.
CONVENTIONAL MARKETING GREEN MARKETING
CONSUMERS Consumers with lifestyles People with lives
PRODUCTS ‘Cradle to grave’
Products
Globally sourced
One size fits all
‘Cradle to cradle’
Services
Locally sourced
Regionally tailored
MARKETING &
COMMUNICATIONS
Product end-benefits
Selling
One-way communication
Paid advertising
Values
Educating and empowering
Creating community
Word of mouth
CORPORATE Secretive
Reactive
Independent and autonomous
Competitive
Departmentalised
Short term-orientated/profit-maximising
Transparent
Proactive
Interdependent/allied with stakeholders
Cooperative
Holistic
Long term-orientated

SIX: THE GREEN MARKETING CHECKLIST
How to ensure credibility for your green marketing claims (from The New Rules of Green Marketing)
Green or ethical practices must be supported from the top down to be genuine and become a true part of a company’s culture. It is not just
about a few ‘green’ marketing claims.
Do we have a genuine company-wide green culture? Does our CEO openly support
sustainability? Do our stakeholders know it?
Are our green marketing claims consistent with our corporate actions?
Are our brand-related sustainability claims meaningful, specific, complete, and without
exaggeration? Have we tested their believability among customers?
Are we being transparent about the pollution our products represent as well as their
environmental benefits?
Are we being environmentally efficient with our marketing materials? Have we
identified where online or digital media could work to reduce our use of paper? Are
we using recycled and/or sustainably harvested paper and vegetable-based inks for
our marketing communications?

SEVEN: 14 KEY AREAS OF SUSTAINABILITY
How to address sourcing, society and environment issues (from the Sustainable Restaurant Association)
The checklist outlines 14 key areas of sustainability.
The rating is based on a holistic assessment of your business, covering these areas
that consider society, sourcing and environmental practices.
For restaurants, this in-depth look into the business allows accreditation on the great
things they are doing and shed light on areas where there might be room for
improvement.
Although aimed at restaurants, there are elements here for many different types of
business to consider.

EIGHT: BRINGING TRUTH TO YOUR BRAND
How to create a ‘truthful’ brand (from Tell the Truth)
THE THREE Cs
CLARITY
Clarity is vitally important. The more complicated something is, the more important it is to explain it clearly. People can spot
vagueness and may see it as whitewash, so avoid being vague or unclear.
CREATIVITY
It’s much harder to tell the truth than it is to simply make things up from scratch. Truth isn’t inherently sexy. Creativity can involve
surprising moments when telling the truth can actually make a real difference.
COLLABORATION
Your audiences aren’t just consumers but also sometimes co-creators. It’s the integrity and practices of the connection between
these diverse communities that define the truth of your brand. Let them join in with their views to build the brand together.

NINE: DEFINING YOUR ESSENTIAL INTENT
How to distinguish between a bland set of values and an inspirational and concrete objective (from Essentialism)
In the top left quadrant, there are vision and mission statements that sound inspirational but are so general that they are almost always ignored.
In the bottom left is a set of vague general values that are usually too bland or generic to inspire any passion.
Bottom right are shorter-term quarterly objectives - certainly clear and concrete but not very inspiring.
The essential intent must be both inspirational and concrete - one decision that eliminates a thousand later ones.

TEN: ETHICAL PRACTICE INFOGRAPHIC
How to present your ethical credentials creatively
Infographics are a great tool to illustrate many elements of your business.
Here is a good example from The Body Shop, which highlights their ethical
business goals.

PRESS ARTICLE FROM THE FUTURE
What do you aspire to in the future? Before you start brainstorming what the future could look like, use this tool to write a fictional press article
from the future (5 years time) – what would the headline be, why would you be being talked about, what publication would it be in?

TEN TOOLS TO HELP BRAINSTORMING FOR THE FUTURE
1. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
• How to structure your brainstorming session (from The Ideas Book)
2. THE RIGHT STIMULUS
• How to get your creative juices flowing (from The Ideas Book)
3. THE IDEAS MEASURE TOOL
• How to assess the appropriateness of new ideas (from The Workshop Book)
4. THREE GOOD / THREE BAD
• How to deal with negativity (from The Ideas Book)
5. CATEGORY STEALING
• How to get inspiration from a wider field (from The Ideas Book)
6. THE FOUR CORNER WALKABOUT
• How to build on good ideas (from The Ideas Book)
7. EYES OF AN EXPERT
• How to harness the power of experts (from The Ideas Book)
8. THE IDEA STRETCHER
• How to go beyond the obvious (from The Workshop Book)
9. FUTURE TRENDS ROAD MAP
• How to predict the effect of future trends on your business (from The Workshop Book)
10. PREMORTEMS
• How to judge if an idea is sufficiently worthy to proceed with (from The Ideas Book)

ONE: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
How to structure your brainstorming session (from The Ideas Book)
It is important to get the attitude of attendees right, and that
means setting the right tone.
Getting this right will depend on who you invite, their
predisposed views on the subject matter, their mood on the
day, and the manner in which you direct and control them.
You can devise your own Rules of Engagement to reflect your
company culture, but the main features should be common
to most good working environments.
To be strongly encouraged are: ignoring the past, productive
listening, brevity, and a serious approach to the subject, but
not to one’s own ego!
To be strongly resisted are: absenteeism (if you don’t turn up,
or are late, you should have no say in the decision), jargon of
any kind, showing off or holding court, and cynicism.
Be aware that there is a distinct difference between cynicism
and pragmatism. Extremes are to be avoided in idea
generation. Freewheeling, impractical ideas are as useless as
the immediate killing off of every new suggestion.
Finally, try to create a relaxed mood. It leads to better ideas.

TWO: THE RIGHT STIMULUS
How to get your creative juices flowing (from The Ideas Book)
Almost all ideas sessions are too long. The longer they are, the less
productive they become.
The onus is on the person running the session to break it down into the
smallest possible chunks and ensure that the right stimulus is introduced
at the right time.
A maximum suggested run of time on one theme is 30 minutes, but
some sections should be restricted to as little as 5 minutes.
Regular, disciplined breaks are vital.
Variety keeps things fresh.
Unexpected interventions keep the participants stimulated. If in doubt,
have more of these in reserve than you may actually need.
Exercises, practical application of what has been discussed, and group
work can all lead to faster ideas, so long as they are not trivial or
allowed to spiral out of control (either off brief, or for too long).

THREE: THE IDEAS MEASURE TOOL
How to assess the appropriateness of new ideas (from The Workshop Book)
This simple measuring tool can be used to assess ideas based on certain fixed criteria. These can be changed, but the ones used below
work well:
Does it fit the
brand?
Does it meet a
consumer
need?
Does it give us
a competitive
advantage?
Is it easy to
make or
implement?
Idea 1
Write idea here Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No
Idea 2
Idea 3

FOUR: THREE GOOD / THREE BAD
How to deal with negativity (from The Ideas Book)
Many idea sessions are derailed by negative material
and attitude. It only takes one moaner and the whole
thing can veer off in an unwanted direction.
If you believe this is a possibility, then the Three Good,
Three Bad tool is excellent for combating it.
Instead of allowing negative comment to creep in to
proceedings, the technique deliberately seeks out the
bad stuff, deals with it early, and offsets it with good stuff.
This is sometimes called the car park – a place where all
the negativity is parked.
All attendees are asked to write down three bad things
about the product/project/initiative, and then three
good. This draws the sting out of all negative comment.
The results are reviewed and summarised by the
facilitator. Usually there is a significant overlap, and there
is much to be learned about the degree of consensus, or
an absolute focus on just one deficiency. It also shows
how much the attendees really know about the subject.
The exercise should always be done first, and should
never last more than an hour, or 20% of the meeting time.
All the good features are then used as inspiration to go on to provide an excellent solution.

FIVE: CATEGORY STEALING
How to get inspiration from a wider field (from The Ideas Book)
The principle of Category Stealing is simple: choose a category different to your own and ask how they would approach your issue.
Everyone operates in one category or another, and many
of the traditions, rituals and formats in them operate in
quite fixed ways. This can lead to sameness in one sector,
but could provide inspiration in another.
Start by listing a number of other categories. If you need
reminding, scan the share prices in a newspaper, search
online, or watch the TV for an evening. You will soon have
an A-Z of categories.
Identify the characteristics of well-defined ones, such as
their usual approach to finance, branding, distribution,
price, product features, and so on.
Then work out what you can steal to apply to your brand.
If a whole category doesn’t have clearly defined traits,
then take one brand instead that does. For example, how
would Apple or Coke do this?
If you work in a fairly obscure category, then look to the
wisdom of well-known ones. If you work in a well-
understood one, take the time to investigate more
unusual ones. There is always something to learn.

SIX: FOUR CORNER WALKABOUT
How to build on good ideas (from The Ideas Book)
This technique is easy and almost always surprising.
One of its greatest assets is that it is dynamic and inevitably leads
to interesting departures, but is always completely anchored in
the brief.
First, you need a room large enough to allow your participants to
walk around. Then take four large sheets of flip chart paper.
Choose four pivotal words from the brief, and write one only on
each sheet. Place each sheet in a different corner of the room.
Give your first attendee a marker pen, send them to a corner,
and ask them to write the first thought they come up with next to
the original word.
They then move on to the next corner, and another attendee is
sent to add to their thought.
Keep sending everyone round, each building on what has gone
before until each sheet is full.
This technique achieves three things:
• Lateral departures that are intrinsically linked to the brief.
• Surprise and stimulation for the attendees when they see
the ways in which their ideas can be built upon by others
to generate something more powerful.
• People have better ideas when they are on the move.

SEVEN: EYES OF AN EXPERT
How to harness the power of experts (from The Ideas Book)
This is a charming and fun technique that really works, regardless of the topic.
The idea is to view the challenge through the eyes of a known person who is very
successful at something.
This example suggests a successful businessman, a sportsman, and a universally known
political figure.
It is not essential that they are technically expert, but it is important that they have a
reputation for approaching their task in a distinctive way.
The list of experts can be decided before the session, or generated spontaneously by
the group.
Then examine the challenge using the style and viewpoint of each expert. This can
either be done collectively (all attendees imagining one expert at the same time), or
separately (sending pairs or mini-groups off to work through the eyes of several
different ones).

EIGHT: THE IDEA STRETCHER
How to go beyond the obvious (from The Workshop Book)
The Idea Stretcher tool is a great way to take the obvious, stretch it out, then bring it back into the realm of the realistic. Please note the order of
filling in each column is important A, B, C, then D – not just left to right.
A
Idea
Write the initial idea here
D
Ambitious
Take the innovative idea
and make it something
feasible in the next years
C
Innovative
Take the extreme version
and tone it down into
something more possible
B
Extreme
Write the most completely
impossible version of the
idea if taken to extremes

NINE: FUTURE TRENDS ROAD MAP
How to predict the effect of future trends on your business
This tool forces you to consider what future trends may affect your business – both positive and negative.
Title and brief description of
the trend
Opportunities this trend offers us
as a business:
Risks if we ignore this trend:
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.

TEN: PREMORTEMS
How to judge if an idea is sufficiently worthy to proceed with
The premortem is a great way to run a final check to judge whether an idea is
worthy to proceed with.
It was invented by Gary Klein and summarized by Daniel Kahneman in his book
Thinking, Fast and Slow.
The procedure is simple: when an organization has almost come to an important
decision but has not formally committed itself, the decision makers gather for a
brief session.
They are asked to imagine that it is one year later and that the idea has been a
complete disaster – they then have to write a short history or what happened.
It is of course important that such a review is conducted long enough before it is
too late and everyone is totally committed to proceeding.
The premortem could prevent many a disaster. By contrast, a postmortem may
be useless (because it’s too late).

BRANDING
Zag – Marty Neumeier
When everybody else zigs, you should zag. Radical differentiation is the number one strategy of high performance brands.
Purple Cow – Seth Godin
Do the opposite of everyone else and you will be more distinctive.
Brand Manners – Hamish Pringle & William Gordon
Customer perception of brand quality is a combination of pre-existing expectations and experience when interacting with it - so most
importantly companies need to practice what they preach.
The Long Tail – Chris Anderson
Endless choice is creating unlimited demand so you probably need to re-think your business model: make everything available and help
customers find it easily (online).
Meatball Sundae – Seth Godin
Don’t fool yourself that your company has modernized just because you are doing something on the Internet – work harder at changing the
business itself.
The Brand Innovation Manifesto - John Grant
Build your brand, redefine the market and defy convention by generating a brand periodic table instead of an old-fashioned unique selling
point.
In Search of the Obvious – Jack Trout
Marketing is a mess, so stop overcomplicating everything and do some simple thinking based on your brand’s obvious differentiating
characteristics.
Eating the Big Fish – Adam Morgan
Ignore what you have done before, decide on something distinctive to do, and do that one thing with full commitment.

CUSTOMERS
The Ultimate Question – Fred Reichheld
Customers who are prepared to recommend your product or service are the ultimate barometer of success.
Commitment-Led Marketing – Jan Hofmeyr & Butch Rice
The customers that your data says are your most satisfied may be the most likely to leave tomorrow, so are you asking the right questions and
measuring the right dimensions?
Herd – Mark Earls
Forget individual choice – people just copy each other, but crowds usually get it right.
Decoded - Phil Barden
Decision science is not smoke and mirrors – it can be applied in a practical way if properly understood.
Organisations Don’t Tweet, People Do – Euan Semple
Organizations don’t generate social media, people do.
Value Proposition Design – Osterwalder & Pigneur
You can design robust value propositions by using a proven mapping technique.
The Workshop Book – Pamela Hamilton
Workshops can be a success if you design them properly and use the right techniques.

MARKETING
Essentialism – Greg McKeown
Most things aren’t worth doing, so learn to decide what really matters and just devote your energy to that.
Marketing Judo – John Barnes & Richard Richardson
When considering creative ideas, concentrate on the size of the idea, not the size of the budget.
Copy Copy Copy – Mark Earls
Copying is to be cherished, and you can do smarter marketing by using other people’s ideas.
Organisations Don’t Tweet, People Do – Euan Semple
Organizations don’t generate social media, people do.
The End of Marketing as we know it – Sergio Zyman
When you start looking at exactly how much things cost and how much profit you are making you become a much better marketer.
The Long Tail – Chris Anderson
Endless choice is creating unlimited demand so you probably need to re-think your business model: make everything available and help
customers find it easily (online).
The Diagrams Book – Kevin Duncan
50 ways to solve any problem visually.

PEOPLE
Why Should Anyone Work Here? – Goffee & Jones
Successful company cultures need honesty and meaning, allowing people to be themselves and do work that makes sense.
The Pirate Inside – Adam Morgan
To make corporations change effectively, the people who work in them have to behave differently, or be told how to do so.
Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit – Inghilleri & Solomon
Train your people to speak in the right way with their colleagues and customers.
Drive – Daniel Pink
We are driven by autonomy, mastery and purpose – the desire to direct our own lives, get better at something that matters, and be part of
something bigger.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
Successful teams need to trust each other, engage in constructive conflict, commit, hold each other accountable, and remove ego to
concentrate on results.
The Ideal Team Player – Patrick Lencioni
There are three essential virtues that make someone the ideal team player: being humble, hungry and smart.
Clever – Goffee & Jones
A handful of clever star performers create disproportionate amounts of value for organisations, but they must be managed particularly astutely.

ETHICS
Start With Why – Simon Sinek
It doesn’t so much matter what you do in business – it matters why you do it.
The New Rules of Green Marketing – Jacquelyn Ottman
Green consumers are now mainstream and we all need to understand how this affects our business.
Tell the Truth – Unerman & Salem Baskin
In an age of information overload, the most effective way for a brand to stand out is to tell the truth.
Good Business - Steve Hilton & Giles Gibbons
Businesses can be a force for good if they change their working practices.
Screw Business As Usual – Richard Branson
We can bring more meaning to our lives and help change the world at the same time by turning capitalism upside down – shifting from profit
focus to caring for people, communities, and the planet.
Why Should Anyone Work Here? – Goffee & Jones
Successful company cultures need honesty and meaning, allowing people to be themselves and do work that makes sense.
Essentialism – Greg McKeown
Most things aren’t worth doing, so learn to decide what really matters and just devote your energy to that.

THE FUTURE
The Ideas Book – Kevin Duncan
50 ways to generate ideas more effectively.
The Diagrams Book – Kevin Duncan
50 ways to solve any problem visually.
Culturematic – Grant McCracken
Combining an awareness of trends and a preparedness to experiment with cultural initiatives can lead to commercial gain.
Future Minds – Richard Watson
Good ideas usually occur outside the workplace, and often when we are daydreaming or half asleep.
Futurescaping – Tamar Kasriel
Scenario planning taken from the business world can help people plan their personal lives.
Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
Be aware that your brain has two systems – fast intuition and slower conscious thought – and allow for these when looking at decisions.

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