At ThinkTank we were encouraged to read Alf Smiddy’s recent Blog post entitled - It’s all about your Brand - which also appeared in innovative financial services firm, Quintas’ spring newsletter.

As a former MD and Chairman of Beamish & Crawford Plc, for over twelve years  and current chairman and director on a number of Boards, Alf has a tremendous depth of experience  in both the financial and branding arenas.  This combination of skills is particularly unique and it’s inspiring to hear one of Cork’s most respected business leaders recognising the importance and value of brands.

In an insightful and thought -provoking post he outlines why in our tumultuous economic landscape, business as usual has become irrelevant and how companies need to to “inspire and mobilise people around a common purpose.” He goes onto explain,“I firmly believe that it’s through innovation, the re-invention of existing brands, and the creation of new brands that will create the climate for business success going forward.”

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Comments (5) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Jon

Tags: Alf Smiddy, Beamish & Crawford, Brand Damage, Brand Positioning, brand relevance, Brand Valuation, Branding, Branding in Ireland, Cork, differntiation, Innovation, Irish brands, Jonathan Amm, Lisa Murphy, Management Consulting, Marketing, Quintas, Value Proposition, www.think-tank.ie

Demanding inclusion in the boys’ club is a long and arduous path. Nowadays, smart women are building their own instead……

Get your sunglasses, grab your beach towel and imagine the following scene of children playing in the sand:

Seven boys, ages five to eight, are engineering an intricate series of dams and rivers by the water’s edge. They even build a small hot tub and are enjoying their time in this mini spa when along come the girls – first one, then two. As the third attempts to find a seat in the tub, two boys protest. “No girls allowed.” The girls argue but eventually move along. Minutes later the mothers arrive and demand equal rights for the girls. The boys protest, but the mothers stand guard as the girls are begrudgingly allowed in the tub.

Clearly everyone is having less fun. As soon as the guards leave, the chanting begins anew, “No girls allowed.” The scene repeats several times. Eventually, the mothers become distracted and the girls grow tired of trying. Then one lone girl starts to dig a short distance from the boys. She is far enough to maintain respect for the rule of separation but close enough for the engineers and construction workers to see her. Other girls join in. They build elaborate scenes creatively using beach flora, fauna and debris to make bridges, houses, trees and people.

A curious boy inches his digging project closer to the girls’ scene. Within minutes he connects his trench to their landscape. Other boys take note and edge closer. They build connecting roads as well. Soon the groups’ combined engineering and creative talents result in a complex and ingenious landscape filled with people, cars, pets, trenches, dams and a bigger coed hot tub!

This thought provoking story of boys and girls at play on a summer’s day is an excerpt from an article written by Dr. Anne Perschel which features in the Huffington Post. Anne is the founder and president of Boston based Germane Consulting and is a highly respected leadership and organizational psychologist.

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Comments (5) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Lisa

Tags: @TTStrategy, CIT, Cork, Dr. Anne Perschel, Enterprise Ireland, Entrepreneurs, Femtrepreneur, Going for Growth, Ireland, Leadership, Lisa Murphy, Management Consulting, MBA, Start-ups, Twitter, Women in business, www.irishwomeninbusiness.ie, www.networkcork.com, www.networkireland.ie, www.nwed.ie, www.sceb.ie, www.think-tank.ie

A recent survey from IBM’s Institute for Business Value shows that business leaders value one leadership competency above all others.

After conducting 1500 in depth face-to-face interviews with CEOs and public service leaders around the world – “creativity” was identified as the single most important leadership competency for the successful business of the future.

The report suggests that creative leaders should “embrace ambiguity,” “take risks that disrupt legacy business models,” and “leapfrog beyond tried-and-true management styles.” Coming through the worst economic downturn in their professional lifetimes, when managerial control and process ruled the day, this indicates a remarkable shift in mindset. It’s a sea change from a rational ‘scientific’ management approach built around efficiency and control to a creative ‘intuitive’ approach – based upon agility, adaptability and emotional intelligence.

With the acceleration of the pace of change – global trends are reshaping the business landscape and are forcing companies to either adapt or die. At ThinkTank, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how companies can become more creatively evolved.

Think differently

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Comments (1) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Jon

Tags: @ThinkTank_, Apple, Branding, business models, Creativity, Design Thinking, IBM, Innovation, Jonathan Amm, Lateral thinking, Leadership, Srategy, Steve Jobs, Twitter, www.think-tank.ie

Many SME’s recognise the importance of mapping out a future strategic direction for their business and acknowledge the need to become more structured in their approach, however, very often, business owners just don’t know how to start or where to begin. Without a clearly mapped out destination point for a business, its form becomes too malleable, shaped by the vagaries of an eternally changing environment, leaving the business a hostage to fortune. A business owner could learn a few lessons from Sarah Connor, the heroine of the Terminator franchise. A warrior, who challenges accepted wisdom, carves out a new path and in so doing rewrites the future. ThinkTank channels this wisdom as we highlight;

1. What is Strategic Planning Exactly?
2. How can businesses benefit from Strategic Planning?
3. How should a business prepare for the Strategic Planning Process?
4. Once the Planning team is selected, how does Strategic Planning work?

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Comments (2) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Lisa

Tags: @TTStrategy, CMO, Entrepreneurs, Leadership, Lisa Murphy, Management, Marketing, SMEs, Startups, Strategic Planning, Strategy