As a coach, speaker and business person, my life revolves around people. The ability to truly connect with the people I sit with is vitally important for me. And when I first got started, I - being meticulous and careful - would sit down and plan everything out. After all, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, right?  

You know how you read about people who plan their content an entire YEAR ahead? You loathe them because you don’t know how they do it, roll your eyes because you think that’s silly and too predictable, or wish that were you but don’t know where to start. Well, let me banish those reactions for you.

Who owns innovation in your company? Who do you call when you want to talk about innovation strategy and capability building? How often have you come across departments, not just for Brands, R&D or Product Development, but departments that are focused on what I call organisational innovation — building the capacities, skills and structures to help a whole company innovate?  

Mobile Applications can further your reach to your customers, and can be a valuable asset for developing good customer relations. It is important not only to know who these customers are but also to understand them well so that you can engage them with the appropriate interactions. Mobile apps can help you hang on to customers and increase the frequency at which they do business with you.

Years ago, I wrote an article for a newspaper denouncing the media’s growing obsession with entrepreneurs as the new rock stars. It was during a downturn and I pointed to the army of recently laid-off people who, unable to find jobs, re-branded themselves first as ‘consultants’ and then when that didn’t work, as either ‘lifestyle coaches’ or ‘entrepreneurs.’