Management

Tomorrow will be nothing like today. It may look and feel a lot like today – you’ll get up, have breakfast, exercise, go off to work, etc. But tomorrow will be nothing like today. Continue Reading →

Consumers can’t possibly adopt a preference for custom or personalized manufactured goods and services in big enough quantities to upset mass manufacturing and distribution … can they? Continue Reading →

With outsourcing becoming a necessity, it is more important than ever to understand the role of a vendor versus the role of a solutions provider. When is it a good idea to reach out to a vendor, and when are you better off retaining a solutions provider to help you achieve your objectives? Wait. Every vendor says they're a solutions provider. OK. Let's say that's true. (Which it isn't, BTW.) Are you set up to leverage that resource? Continue Reading →

Want to be a better strategic thinker? For most businesspeople, the time-tested P&G (Procter & Gamble) Memo is a great place to start. At its core, the format of a classic P&G recommendation memo forces you to sequentially structure your thoughts, which in turn forces you to sequentially structure your communication. The clarity provided by this disciplined approach to thinking is invaluable, and its ability to help scrutinize ideas is unmatched. Here's the variation I use to begin packaging my ideas to sell. Continue Reading →

If we were in a business meeting and someone said something was “future-proof,” I’d reach for my banned words money jar and fine them $20. “Future-proof” is on my banned words list because it conveys the idea that there is a state of being or condition that will automatically adapt to the future. That’s just wrong. When it comes to making a living, the world we live in requires you to continuously, consciously, dynamically adapt. With our new definition in mind, here’s how to think about future-proofing your ability to earn. Continue Reading →

The New York Times did a wonderful set of articles last week titled OOO. The articles cover the spectrum of issues we are all facing working from home (WFH). Some of the writings were based on a survey they took of 1,123 remote workers. And because of the polling methodology, the results were unsurprising, so much so that I decided to do our own poll so we could compare responses. The results of our poll were surprising, to say the least. Continue Reading →

I miss meeting new people. I miss bumping into people I know. So, necessity being the mother of invention, my team has been experimenting with different ways to gather our community – and we have a plan. Introducing the Shelly Palmer Online Networking Salons. They are free, category-specific, weekly, 20-minute, super-curated, small, Zoom meetings where you will introduce yourself, meet some new people, bump into old friends, learn something, hang out for a bit, and then get back to work. Here’s how we tested the theory and why we know it works. Continue Reading →

The pandemic is teeming with known unknowns. How will we assess the risks? What impact will new consumer preferences have on our business? Will we have inflation or deflation? A recession or depression? As hard as these questions are, we’ve helped our corporate clients reframe and answer them in multiple ways. You can too. Here’s how. Continue Reading →

Unified brand messaging and a well-defined brand personality are among your business’s most valuable assets. It all starts with a statement of the organization’s vision and mission (sometimes combined into a brand purpose) and a statement of brand values. Continue Reading →

SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) may be the most famous strategic planning technique. What I love about SWOT is its flexibility and adaptability. This framework is a great way to aggregate the information you need to continuously improve and adapt your areas of focus. If you’re in business, you’ve probably been in many SWOT sessions. But have you run them? If not, here’s how. If you’re an expert in the SWOT process, here’s the variation I use as a prerequisite to creating a brand playbook. Continue Reading →