Business
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Founders make horrible managers!
At some point in your founder journey you will need to become a manager. I can remember exactly the moment when I accepted that in order to go to the next level in business I’d have to go all-in and become a manager. I really did not want to be a manager but as a…
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Getting The Right Flow for Business Success
A story of my background in Water2buy. This case study was recorded by the local enterprise office in North Dublin Ireland in 2016 right at the beginning of our major growth phase. We didn’t spend much time talking to the media about how great we were, so this is a rare record. It might be…
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Why do you hate your customers?
When is the last time you had an exceptionally good experience? I hope you can think of at least one! Now think of a terrible experience you had. Include any experience you had in which you had to exchange your time. This could be shopping, paying a bill, renewing your insurance, going to the post…
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XYZ System: BPRF Brainstorm > Research > Prototype > Final Build
BPRF Brainstorm > Research > Prototype > Final Build I’ve wrote about this before in detail so here’s the practical short version. I use BRPF as a method of building things, within the ever evolving XYZ System. It’s a fundamental part alongside the project management aspect of the XYZ System. The project management part of XYZ is…
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Some Things Business Owners Should know
1. Cost is king. Cost will cripple you. Know all your costs. Don’t count taxes, taxes are not your money you’ll have to hand it over. 2. Simple system. A 3 column spreadsheet p&l is as good as any. (item | in | out). Have a system of recording receipts for your spending and sales.…
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Unstoppable Success: The Power of Defining Your Mission
To go from good to great get a mission. About 10 Years ago as Water2buy started to grow and gain some momentum, I started trying to implement some of the things I had read in business books and learned from business coaches. One of those lessons was defining our mission or purpose.Almost every cookie cutter…
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XYZ SYSTEM: SET Organisation
Version: 1.1 An introduction to the concept of SET. Why have a way to organise what’s in your head? Any kind of organisational system that works for you will reduce the energy you need to dedicate to it. It being the set of all the things you do and don’t do – but are in…
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Culture: Be careful what you wish for
You’d be forgiven for peering out from under the sheets when someone mentions culture in your organisation. Culture is another one of those terms like ‘teamwork’ that has become a parody of itself, it has devolved into a HR controlled, rule oriented, cesspit of demotivational bullshit – and that’s putting it lightly. I won’t tell…
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AMA – Behind the Business Interview
Business starts local, so I’m happy to spend time helping out local businesses where I can. Fingal chamber of commerce graciously invited me to speak at their ‘Behind the Business Event’ as part of Local Enterprise week 2024. I received the potential questions in advance so I’ve spent time thinking about the answers in advance…
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From Blind Spots to Bright Spots: Revolutionising Your Business Model.
A long time ago in a business far far away I was working on a project that required a knowledge of how the business operated. As you’d expect, I interviewed the business owner asking her to describe her business to me, “Walk me through how everything works.” I said. A business story After about 20…
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How to build a successful Team like Jurgen Klopp.
Team, team-work, team-building words so common in business that they have become office buzz words that set the eyes rolling. Oh no, the boss has got a bunch of energy somewhere and now we’re all off to a Forrest park to climb ropes and get plastered after. That, or some variant has become the norm…
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Do you need to optimise? Maybe not…
In business and life these days it seems like everything is telling you to strive for optimal. That seems like a logical idea, but for me at least it causes problems. The problem I’m referring to is the overwhelming feeling, the mountain that seems to be in front of you when you decide to optimise…
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XYZ System: Prototype
Brainstorming ? Research ? Prototype ? Final build The stage of the XYZ system is the prototype. This is where you get to test all the assumptions you have made during brainstorming and research. Your research will have eliminated some options for you, and now you have something you can try. You might have more…
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XYZ System: Research
Now that you’ve seeded your story and fleshed out the ideas in Brainstorming, It’s time to enter the Research phase. The Research phase is meant to add some scope to the story and find its edges. The story can be any size, but it is during the research phase that you can determine the appropriate…
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33 Ways not to screw up your business podcast
Book review: 33 Ways not to screw up your business podcast – By Alastair Mc Dermott.RV Friday 7th July 2023 20:2310Km E Warm n Windy. A perfect Irish Day, While researching the ever evolving,”HTC How to company XYZ core story”, from concept stage into a more specialized reality, my research surfaced an old friend.Alastair McDermott…
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XYZ System: Brainstorming not brainfarting
Your story has begun, you’ve seeded your brainstorming with various points of view (‘As a’) Now it’s time to develop the story by brainstorming. Where to start?“A good point to begin with is the end”let’s dive into that piece of philosophy. What needs to happen for your story to become a reality?What does the outcome…
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Agile Stories: Whats the story?
XYZ System: Agile Stories to Brainstorming. Section Summary: 1. If you at least get everyone to ask the same way then you’ll add clarity and consistency. 2. If you go to the next step and expand the context you’ll understand your project better. A Story in Agile is the name you give your idea.The idea…
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XYZ System. In the beginning…
NASA Engineering wrapped in Agile Organisation.Big Promise, but it’s not a promise it’s a system.The last major thing I did in my previous company before I sold it was to implement a system. A system where by engineers could build the things we needed and organise themselves without me, as a manager being involved. I…