Recently I have become completely obsessed with usability. For my day job I am a product guy, my company produces ecommerce software, so the decisions I make have some fairly huge implications for our user-base, both new and old. So with all that in mind you might think my new found obsession is a good thing? Well it is, largely, but I have discovered a downside.

Richard Branson, Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis...some of the most successful businesspeople struggled to make it big. And now it has been revealed that even entrepreneurial meerkats have had it tough! Watch the video below which has lessons for us all!

My short interment in Texas entitles me to use the phrase “All hat and no cattle”.  I don’t think I’ve ever used that phrase until now, but I’m breaking it out to talk about why entrepreneurs and small business owners don’t network nearly enough and the many ways in which it hurts them.

In Texas the phrase “All hat and no cattle” is used to describe someone who makes big promises but can’t deliver.  He’s a faker, a sham and a blowhard.  No good businessman wants to be any of those things because good business has everything to do with making promises and keeping them.  

In a post I wrote a few weeks ago (7 Steps to Finding Your Uniqueness), I talked about defining your own uniqueness. Part of that post was about understanding what your competitors are doing. In this post, I want to go into that in more depth as it is an area that a lot of businesses can benefit from in terms of innovation and remaining competitive in front of their customers.

First of all, when I suggest this as a worthy activity to clients they often come back with the reply: Why should we spend precious time and resources studying our competitors when we have so much to do? That’s a fair question if your business is going well but it is a worthy investment of your time and energy for the following reasons:

The Business Link looks to be on its last legs (Private Sector Looks To Step Into Business Link's Shoes [yesterday's FT] and Government Confirms The Business Link's Demise [BusinessZone]).

I spent a very enjoyable evening in central London last night at the Changemakers event organised by Seven Hills, Enternships, School for Startups, Fresh Business Thinking and the Courvoisier Future 500. In an unusual format which I think more event organisers should adopt, we were split up into five groups of 12 and sat around tables to discuss the issues facing UK entrepreneurs.

Most entrepreneurs, leaders and managers know that their culture is the key to bottom line performance.  The issue is that very few people understand culture in simple and practical terms, and people cannot manage what they do not understand.  The issue is further complicated when we acknowledge that subcultures or unwritten rules, can exist within a culture.

What is your definition of a company’s culture?

A company’s culture must be aligned with their written values and if this is not the case, the business may have real issues, as is evidenced in the official report of what brought down the Columbia space shuttle.  The actual report acknowledged:

• Reliance was placed on past successes;
• Effective communication was prevented;
• There was lack of integrated management;
• An informal chain of command existed outside of the organisation’s formal rules

Unwritten rules were in existence!

As I prepare for my MADE IN 48 HOURS event in September in Sheffield, I find I'm reviewing the principles of solid marketing on and offline.

I had an accountant who used to tell me "Doug, the little rat on a wheel works very hard, but he doesn't get very far.  Activity does not ensure success".

I go to a lot of events as part of my job and some are better than others. One however that is way at the top of my list in terms of inspiration took place last week at The O2, previously known as the Millennium Dome. But why? Was it because I met a group of millionaire Dragons? Did I get the inside track on how to start a business from a serial entrepreneur? Did I interview some big name politicians? No is the answer to all three of those questions. The event was actually over-run with children!

 In my aim to help small business owners make improvements in a 'Power Hour' (or even less), I'd like to focus on communication. Communication can seem like a 'fluffy' topic, but it's actually quite the opposite. If you can't communicate effectively, you can't get the things done that you want to.

We know that small business owners have to wear many hats, and have to make every part of their day count. However, sometimes in the rush to get things off our to-do list, we fail to communicate properly, and this means that things get done wrong, take much longer than they should, or don't get done at all. And what does this cost your business?

Add up all the time in a week that you spend explaining things again, leaving messages, forwarding on emails and putting right mistakes that occurred due to misunderstandings. Then multiply that number by your average hourly rate. How much are YOU costing your own business? Chances are, it's quite a bit.