The Game of Inches E-Book

Nigel Collin

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 270

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

No spin, no fuss, no gurus: get the real secret to business success Game of Inches dispels the myth that success must come from disruption, and provides an actionable blueprint for real-world business achievement. Entrepreneur Nigel Collin interviewed over 80 successful Australian entrepreneurs and leaders to learn the key factors that make a successful business; in this book, he distils his findings into a simple process of four actions governed by three behaviours that will guide your path to the top. Examples and case studies eschew the limelight in favour of those on the front lines of business doing well, illustrating the revolutionary idea that you don't have to make headlines to be a success. By shifting your mindset from explosive, overnight success to a quieter, more consistent, more sustainable process, you gain the ability to reach the top and stay there. You'll discover that innovation is actually in reach, doesn't cost too much and is not really all that complex when approached from a growth-oriented mindset of making small changes consistently. You don't need to be Steve Jobs, and you don't need to create the next iPhone to be a success in business. What you do need to do is redirect your attention away from who you are and toward what you deliver. * Learn what really drives sustainable success * Discover innovation that's within reach right now * Focus on what you do, not who you are * Work toward a process of constant, consistent improvement Business success is not a one-off event or a single "eureka" moment. It's a continuous, step-by-step process of becoming better every day. Incremental change is the surest route to the top; though others may skip the climb in favour of a helicopter, those who earn the summit tend to stay longest. Game of Inches is your straightforward roadmap to no-nonsense, long-term business success.

Leseprobe

THE GAME OF INCHES

WHY SMALL CHANGE WINS BIG RESULTS

NIGEL COLLIN

First published in 2016 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064 Office also in Melbourne

© Through Design Pty Ltd 2016

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Creator:

Collin, Nigel, 1963- author.

Title:

The Game of Inches: why small change wins big results / Nigel Collin.

ISBN:

9780730328964 (pbk.) 9780730328988 (ebook)

Notes:

Includes index.

Subjects:

Success in business. Creative ability in business. Industrial management. Marketing.

Dewey Number:

650.1

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Wiley Title graphics by © pialhovik/iStockphoto

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

CONTENTS

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Siimon Reynolds

Start here: It's a game of inches

The one thing that binds them all

It's not who you are, it's what you do

Beautiful tension

The one thing

Part I: There is a process

Action 1: Find a gap

Give them what they want

Dog bites, loose paper and egg rings

Look after the shop

A beautiful tension: passion and viability

Action 2: Take action

Start from where you are

The trouble with gunslingers and vacillators

The first euphoric moment

Momentum

Size doesn't matter

A beautiful tension: starting and preparing

Action 3: Test and measure

MVP

MVA

A big lesson from Tinybeans

How will you know?

Even if you think you're right …

Action 4: Delete or improve

The world is full of ideas

The pragmatic entrepreneur

Ideas are things

Kill your idea zombies

Getting better all the time

What's the fatal flaw?

Understanding small things

The Daly Waters Pub

Make a ‘stop doing' list

The process is circular

Part II: It's more than just a process

Behaviour 1: Know why

José Paronella's irresistible dream

Why knowing is so important

Jeff Morgan paints a panorama

The evolving and changing ‘why'

Behaviour 2: Mindset is everything

Carol Dweck's mindset model

Alisa Camplin's eight-year plan

You don't learn anything if you don't fail

Roadblocks and stop signs

Fall in love with the process

Behaviour 3: The never-ending doctorate

‘Yes and …'

Magical myelin

Practice

Modelling and learning

Beyond the book club

The people you meet

Mentors and coaches

Your customers are people too

Be true to yourself

Restart here: Make it happen

Index

Advert

EULA

List of Illustrations

Start Here

Figure A: four actions, three behaviours

Part I

Figure B: the four actions

Part II

Figure C: the three behaviours

Guide

Cover

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nigel created his first business at the age of twenty and sold it at twenty-one. He then went on to build Absurd Entertainment, one of Australia largest entertainment design companies. He worked extensively on the 2000 Olympic Games, was entertainment advisor at the 2000 Paralympic Games, and holds the accolade of being show director for Australia's largest ever corporate event in 2005. Having passed the baton by selling the Absurd in 2004, he moved into the world of consulting, advising his clients on implementing ideas and everyday innovation.

In 2013, armed with a video camera, Nigel set off on an initiative to travel throughout Australia, solo on his motorbike, to discover ingenious Australians and share their stories. His quest was, through his ‘Ingenious Oz Project', to inspire the ideas of a nation. In 2014, as an ambassador of Start Up Australia, he interviewed over 50 of Australia's top entrepreneurs and business leaders. He is now founder and maestro of ‘Game of Inches'.

He has advised C-Suite executives, Ministers of Parliament and entrepreneurs in both public and private sectors. As an international speaker, he has presented his experience and expertise to organisations in myriad industries including IT, Franchise, Events, Marketing, Finance, Pharmaceuticals, Government and Telecommunications.

When not speaking, working with clients, writing or riding his motorcycle he spends his time between Sydney and the rural mid north coast of NSW with his family.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This is the page most people skip over and never read. Please don't do that because without the people listed below, none of the wisdom and extraordinary advice in this book would have been possible and as a result the pages that follow would be blank.

So a huge personal thanks to all the extraordinary individuals who contributed by allowing me to interview or meet with them. To Mark and Judy Evans, Robyne Carmichael, Shane Kelly, Kristy-Lee Billett, Kirsty Dunphey, Mike McEnearney, Kenton Campbell, Phillipe Carlier, Alisa Camplin, Graham Davies, David Vitek, Eddie Geller, Adam Hudson, Paul Hawker, Sylvia and Danny Wilson, Lyndon Frearson, Jeff Morgan, Denis and Bob (2 blokes on bikes), and Rick Ball, not only has your input been immensely valuable but I've enjoyed every conversation.

Huge thanks also to my business mentors Siimon Reynolds and Brian Sher, not only for their insightful and useful advice over the years but also for their input and friendship. Thanks especially to Siimon for writing this book's foreword and to Brian for giving me the opportunity to interview many brilliant entrepreneurs for Start Up Australia.

Another big thanks to my writing mentor Megan Kerr who has nurtured my skill and belief over many years now.

Also, thank you to the wonderful team at Wiley, Ingrid Bond, Lucy Raymond, Chris Shorten and Jem Bates, who not only took on the project with great enthusiasm but who were integral to making it happen. Thanks also to Dr Jason Fox for that generous email.

Then of course there is my darling, beautiful wife who when I decided to head off into remote Australia on my motorbike with dream and ambition in hand, as always, not only supported me but never questioned my motives (well not to me anyway).

Finally, I want to thank all of the entrepreneurs, business owners, leaders and friends who over many years inspired me and contributed to an enormous pool of knowledge, wisdom and advice.

FOREWORD BY SIIMON REYNOLDS

The trouble with most business books is twofold.

First, the typical author is often not experienced enough in business to create a breakthrough, high-impact point of view. The result of this is a million books that say basically the same things.

Second, the typical author cannot get close enough to business high achievers, so they never really get the truth of the matter from people who really know. They merely report what others have reported. 

Very fortunately for you, the reader, Nigel Collin is not your typical author.

He has over 30 years of experience in business — seeing close up what it takes to make a business survive and then thrive. You can feel his hard-won wisdom in every chapter — this guy has been there. He understands the real grit and fire of business.

Nigel has also interacted with a lot of business super stars. In fact he's got closer to more of them than almost anyone else in the country. He's done over eighty one-on-one, in-depth interviews with the cream of the Australian corporate world. This unprecedented access to our country's finest business minds has enabled him to not only understand the somewhat arcane art of money making, but to also create a cogent, highly practical system that literally anyone can follow to achieve better business results.

In nutshell, do what he says and your business will improve. Simple as that.

But you'll need more than a pen and pad to follow his business treasure map; you'll need something quite rare in the corporate realm — a totally open mind.

Because what follows in this book is far from your typical business growth template. Instead, Nigel suggests a counterintuitive way to think and act in order to succeed. In Nigel's world more is not more, strategy is not obvious and the usual road travelled is for chumps.

All of this makes for a very lively read and at times you'll be stunned by some of the conclusions and the forthrightness with which they're expressed. But at every step, you'll see the care that Nigel has taken to back up his assertions with research, logic and the simple clarity that can only come from somebody who doesn't just report, but understands.

I'm honoured to write the foreword for this unusual and fine book. As they say in the classics, it's a corker.

Siimon ReynoldsBest-selling author of Why People Fail