The 5HITS

Reading George F Colony’s Blogcalled the Counterintuitive CEO on how what CEOs will face next with respect to the recession and how it will act a s a gateway connecting 2 different era’s got me thinking on the top things CEOs should be considering to get them through this gateway or portal with business intact.

1. There is always opportunity. It just looks different, maybe now it is less abundant, but it is there. Opportunity + Planning = success. Testing ideas online is cheap.
2. There is no such thing as an unprofitable business. Just unprofitable business models.
3. Stay clean, squeaky clean. The digital trail never dies. Manage your life and your associated online reputation carefully.
4. Invest in your digital properties and digital footprint. Proactively managing your online customer and future customer base is key. Make sure your selection processes for vendors and software are sound.
5. Educate yourself on all things digital. Take a course. Invest some time. Understand search engine marketing (SEM) and especially search engine optimisation (SEO) and how it applies to your business.
6. The war for people’s attention, traffic and eyeballs will intensify. Understand and arm yourself with every affordable marketing weapon available.
7.  Building enduring, large brands will be harder, requiring a mix of offline and online advertising, the effectiveness of which will be increasingly hard to measure, other than through analytics. Small and flexible will be increasingly important, especially in online marketing.
8. Differentiate your offering. Fight against meritocracy. Stand out, take managed risks, be a purple cow. Being like everyone else will make you average. Fighting to lead the average is harder and more expensive.
9. Innovate!Buzzword? What does it mean to your business, large or small? Can your staff, your customers, your competitors innovate? Incremental, disruptive or otherwise. Read Clay Christensen’s The Innovator’s dillemma and understand innovation and its processes. Try to apply them
10. Sweat the detail. Read your contracts, study your financials, understand your accounting policies. Sweat the detail everyday.

and above all, never lose the faith. If your strategy is sound, consistency in approach and delivery will deliver sustainable success and profitability.

Business online, Internet CEO