Insights With Trent Munday

Branding expert Anneli Hansson suggests that you should not give away your thinking for free. The execution or the final solution is what people see, but it's the process and the thinking behind it that creates the real value. Sometimes we can focus all the attention on the solution and almost dismiss the significance of the thinking behind it. To be honest, I've always been of the opinion that ideas are easy, execution is hard.  To be fair, I think it really depends on the individual. If you're a creative person, ideas probably come easy to you. But executing that idea might be hard for you. So I guess it's really a matter of 'horses for courses'. But regardless, I definitely agree with Anneli that we need to give due consideration and respect to the ideas behind our solutions. In many respects, that's where the real IP (Intellectual Property) lies. #thinking #ideas #execution

We're all familiar with FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out. But what about FOOPO - Fear Of Other People's Opinions. In a world in which we spend so much time online, on social media, putting ourselves out there, FOOPO can be crippling for those who suffer from it. It's so easy for other people to share their opinions of us. Either directly or indirectly. And if those opinions are negative, it can hurt. But of course their opinions are only that - opinions. They can't possibly know the whole story. They will only ever have just a small piece of the picture. So don't worry about it. As comedian Steve Harvey said, 'Other people's opinion of you...is none of your business.' #selfawareness #FOOPO #opinions

The best branding helps you form a relationship with the brand, after you already have the product in your hands. After you're already using it. As a result of that relationship and connection, you come back for more. That's exactly what happened to me with Sanatarium's Crunchy Peanut Butter recently. As I was scooping out the last little dollop of peanut butter from the jar, I noticed this cool little peanut character on the label, doing a crunch - like a sit up. Remember, this was Crunchy peanut butter. I hadn't even noticed that when I first bought the product. But now that I have, it's changed my relationship to the brand. Now, I see it as a fun brand, one that doesn't take itself too seriously. And it worked. Today when I went back to the supermarket to buy a new jar...I sought this brand out. In fact, as I picked it up, I even noticed a little smile crossed my face. That's great branding! #branding #brandawareness #brandidentity

Usually, making those big, life-changing decisions is scary because there's so much we don't know. We want to get all the answers to all our questions before we pull the trigger. The reality is, of course, we may never get all the answers. And here's the other reality...you don't know all the answers where you are now, either. You may think you do. But there are always factors outside of your control. Your boss may have already decided to restructure your department. Your long time girlfriend may have already accepted a big promotion that means she has to move across country. So, instead of stressing about getting all the answers you need, just agree on a  few 'must knows'. For example... You must know where you're going to live - even if it's only temporary - when you make the move. You must know that you have enough cash in the bank to survive for 12 mths with no income. Now, once you've answered those two 'must knows', you're ready to pull the trigger on that life-changing decision. Easy, right

We like to draw analogies between sport and business. When we think about sport, we understand the need for a good offensive strategy and a good defensive strategy. However, in business, we tend to focus much more on the offensive side. Many companies think all they need for a good defense is a legal department ensuring compliance. Or a finance department doing some due diligence. But there's much more to a good defensive strategy. Your defense is there to counteract the opposition's offense. If they implement a new pricing strategy, how will you defend against it? When they introduce a new marketing campaign, what defense should you run against it? Maybe it's time you assigned both offensive and defensive roles in your organisation? Just like you would on the sporting field. #businessstrategy #defense #strategicthinking

A skeptic needs to be convinced. They don't just believe everything they're told. A genuine skeptic has an open mind. They're happy to be convinced either way. You just need to show them the evidence, the proof and the facts. Most of us like to think we have a healthy dose of skepticism. But sometimes, when we refuse to accept something, we tell ourselves we're being skeptical, when in fact we are being a denialist. A denialist can't be convinced. Regardless of the facts, their mind is already made up. And that is not healthy. As Seth Godin suggests... 'Skepticism is gutsy, denialism is based on fear.' #skepticism #denialism #openminded  

Our Thoughts, Opinions & Beliefs are important to us. They help define who we are. But just because we believe in something, doesn't necessarily make it true. We used to think the Earth was flat. That turned out not to be true. Some thought the Internet was a fad. It hasn't really played out that way. And in the opinion of many financial experts, Bitcoin is worthless. So far at least, that appears not to be the case. So, by all means, hold your Thoughts, Ideas & Opinions. But, as Matt Church suggests...hold them lightly. Don't hold them so tightly that it prevents you from seeing the truth. NB: That to Matt for getting me Thinking...and Opinion-ing...and Belief...ing. #thoughtleadership #opinions #beliefs

Peleton is dipping its metaphorical toe into the Wonderful World Of Wellness with the launch of the Peleton Mood Series. Instead of the usual high intensity workout rides Peleton is famous for, these new 'Mood Rides' are intended to tap in to your emotional state. Whether you're Happy, Sad, Calm, Confident or Heated, Peleton now has a Ride (and Yoga and Run) for you. I think it's a clever idea. What do you think? #peleton #wellness #mentalwellness

When you get a Yes...or a No...to your question, keep in mind that is almost never the answer forever. There will, over time, be changes to the factors and elements around that question that may well lead to a change in the answer in the future. 'Should we spend big on Yahoo banner ads?' If you were asking me in 1998, chances are, the answer would have been yes. But as it's turned out, that wouldn't have been a Forever Yes. That same ad strategy today probably wouldn't pay off. So, whenever you get a Yes...or a No...and you're not happy with it, don't despair. It's probably not Forever. #changingthegame #circumstances #noforever

The base price of the iPhone 13 is about $1,200. Every time Apple releases a new phone, I find myself thinking the same thing... 'That is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a phone!' But of course, it's not just a phone. Yes, it's a mini-supercomputer in your pocket. But, much more than that, it's become the Personal Assistant of our Life. It's with us almost all the time. At work. In the car. At home when we're on the sofa watching TV. When we go to walk the dog. And we use it for many things that are important in our live. Banking. Shopping. Emails. Social Media. Music. When you actually think about how much time you spend on your smartphone AND how many important functions it performs for you... the cost per hour of having the latest model is pretty nominal. NB: Please don't go out and spend $1,200 if you can't afford it. But if you can. And if you (like most of us) use your phone A LOT...it might just be worth the price tag. #pricing #timeismoney #valueformoney

If you have a tendency to overthink things, to overcomplicate things...write it down. By writing down your thoughts, it helps you to clarify them, rather than having those thoughts just running around in your head. BTW - if you don't like to write, just saying your thoughts out loud can work the same way. Maybe record a short video of you speaking your thoughts. And conversely, if you oversimplify things, or underthink them...read. Do some research. Google it.  The more you learn about your topic, chances are, you'll realise how much you don't know. NB: Credit to @AlexandBooks on Twitter for the inspiration. #overthinking #clarity #oversimplification

Decentraland is the place to be. Well, if you want to be in a Metaverse, that is. A Metaverse is basically an online virtual world. A bit like a social network where you actually insert yourself it the virtual world, through your avatar. You'll be hearing a lot more about the Metaverse. But my first experience in Decentraland was pretty crappy. Why? Because there just weren't many other avatars (people) in the 'world' when I was there...at least not on my server. You see, Decentraland is built for massive scale and that means it's built across multiple servers. If you happen to be on a server where there are lots of other users, your experience can be great. But if, like me, you're on a server with not many active users...your experience sucks! The lesson here for any business is that if you build for scale, you need to remember that you will also have users/customers/guests that use your product or service 'pre-scale'. If the experience you have created relies on scale, what sort of experience wil

What I love about that statement is that it demands accountability. You need to take responsibility for how your future turns out. You have to take control and be an active participant in your future. That doesn't mean you have to be able to control all aspects and elements of your life. This is where I think many people get confused. How can I control my future if things happen that are out of my control? There will always be factors that are out of our control. But that doesn't mean that you can't still control the general direction and the ultimate outcome. NB: Thanks Seth for the inspiration! #carpediem #accountability #ownyourfuture

Many business struggle when it comes to creating regular content. One way to get around that is to focus on 'Evergreen Content'. Simply, content that is as relevant today as it will be in 2-3 years...or more. But when something like COVID-19 happens, the entire business landscape changes dramatically and so it's almost impossible for Evergreen Content to be relevant. Right? Wrong! Take a subject like Customer Service. The core of that topic, the things that really matter, the fundamentals, are still the same. What might be different is where that Customer Service is now taking place due to COVID-19 - ie: online. So, take the core piece of content you've created about Customer Service... add something above it about how COVID-19 has impacted the way we look at Customer Service, where we provide it, how we monitor it, etc etc... then, insert your core content (the Evergreen bit)... and finish it off with some thoughts on what will happen in relation to Customer Service on the other side of COVID-19.

I'm all for having a positive attitude. In fact, it infuriates me when people use the difficulties and challenges a a reason and excuse to not move forward. BUT...Toxic Positivity is a real thing. It happens when we deny the bad, the negativity and instead subscribe to blind optimising and positivity. In doing that, we effectively suppress the negative emotions...and they just build up...and up...until... they become toxic. So please, absolutely do maintain a positive attitude. But in doing that, don'y deny the negative. Accept that it's all just part of the game. Embrace it. Learn from it. Then, move forward. #postivemindset #toxicpositivity #realist

We like to hear stories about how successful things got started. What were the early days of the Ford Motor Company really like? How did JP Morgan go on to become such an important financial institution? If we understand these Origin Stories then we can use some of the learnings and lessons in them to help us in our journey. But you need to be aware that all Origin Stories have a certain degree of...let's just call them 'embellishments'. Little White Lies. Small exaggerations. Tiny understatements. I'm pretty sure that my personal Origin Story, as told by me, would be a little different from my Origin Stories as told through the eyes of my Mum. So, by all means, seek out these Origin Stories. There are definitely valuable lessons to be learned. Just don't take the entire story as being 100% factually correct. #storytelling #originstory #founderstories

Yesterday the world took a collective GASP...because Facebook went dark. And not just Facebook, but what Facebook owns too. Instagram and WhatsApp also went down. For the millions of people who have build their businesses on these platforms, it was a scary few hours. So, learn the lesson. Get you fans, followers and customers onto your own 'platform', one which you control. For most of us, that can be as simple as establishing an email list. To do that, you need to first give them a reason to give you their email address. A simple email newsletter. Some special Members Only offers. An free eBook. There's many ways you could go with this. The key is making sure that you first give them enough value that they're willing to hand over their email and then make sure you stay engaged with them on your new 'platform'. They will always return to the big social platforms, as that's where they spend so much of their time. But if you can pull them over onto your platform too, you can at least protect yoursel

Mentors can be great. I'm all in favour of people finding mentors. It's a useful means to an end. But, for some people, simply securing a mentor seems to be the end itself. They almost become obsessed with the idea of having a mentor. For them, a mentor is seen as a rite of passage on the path to professional greatness. Are you using the absence of a mentor as an excuse not to move forward? Do you subconsciously see your mentor's approval of a decision as a way of absolving you from responsibility for the outcome? Maybe it's time to focus less on your mentor and more on just taking action. #mentors #takeaction #nomoreexcuses

A nice little quote I picked up from the AppleTV+ series 'The Morning Wars'. What I like about it is that this quote makes it personal. Unlike the more general quote 'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing'. And it's especially relevant in a world of the internet and social media. These days, you don't even really need to know anything... You just need to know how to Google it. Of course, it's great that we can now get a little knowledge really easily. But just remember, unless you really know that particular topic in depth, it may be that you are just smart enough...to be stupid! #knowledge #besmart #selfawareness

Once Upon A Time, seemingly not so long ago, we used to have to wait. We had to wait for the next edition of the newspaper to get the latest news. We had to wait for next week's episode to find out what happens to our favourite characters. And we had to wait for the next movie release to watch a movie. But those days are gone, and with them, the Art of Anticipation. Anticipation kept people engaged and excited. But it can be a fine line between making your customers wait...and losing them. Apple has done a pretty good job of it with their annual launch events. It's definitely a line worth trying to tread. If you can do it successfully, you too can unlock some magic! #anticipation #customerjourney #marketing