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Paul O'Dea Articles

Guest post by: Paul O'Dea

Building a better board - Click To Read Article
CEOs are advised to build better boards, but doing so is hard. Most plough the leader's lonely furrow and board building does not make the priority list. Other CEOs recognise the value and build better boards, which provide solid advice, facilitate business introductions and help raise funding.

Hitting the Sweet Spot - Click To Read Article
Anyone who’s ever played golf knows about the ‘sweet spot’. It’s that favoured spot on the clubface – hit the sweet spot and it feels good, you’re in control of the ball and that birdie is yours for the taking. If you don’t hit that spot, it doesn’t feel right, you spend your time hacking in the rough and before you know it you’re in a bad patch.

The Startup investment paradox - why less is more! - Click To Read Article
Given that many business investors are on their way to the poor house, most start-ups are not going to secure investment until they become real companies. Here are five reasons why they may be better off.

Upbeat thinking in a Downturn Economy - Click To Read Article
History tells us great companies are made during recessions. But where do you start? How do you lead your battered troops on a new ambitious campaign?

Show me the money! - Measure your value, or someone else will - Click To Read Article
Can you answer and back up the question “How much do you make or save me?” If not, you are not measuring or proving your value. Buyers have no time for unsubstantiated declarations of value. Understanding how to create, deliver and prove value can turn small companies into large ones and large ones into giants.

Focus on the critical few.... rather than the trivial many! - Click To Read Article
Too many growth companies are overwhelmed by lengthy plans and the distraction of the trivial many. Their CEOs find themselves drowning in detail, solving the crise du jour but unable to focus on those few things that would make growth happen. Cast as heroes, they play brilliantly, but dismally fail the audition from actor to director. Great CEOs identify and pursue the ‘critical few’. They make hard choices, adopt an unreasonable stubbornness and ensure each team member is clear and accountable. They leave no fudge room.

Getting your story straight - not so Innocent! - Click To Read Article
Innocent was launched in 1999, and ten years on, has over two thirds of the UK smoothie market, selling two million smoothies a week. Their smoothies are delicious and 100 percent natural, but that doesn’t explain their success. The three founders came from advertising and marketing backgrounds, not food. They didn’t know more than anyone else about ingredients or health. But they understood messaging. As Maurice Pinto, their first angel investor, said: “They wanted to start a company with the idea of creating a brand. Smoothies were simply the vehicle.”





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