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Businesses should prioritise time for innovation. While dedicating more time is often ideal, even a limited but focused effort can yield significant outcomes. With the right team, process, and mindset, ideas and concepts can be developed in a day.

Brendan Collogan

Co-Founder, Director

Strategy—the perfect word for sounding important while saying absolutely nothing. It’s tossed around in boardrooms, peppered into presentations and can be used to justify just about every business decision imaginable. Typically, I do my best not to overuse it, but for today’s topic, I’ll need some leeway... If I promise not to mention ‘incremental’ or ‘leverage,’ perhaps you’ll stick with me.

Brendan Collogan

Co-Founder, Director

It’s always tempting to use a negative and bold statistic in the headline, like “Why 90% of Strategies Fail!” But we both know that complex issues rarely boil down to a single figure. Research on this topic varies significantly. For example, a 2022 article in The Harvard Business Review cites failure rates ranging from 50% to 90%. While eye-watering, a 40-point range feels uncomfortably vague for me. A bit more precise is a McKinsey study estimating that 50% to 70% of strategies fail. Yet, I can’t help but question the reliability of statistics from those who stand to benefit most from them.

Brendan Collogan

Co-Founder, Director

2024 has been a year I’ll always remember—a year of change, growth and reflection. After leaving Optus in March, I took an extended break for the first time in my career. It was a much-needed opportunity to gain perspective, spend meaningful time with my family, and truly understand the importance of prioritising health and well-being.

Brendan Collogan

Co-Founder, Director

In recent conversations, I have learnt how many of our corporates are responding to economic conditions and sustained pressure on household spending. I often come away from these conversations feeling pretty disheartened by the lack of ambition and “sameness” to their strategy. More often than not, it includes some form of cost cutting and a reshuffling of the deck chairs. But fundamentally they are left with the same problems and are likely to be staring down a new round of cost cutting in another years' time. Perhaps worse, they are no closer to repositioning the company to capture growth when the economy inevitably begins its next expansion.

Brendan Collogan

Co-Founder, Director

As David Goggins rightly puts it, it’s not just about the “discipline” part; it’s the “self” part that truly matters. The responsibility lies squarely on our shoulders. While setbacks are inevitable in both our professional and personal lives, the turning point rarely comes from external sources. Instead, it emerges from our own self-realisation that we alone have the power to steer our lives in the desired direction.

Brendan Collogan

Co-Founder, Director