Daniel San Martin
Articles

Notes on strategy, operations, and leading growing teams.

Short, scannable pieces written for founders and CEOs in the messy middle of growth. No frameworks for the sake of frameworks.

17 articles
[ strategy cover ]
Strategy 8 min read

Is your business ready to grow? Here are 5 critical tests to know

Five honest tests you can use to know if you and your company are ready for the next stage of growth.

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[ strategy cover ]
Strategy 9 min read

How to unlock the potential of a customer-centric strategy to accelerate business growth

Focus on the wants and needs of your customers, build mutual value, and find creative ways to accelerate growth.

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[ strategy cover ]
Strategy 7 min read

Strategy, vision, goals, and plans: what is the difference, and which one do you need?

Clients, staff, products. The difference between strategy, vision, goals, and plans, and how each one is relevant.

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[ operations cover ]
Operations 6 min read

Where is your company in the innovation spectrum?

Efforts to embed innovation in companies fall into a spectrum. Here are the three categories I keep seeing.

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[ people cover ]
People 5 min read

How to improve the effectiveness of your leadership style

You're not a leader unless you're being followed. One element is crucial if you want to lead effectively.

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[ operations cover ]
Operations 6 min read

Four ways to effectively implement innovation in your company

Practical tips and strategies for encouraging and implementing innovation inside a growing company.

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[ operations cover ]
Operations 7 min read

Designing quality outcomes as a risk minimisation strategy

Our mental picture of how the world works is shaped by our experiences. What does this have to do with quality and risk?

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[ people cover ]
People 5 min read

How to select the right team for your innovation initiatives

Selecting and upskilling individuals so they can succeed in their roles is hard. A few thinking prompts to guide your effort.

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[ people cover ]
People 6 min read

Three ways to foster psychological safety in the workplace

Putting people in a room together is not enough. Leaders need to shape behaviours to get the best out of teams.

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[ people cover ]
People 8 min read

Shifting the dial: how to embed an innovation mindset in your teams

A three-layered approach to embedding the mindset required to truly shift the dial for your company.

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[ people cover ]
People 5 min read

What is servant leadership and why should you care?

The concept can be clear in definition but confusing in application. Here is how to put it to work.

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[ people cover ]
People 5 min read

Three steps to boost your confidence you can apply right now

Trust yourself. Back yourself. Useful only when linked to specific actions, past or future.

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[ people cover ]
People 6 min read

How to link aspirational discontent to an improvement mindset

There is always something more to do. Aspirational discontent, used well, can fuel an improvement mindset.

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[ operations cover ]
Operations 7 min read

Planning the change, or changing the plan? Choose wisely.

Nothing is the same today as yesterday. Good change management starts with the elements, the why, and the how.

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[ strategy cover ]
Strategy 5 min read

Are your ideas fragile? Here's how to strengthen them

Every idea has to overcome two barriers to be executed. Here's how to give them a chance.

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[ people cover ]
People 4 min read

Is leadership really that big of a deal?

It can be hard to see leadership's transformational impact. So what is leadership, and what does great leadership look like?

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