Category Archives for "Business Models"

My wife received a bill from Rogers via snail mail this morning. She groaned when she saw yet another invoice from this firm. So, I asked myself this question: How could I (if I worked at Rogers) make Dawn squeal with delight every time we sent her an invoice?

Engineers say a perfect machine is one with no moving parts. I’d add to that: Complexity is the enemy of success in all endeavors. How could we apply those twin concepts to business modeling? Here’s how: By answering the question–can we reduce the complexity of operating an organization, any business even charity, not-for-profit or foundation, […]

Where buildings in North America meet grade, we tend to throw away its value. How’s that? Every time you open a building at grade to the outside, every time, you add both functionality and value. It’s easier to access apartments, condos, retirement residence suites/rooms, stores, offices co-working spaces, makerspaces, you name it and it makes […]

Fifteen minutes outside of Olhão, Portugal, you will find a 30-hectare olive oil plantation that combines sustainable farming practices with agritainment. Most mornings around 10 or 10:30 am, a Monterosa (favorably reviewed on TripAdvisor–62 reviews, five stars) staffer will take a group of around 30 (made up of locals on holiday and tourists) around the […]

I actually don’t like going away but, when I do, I find that things which were complicated suddenly aren’t. Here’s what I do to gain perspective: -exercise 4-6 times per week (20 minutes after I finish, problems miraculously “solve themselves”) -“move the furniture,” which means getting up from your desk and walking around—for example, when […]

Don’t worry. Your customers and clients will teach you all you have to know, says Horse Country Campground founder Walter Willett.   In a kind of reverse Socratic methodology, all you have to do to create a world-class enterprise is to begin. Over time, your customers and clients will ask you all the right questions […]

Best Buy, according to most prognosticators, should be dead by now… bulldozed by Amazon, but it’s not. How did they turn the trick? They changed their business model. If you are in a products business these days, you will want to add services. If you’re in the service biz, you’ll want to consider adding products. […]

Why do private sales often suck? Well, here’s an email I received from a client of mine (a significant and sophisticated) real estate investor explaining why this may be so: A neighbor of mine is elderly; he lost his wife a few years ago. She was a fine person. Having said this, however, I have […]

What is the proper role of a CEO or founder? In my experience, s/he needs to take responsibility for just four things; these are: -sales -recruiting talent & holding them accountable -finance -vision, innovation, differentiation, business model & culture of the organization Everything else is up to the COO, chief operating officer, and other executives. […]

Here are 15 signs you are working with a great coach: You are more focused because you have learned to use the word “no” a lot more; you feel less stressed and overwhelmed You are more productive, and your financial situation is more stable and sustainable You’re crystal clear on what really matters to you; […]

[A version of this article first appeared in Ottawa Business Journal, https://www.obj.ca/bruce-firestone] When most people think about business models and modeling, they think it only applies to tech startups but turns out, they’re just as important in any industry including real estate. If I ask someone about real estate models, she or he will probably […]

Here’s a TEDx talk by Priya Parker that, among other things, helps you find your passion. I learned this year that the two most important days of your life are: the day you are born and the day you find out why. It took me 61 years to find my “why.” I discovered it when I […]