Alex Smith, The Strategy Expert and No Bullshit Strategy Author: 10 Uncommon Strategies to Escape Competition, Enter Your Consumers Subconscious, Make Consumers Fall in Love with Your Brand

Jun 17, 2024

02:17:05

Ironically, I remember the first time I got smacked in the face

Ironically, it was in a crumbly old boxing pub called The Ring.

The Ring is opposite Southwark Station.

One of life’s lovely oxymorons; a Thai restaurant shoved up the jaxxie of boozer.

It was a hot afternoon, the first time I got smacked in the face

Too hot. Sticky hot. Too sticky hot.

I felt like a f*cking sticky pork rib in Uniqlo getup as we climbed the stairs

We climbed and climbed and climbed

the marvellous aromatic waft of Green and Red and Yellow curries hummed and marbled and danced into hot June air.

The room was barren.

I didn’t know Alex Smith at all.

We hit record.

Within 1 minute, Alex smacked me round the face.

smacked me round the face with wisdom

left hook lucid-clarity

right hook this-is-right-way

strategy sucker-punch

it was an INSANE podcast

I went downstairs, ordered a cold Guinness, and thought “F*ck me, that was absolutely banging."

About 3 weeks later.

Alex ABSOLUTELY booted off on LinkedIn with his seminal and prodigious book “No Bullshit Strategy”

Over the past 2 years, we’ve become great friends. This is Alex’s third rodeo on the pod.

Alex’s thinking is lucid clear.

Like warm silk over cold marble. And Sunny February Morning frost.

ON THE MENU:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Strategy - The role of entering the consumers subconscious to unlock strategic insights
Why USP’s are a complete waste of time. Unique Points of Disagreement > Unique Selling Points
Why Unique Points of Difference = Surface Level Consumer “conscious” BUT Unique Points of Disagreement = Deeper Level Consumer Subconscious
3 Questions to to break out the rails of bad bland brand thinking
Why the world doesn't reward the best ideas. It rewards those who are best at communicating those ideas.
Why MOJU is closer to Lucozade Vs innocent - the VITAL difference between “perceived” and “true” competitors
How to avoid the survivorship bias of bad ideas + Be like Elon Musk, “you need a defence of your ideas”
The Starbucks vs SAS Principle: there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” culture - it’s the just what’s the right culture to deliver strategy
Why “Start With Why” is NOT strategy “Why” is simply a storytelling tool
Why we are unhealthily obsessed with substance vs. style - those that focus on style beat those that focus on substance
Why focusing on Style actually reveals the value in the substance, Your role a founder is to be obsessed with style