ORANGE STAR BLOG
Subscribe to Fresh Squeezed, essential ideas on branding, marketing and growing a small business.
Subscribe to Fresh Squeezed, essential ideas on branding, marketing and growing a small business.
Do more with Docs – 11 new Google Docs features to try
Google Docs is a great way to create and share documents with others. It’s easy to use, and you can access your documents from anywhere. Plus, there are a lot of features that allow you to customize your documents however you want. Our friends at Zapier recently shared 11 new Google Docs features to try. Some of…
The Five Why’s Method – A Quick Overview
If you’re anything like me, you likely have a million things to think about on any given day. One of those things is trying to identify and solve problems. That’s where the five whys method comes in. This problem-solving technique can help you quickly get to the root cause of a problem so that you…
Strategy vs Tactics: What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter?
All too often, we confuse strategy with tactics. We think that the way we’re doing something (tactic) is the plan that will achieve the outcome (strategy). But that’s not the case.Strategy is a long-term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.Tactics are what you do to execute your strategy.Without a clear strategy, it’s easy to get lost in…
Efficiency, effectiveness and the need for more slack
In a world of constant distractions and the need to be efficient, we lose sight of what is truly important — effectiveness.Efficiency and effectiveness are not the same things. Being effective does not lie in being efficient.You can be efficient without being effective, and you can be effective without being efficient. It often comes down to having…
Edit ruthlessly
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry It can be harder to write something short and concise than something long. When you are constrained by space, you have to be more thoughtful about every word you use and…
Make sure an important task is done correctly every single time
Want to make sure an important task is done correctly every single time? Create a checklist “Creating a checklist is enormously valuable for two reasons. First, checklisting will help you define a system for a process that hasn’t yet been formalized-once the checklist has been created, it’s easier to see how to improve or Automate…
Tsundoku — the stacks of books you’ve purchased but haven’t read
Do you have stacks of unread books on your shelves? If so, good for you! The word “tsundoku” is a Japanese term for the stacks of books that people own but haven’t read yet. The term originated in the late 19th century as a satirical jab at teachers who owned books but didn’t read them….
Skepticism without cynicism
Skepticism is the practice of questioning everything. Whereas cynicism is the belief that people are generally motivated by self-interest. Skepticism is not automatically distrustful of others, while cynicism is.Skepticism does not preclude the possibility of happiness or success, while cynicism sees those things as an impossibility because it assumes that most people are out to get themselves…
Bad Decisions: How Scarcity Trap Affects Our Thinking
When it comes to making decisions, being in a state of scarcity can trap people into making bad choices.This is because when people are focused on meeting their urgent needs, they are less able to focus on anything else.While it is possible to reduce the impact of mistakes caused by scarcity, it is important to…
Indifference — the #1 reason customers change brands/companies
Did you know the #1 reason customers change brands/companies is because of perceived indifference?Too often, customers feel like just another number. And when they don’t feel like your company values them, they’re going to go somewhere that does.The opposite of indifference is care, so start caring about your customers today and they’ll be more likely…
