#unplanyourbusiness in The Financial Times

My #unplanyourbusiness idea got some coverage in today's Financial Times, in an article called 'When There's No Plan A'. It features contributions from me, David Hieatt, Gary Vaynerchuk, Raj Dey and others. Check it out on FT.com here.


You can grab a copy of the short e-book I have authored with David Sloly here.

Unplan Your Business

In these turbulent economic times, the wise among us question every business certainty. Business-as-usual hasn’t served individuals, businesses or governments well. Traditional long-term strategy retains its place but, with web based tools revolutionising the speed at which we can launch and test ideas, I think the future requires we bust the myth that we can plan/guess the future and, that we need to UNPLAN OUR BUSINESSES instead. 

“How To Unplan Your Business” is my latest project; a collaboration with a friend and former colleague David Sloly.

In my research I have gathered various contributions from entrepreneurs and management thinkers including Tom Peters, Kevin Roberts (Worldwide CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi), Tony Hsieh (CEO, Zappos), David Hieatt (ex CEO Howies), Gary Vaynerchuk, Michael Schrage (prototyping guru) and Alan Webber (founding editor of Fast Company) - all of whom, for different reasons, support the idea.

WEB you can see these contributions at the Unplan blog here.

READ there’s a free ebook, that you can download here.

LIVE if you’re going to be at SXSW Interactive, join us at 5pm on Saturday March 13^th in Room E at the Hilton for a Big Conversation

VIDEO there’s a short video here

AUDIO and a short audio trailer here

David Hieatt's "The Things The Last Ten Years Have Taught Me"

Until last year David Hieatt* was CEO of howies, the outdoor clothing retailer he founded. If you’re a howies customer, you’ll be familiar with some of the touches that make the brand so distinctive. From signs in stores to the catalogue, this is a brand with an attitude and purpose. And it’s refreshingly different.


In their Carnaby Street store in London, I snapped this photograph of the changing room wall. Written by David, it’s “The Things The Last Ten Years Have Taught Me”.

I’ll let it speak for itself (click on the image to enlarge):

* if you’re interested in finding out more about David, check out my post about him on my ‘Unplan Your Business’ website here.