Unfettered Growth

A blog by Jerry Murphey

Cognitive bias and the “Backwards Brain Bicycle”

Cognitive bias and the “Backwards Brain Bicycle” 150 150 Jerry Murphey

Check out this video about the “Backwards Brain Bicycle” and how our brains work when we have to relearn something we think we already know. It struck me as especially meaningful, given the speed of change businesses are experiencing due to the convergence of technology and its impact on human potential. When something is easy, people say…

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The Surprising Power of 1%

The Surprising Power of 1% 150 150 Jerry Murphey

Starting today, if you make a 1% improvement to your business everyday, what will your results be in one year? It’s called the theory of marginal gains and it took Sir Dave Brainsford 5-years of 1% improvements to lead the British cycling team from winning only a single gold medal in 76-years to winning 10…

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The 3 C’s of Clarity

The 3 C’s of Clarity 150 150 Jerry Murphey

If you put one foot on a block of ice and one foot on fire your average temperature should be just right. This silly analogy speaks to the problem with data (especially averages). Without comparison, contrast, and context the performance data about your business tends to lack meaning or it can even be misleading. Unfortunately,…

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Why Growth is Hard

Why Growth is Hard 150 150 Jerry Murphey

Nobody knows better than you how hard it is to start and grow a business. Sure, there are those times when things are easy. But even during the “easy times”, you remember how hard you worked to get where your are today. The good news is, once we’ve experienced some success, we have a repeatable…

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How to fix a leaky sales funnel in 7 easy steps

How to fix a leaky sales funnel in 7 easy steps 150 150 Jerry Murphey

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1599072386026{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”]If you operate a successful business, you know there are always things that could work better, but sometimes it’s hard to see exactly what and how. Take the process you use to acquire new customers, your sales funnel. At its highest level, a sales funnel consists of a top, middle and bottom. Let’s call…

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The Surprising Power of 1%

The Surprising Power of 1% 150 150 Jerry Murphey

Starting today, if you make a 1% improvement to your business every day, what will your results be in one year? It’s called The Theory of Marginal Gains, …and it took famed cycling coach, Sir Dave Brailsford, 5 years of 1% improvements to lead the British Cycling Team from winning only a single Gold Medal…

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Managing Change with Mental Models

Managing Change with Mental Models 150 150 Jerry Murphey

It was Heraclitus who is first quoted as saying: “Change is the only thing that is constant.”   First of all, doesn’t this quote beg the question: How much change was going on around 500 years before the birth of Christ, compared to today?   I guess there was the constant threat of being attacked…

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20/20 Foresight and the “Woulda,Coulda,Shouldas”

20/20 Foresight and the “Woulda,Coulda,Shouldas” 150 150 Jerry Murphey

It doesn’t take special powers to see what we “woulda, coulda, shoulda” done in the past, after the fact. We all have regrets about the past… an opportunity we missed, if we only knew what we know now. They say hindsight is 20/20. But it takes foresight to combine a vision of the future with…

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Resilience

Resilience 150 150 Jerry Murphey

It is easier to paddle a canoe on a calm lake. Resilient systems are much more efficient and effective. They rely on workflows that function in spite of setbacks, barriers or even limited resources. They do not rely on top-down hierarchical structures but, instead, they create a latticework of self-organization. Its faster to get where…

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Better than 20/20 vision

Better than 20/20 vision 150 150 Jerry Murphey

You know that thing where you become aware of something—an unfamiliar word, item, image, or action—and then see it again and again, seemingly everywhere you look. It’s called the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. …It works in the other direction, as well. Troxler Fading is an optical illusion where, if we are presented with a steady image in…

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