Reflections from Whitecap MD Richard Coates
Someone one once told me that a business should be clear about “what it wants to be famous for” and “who it wants to be famous with”.
At Whitecap, we are clear that we want to be known and recognised as an accessible and affordable strategy consultancy working with mid-sized organisations across across a range of market sectors.
This is an aim that we have been building and working towards over the last few years and we believe that we are progressing well.
This week, I have had two reminders that we still have some way to go.
The first was when a long standing business friend offered to introduce me to an agency who “not only do the theory but also build and deliver”.
After my immediate thought… “we deliver and implement too!!”… I reflected on the comment.
Strategy shouldn’t be a theoretical activity, and whilst it can be conceptual, it must deliver tangible commercial benefits, as well as practical prioritisation and improved decision making today.
The second related to our FinTech activity, and our work with FinTech North in particular.
This has developed over the last couple of years and, due to the high degree of interest in the topic, our event and project work is well published.
Whilst both – Theory and FinTech – have elements of truth and understanding behind them, maybe they are borne out of all of our basic desires / needs to categorise and pigeon-hole things (and organisations) and keep them clear in our minds: to label something so it is easy to store and recall amongst the mass of information we have to process.
All organisations suffer similar challenges everyday, managed and steered by brand management, and underpinned by large or small marketing and PR budgets.
As we have large ambitions and a small budget, it’s not surprising that we still have a way to go.
And even if we are not known yet by everyone for what we really do, we are grateful that we are known for something… it’s a good start!