Devops for Growth

1. When you’re launching a brand new business?

Answer: NO!

If you’re launching a new business from scratch and pay a brand expert a huge pot of money to craft you a ‘brand platform’ or ‘brand hierarchy’ or ‘brand strategy’ then you’re essentially wasting your money. Because…

a) Your business, in today’s climate, WILL have to pivot and iterate to find long-term, sustainable success. That means the “why”, “how” and “what” you just paid a small fortune for will mean absolutely cock-all in a matter of months after launch.

b) You, or other stakeholders in your company — especially the one who sanctioned the payment of the brand platform — will insist on sticking to THAT PLAN. At all costs. No one likes to lose face. The HIPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinions) decides.

However, a certain mini bastardisation of the Golden Circle can (and should) be used in the creation of a new MVP (if your business is being built according to to lean methods) but think of it as a short exercise:

• Who will be the target of your MVP?
• Why should people care?
• What do you want users to do?

If you can honestly answer the above 3 points for your new MVP you may just have landed on a decent idea.

2. Is the Golden Circle useful when you’re trying to shape the future of an existing brand that’s lost its way?

Answer: NO!

Let’s say you’re CEO at Company X, or a high level stakeholder at a company that maybe needs a shot in the arm, or a new direction to help you get through the next 5–10 years. A boost to help you solidify your place, your role, in this brave new world of internationalisation and digitalisation. You really don’t want to put all your hopes (not to mention cash that could go into wages, R&D, real-life experiments etc and many other more honourable activities) into a Golden Circle Powerpoint. That’s just too risky.

Note: If you’re wondering what said CEO might want to do instead… he could stress test some potential hypothesis’, different directions, new products or services in a controlled and low-risk manner. From an MVP that’s ready to validate on a small scale (on a small budget) hopefully one such venture will help write the next chapter for Company X. You simply can’t plan a brand for the long-term using a fixed, printed, strategy. It doesnae work laddie! There’s too many unknowns in the future and the world is moving just too damn fast.

3. Is the Golden Circle useful when you’re planning a Marketing or Advertising Campaign?

Answer: Maybe, I guess.

If you’re a company that still has traditional marketing and advertising processes in place then the Golden Circle may be a decent exercise for you. It can help categorise, rationalise and simplify your brand voice. Companies who are using their “why” to communicate their business to consumers (in conversations, tone of voice, adverts etc) could perform better. If they have a credible “why” in their DNA. Not all businesses do, they just have products that work and fill a need — simple as that.

Remember kids… “Advertising is the price you pay for being unremarkable” — Robert Stephens

4. Can you use the Golden Circle to take a mini-health / compass check of your business?

Answer: Yes!

Think about the Golden Circle as an exercise in taking stock. Not the stock lying in pallets in the factory, I mean taking stock as in taking a deep breath, looking around, smelling the coffee. Stop to look at your business from the outside-in for a moment and being brutally honest to find out what “why” is in your company’s DNA. This isn’t easy. You might struggle to find a credible why. And be prepared for that “why” to change in the future. The “why” that put your business in it’s current position may not be the same “why” you have at present. Flexibility and rapid ability to change keep you top of the food chain.

« La réponse longue :

En 2011, nous avons planifié le déploiement de nouveaux datacentres en Europe. Pour tester l’appétence de chaque marché, avec de nouvelles villes et de nouveaux pays, nous avons imaginé une nouvelle technologie de déploiement de datacentres, basée sur les containers maritimes. Grâce à cette technologie, développée en interne, nous avons voulu avoir la souplesse de déployer un datacentre sans les contraintes de temps liées aux permis de construire. À l’origine, nous voulions avoir la possibilité de valider nos hypothèses avant d’investir durablement dans un site.

« C’est comme ça que début 2012, nous avons lancé SBG avec un datacentre en containers maritimes : SBG1. Nous avons déployé huit containers maritimes et SBG1 a été opérationnel en seulement deux mois. Grâce à ce déploiement ultra rapide, en moins de 6 mois nous avons pu valider que SBG est effectivement un site stratégique pour OVH.