#Cheqmate

Your book "is so clear and logical about the foundation and building blocks of a successful business. Everything you have written resonates and is a great reminder of some of the things I have either forgotten or ignored to my peril. Your book should be compulsory reading for any ambitious person who wants to substantially grow their business."

Julian Tertini, Founder of Fantastic Furniture and Freedom Furniture. the Freedom Group is likely to hit 1 billion in revenues this year.

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Where there is Hope in the Future,
there is Power in the Present

Fritz Shoemaker

Mar 26, 2020
3 min

Where there is Hope in the Future, there is Power in the Present

The title of this article is a derivative of a John C Maxwell quote, and resonated well with me today. I gave some strategy presentations two weeks ago in Adelaide and Perth. I included the attached photo of the Cadillac 452. I said to the audience that I am the world’s foremost authority on my opinion, and in my opinion the 452 is a good-looking car. The Cadillac 452 was released in January 1930. The stock market crash that signalled the beginning of the Great Depression was

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Fritz Shoemaker

Jan 7, 2020
3 min

False Dichotomy of Work/Life Balance

Happy New Year Everyone. I am back after a long break which included a family cruise around Asia, my daughter’s graduation from Medical School and another two weeks break at Christmas. One would say I have a good work/life balance, but that is not the way to view it. While I was on Holiday’s I kept reading. It was not because I felt a need to keep up with work rather it is what I am. I don’t see a distinction between my interest in business and my private life and Christmas c

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Fritz Shoemaker

Sep 30, 2019
1 min

5 Year Strategy Review?

If you are reviewing your strategy after five years do you really even have a strategy? I heard an interview the other day and someone said they were going to review the five-year strategic document they had inherited when taking over as the new Chairman. It left me wondering if it was reviewed yearly or if indeed it was being reviewed after five years. When I hear someone saying they are reviewing their five-year strategic document my mind jumps to the latter. But how good i

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Does Culture Eat Strategy for Breakfast? No.

Fritz Shoemaker

Jun 28, 2019
2 min

Does Culture Eat Strategy for Breakfast? No.

I recently attended a conference and a rather high-profile and expensive training course. The saying that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’ came up several times. In one instance a participant also said that there would be no point in helping a firm with strategy, if the owner or CEO doesn’t understand finances. The saying that culture eats strategy for breakfast implies that you have a binary choice, you can either focus on culture or focus on strategy. This is what is a

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Why Corporate held Emotional Intelligence Underpins Strategy

Fritz Shoemaker

Jun 13, 2019
8 min

Why Corporate held Emotional Intelligence Underpins Strategy

It is important to first understand what strategy is, in order to have a clear idea as to why Corporate held Emotional Intelligence (ChEI) and a Corporate held Emotional Quotient (ChEQ) is the key element of successfully executing strategy. Defining Strategy Strategy seems to be used as a throwaway word these days, and it is misunderstood. It doesn’t help that most textbooks, including MBA textbooks, get this wrong. Strategy is more than a plan or the ‘long-term direction of

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Fritz Shoemaker

May 31, 2019
2 min

Driving Blind

I catch about 15 minutes of the ABC News Breakfast show every morning and today there was a segment on looking at your mobile phone while driving. It was for the launch of a new commercial called Driving Blind, which was created by the Transport Accident Commission. The first line is “A glance at your phone is the same as this”, while showing what is depicted in the picture I added. That line is followed by, “When you’re on your phone you’re driving blind.” It is a pretty pow

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Fritz Shoemaker

May 24, 2019
5 min

How the Book Started

I am often asked this question so decided to write down how this all came about. I moved to Tasmania after giving up being a chef and was working for a hospital group. I was hoping to move onto the Executive Team when the hospital bought another hospital. Part of the acquisition included a new Director of Corporate Services. The CEO had previously indicated that I would be a good candidate and they were committed to hiring from within. When the new person started the CEO call

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Emotional Intelligence, Strategy and a To-Do-List.

Fritz Shoemaker

May 17, 2019
3 min

Emotional Intelligence, Strategy and a To-Do-List.

The title of this blog might leave you wondering what the three items have to do with each other, but while I have written about strategy and the roll that emotional intelligence has in strategy, I have not written about a to-do-list. At least I have not used the term ‘to-do-list’ nor have I explicitly linked the three items. I write that strategy is every employee, every day. It is living the strategy it is not a document. If one were to determine the Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goa

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Mentors, Master Mind Groups or Emulating?

Fritz Shoemaker

May 10, 2019
3 min

Mentors, Master Mind Groups or Emulating?

Business Mentors A business mentor is a person that can transfer skills, knowledge and expertise to a mentee. It is generally agreed that a mentor should be someone who has a great deal of experience and credibility in a subject. According to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman there are over two million small businesses in Australia*. IF everyone in Australia were a businessperson there would be a potential of about ten mentors per business. That is

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Fritz Shoemaker

May 1, 2019
3 min

Boeing: Why their new goal of “Re-earning Trust” will be hard to achieve.

I watched the news conference with the Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg and could not help to be drawn to the fact that these tragic events are right on topic with the concept of a Corporately held Emotional Quotient (ChEQ). At the shareholder meeting there were calls for his resignation and I can understand why. One of the reported goals of the meeting was to re-build trust but the shareholder meeting and the actions of the company in general show a large lack of Relationship Aw

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Should you have a Public Relations Department or a Relationship Management Department?

Fritz Shoemaker

Apr 26, 2019
2 min

Should you have a Public Relations Department or a Relationship Management Department?

A Public Relations Department has the role of communicating information to anyone that may have an interest in or opinion about a company. Some definitions state that it is a process that builds a relationship with the public. Often people think of Press Releases when they think of a Public Relations department. In a way the Public Relations Department helped to confirm the concept of a Corporate held Emotional Intelligence (ChEI). Emotional Intelligence is Self-Awareness, Se

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Fritz Shoemaker

Apr 24, 2019
1 min

Anticipation: Moves and Counter-Moves

Good strategy must have an element of anticipation. Think of it this way; say your business finds a gap or an opening in the market, you decide that you are going move into that gap or market space. Your competitor determines that they don’t want you to have that market segment to yourself, so they react to your move. We now have had a move and counter move. A bit like a chess game. But in chess you don’t make a move without thinking about what the opponent might do. If you h

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Fritz Shoemaker

Apr 19, 2019
1 min

A "Realised" Strategy

You may not know it, but if you are thinking that you don’t have a strategy: there are some expensive textbooks that would say that you do. I own way too many strategy textbooks and most talk about a “Realised” strategy. This is described as the totality of the actions you undertake in every day business. I worked with a firm that said they did not have a foreign exchange policy or position, rather they just took the spot rate. Taking the spot rate is their position or their

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Fritz Shoemaker

Apr 10, 2019
2 min

Empathy and Trust in Marketing

There are a great many speakers and writers that are asked, “How do I market in a business world where low trust advertising and marketing is the norm?”. Recently, or at least in the last five years, there are more and more responses that are related to Empathy. These responses often have conditions of Trust. In fact, the idea of selling Ice to Eskimos is often cited as Eskimos obviously don’t need ice. In my experience, one of the best salespersons that I have ever employed

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