Here are my top 12 tweets of 2010 – as voted for by…… me! You can follow me and see all my tweets at @stuart_cross. See you there!

  1. Many companies fail because they’re great, not bad, at what they do – it’s just no longer valued, eg Kodak
  2. Don’t be mindlessly customer led. Innovation means that you must also lead, not just follow your customers
  3. Separate objectives from tactics. Be fixed on the vision, but flexible on the route
  4. Who owns your growth agenda for the next 2-5 years? If no one, then you’ll always just have incremental plans
  5. Failure is inevitable in any new venture. The secrete is to fail quicker and cheaper than the other guy
  6. Don’t just ask customers, observe them. Customers are poor predictors of their own future behaviour
  7. Build on your strengths. Too many companies focus on correcting weaknesses, not exploiting their advantages
  8. Innovation is still the key driver of long-term profit growth. How high is it on your agenda?
  9. As with your personal health, business vitality results from effective daily regimes, not a magic pill
  10. It’s a lack of commitment, rather than design, that prevents most companies from delivering their growth strategies
  11. Retaining customers is as critical as managing costs. Cost accountants are everywhere, but I’ve yet to meet a retention accountant!
  12. There are only 3 ways to grow sales: 1 Sell more to current customers; 2 Gain new customers; 3 Raise average prices. Which is your priority?

© Stuart Cross 2010. All rights reserved.