Beware what you want to believe
It’s easier to believe the most outlandish lie that confirms what you want to believe, than the most plausible truth that denies it. So be careful fixing on beliefs. Rather
- August 7, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Can you dance?
If you can’t dance, don’t dance. DJ. Or serve drinks. Or make witty conversation. Play to your strengths. If you can’t dance, don’t dance.
- August 4, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Why is anonymity important in Africa?
10 April 2012 I used to be against anonymity. When I read the forums and comments sections on sites like Moneyweb and MyAdsl my knee-jerk reaction was: “Online anonymity should
- August 3, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
It’s no good saying “I told you so”
If you see things going wrong, you must act. You can’t simply put it in writing or voice your concerns. Covering your arse might be useful in corporate politics, but
- August 1, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Reply to emails immediately
Do you find yourself dreading your email? Afraid of unpleasant communication? Can’t stand seeing how many unread items there are in your inbox? The easy solution is to simply play
- July 31, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Always be the underdog
No matter whether you’re the favourite, always think of yourself as the underdog. An underdog mentality forces you to prepare, to plan, to innovate. Especially to innovate. When you think you’re
- July 30, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
The three word summary
When explaining your product idea, it’s easy to write a page. Harder to write a paragraph. Even harder to write one sentence. But you haven’t cracked it until you simplified
- July 29, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Never believe something simply because you want to believe it
All of us humans are wired to believe what we want to believe. In other words, if you’ve decided you want to buy a business, you’re wired to look for
- July 28, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Steak is the best incentive
If you want someone to work harder, give him a cash incentive, ie: R10,000 for reaching sales targets. If you want him to work really hard, give him
- July 27, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Living is not enough
You need to live for something. Maybe it’s your kids, maybe it’s your country, maybe it’s your staff, whatever. Doesn’t really matter whether it is mundane or meaningful. It just
- July 25, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Do what you gotta do
A fund raise. An overseas trip. A new product launch. A massive conference. Important stuff. Stuff you’ve been thinking about for weeks and months and years. There’s no way you’re
- July 23, 2025
- Alan Knott-Craig
Single brand vs multi-brand
Should you have multiple brands? Or should you use a single brand across your company? It depends on who your customer is. And what your budget is. If you’re chasing