Steven Parsons & The Purple Sheep Project

Otley on Squidoo 

Otley

Otley is an historic market town located in West Yorkshire on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. You won't find Otley in many tourist brochures. That's because its a real living village in the heart of Yorkshire. If you want to experience the real Eng...

My Very Latest Lens' 

Origin Washing - How stupid are consumers?

Origin Washing

Consumers in the United Kingdom are currently being encouraged to buy products made in the third world, but with a union jack attached to make them feel better about it or actually to mislead consumers about the supply chain.. Are the consumers savv...

The Purple Sheep Project 

Here are all my lenses to date..

Purple Sheep Project - The Death of Retail

Here is a short story about an everyday experience. If you want your company to vainsh be like these guys... It is bizarre how many companies out there are blaming the economic downturn for their downfall. Companies can grow now if they get smart!...

Purple Sheep Project - Business As Unusual

The business models that created iconic brands of the past are now guaranteed models of business failure. Incredibly we still see major businesses and even governments, in fact even the European Union embracing thinking that is almost certain to deli...

Purple Sheep Project - We are all Doomed!

What is your business doing to anticipte market shifts? The world is changing at an ever increasing pace, yet many companies keep doing what they have always done. It is critical to the survival of organisations that they anticipate market shifts a...

Purple Sheep Project - Design Thinking

The ongoing success of organisations lies in the embracement of Design Thinking not just in the product development department but throughout the organisation. Great design extends beyond making things look good. Great design means creating things t...

Sustainable Brands

Increasingly people (customers) are looking for stories. The story of how your product got to market. The story they can tell their friends about the discovery they made. Right now people are more critical than ever before about spending on things w...

Purple Sheep Project - The Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing

New Marketing is not rocket science, never was. It isn't getting harder or more difficult, but it is changing, always will. The world has changed, attention spans are shorter, digital media has shifted power from advertising executives to consumers....

Purple Sheep's Traffic Hits Guide

The best way to get more traffic is to get more links out there.. But remember its not clicks that count.. You want targeted traffic that will stay and read what you have to say, maybe even visitors that are looking for information and will be tempte...

Purple Sheep Project - The Big Picture

Often we focus on a small part of business to ensure we do "our job" really well. If we are too focussed on key objectves do we risk loosing sight of the main target? It is worth taking a step back and looking at the big picture every once in a whil...

Purple Sheep Project - Magnetic Business

Stop thinking like a bean counter and start connecting with your audience to provide things that people absolutely must have. Is your product something that consumers are lining up for? Or is your product just one option in an overcrowded market?...

Purple Sheep Project - Guide To Commercial Suicide

Many organisations promise a lot but then deliver less. It is tempting when income streams dry up to cut a few corners, downgrade on the specification, buy cheaper parts, and hope the end user does not notice. They notice and they leave! If your...

Purple Sheep Project - Innovation Workplace

Business success is not luck. Great companies have great products and great service not by chance but by design. To create a business that has delivers a great experience is a relatively simple formula and its all about creating the right environment...

Purple Sheep Project - Being Market Led

Innovation in product development, design and marketing has never been more crucial. A fundamental part of design is to create products and services with an end use / human being in mind. Innovation only happens by design when we focus on an end use...

Purple Sheep Project - Return to Sensibility

This year is officialy the International Year of Natural Fibres. The World Trade Organisation will be taking this opportunity to remind people how important natural fibres are to the well being of society. When you think it about the world went nuts...

Purple Sheep Project - Fuzzy Innovation

Fuzzy innovation is about getting stuff done. But getting stuff done that is worth getting done. Fuzzy as we have to explore, be open to new ideas, and always strive to be doing things in new and better ways. Fuzzy is not straight, defined, or boxed...

Purple Sheep Project - The Ten Commandments of Innovation

Products don't have to fail but many companies think that me-too or second-to-market products will work. This safe and boring approach to business simply won't be good enough anymore. If your product doesn't excite the early adoptors, then the masses...