Indeed, it would be misleading to suggest there was. Every customer is different. The honest truth is that there is no single answer. There are lots of things that everyone should do, but there’s so many combinations and iterations of these things that you can’t define them as a single solution.

This is important to recognise. There are many, many activities, approaches and practises that we can recommend, but everyone’s needs are different – they have different budgets, different approaches and different goals. They inhabit different markets and environments. It’s interesting to reflect on this at the moment, as we have four customers approaching major trade shows in February. Three of these will be attending Mobile World Congress, while the fourth is going to Call Centre World. A fifth is aiming at TMW in May, while others are still in the planning stages.

While we are doing many similar things for each, the precise plans and arrangements remain different and uniquely tailored to their goals and available resources. There are always significant differences in what we do, how we work and the ideas we propose. Of course, innovation in one direction increases the capabilities in our toolbox, benefitting all of our customers. Where something doesn’t work, we can’t, however, rule out the possibility that in a different situation it might be just the ticket.

There are no magic beans or silver bullets that can be applied. Instead, there’s a rigorous approach, deep knowledge of the markets serviced by our customers and a keen willingness to adapt and evolve to get things done and deliver results. There are, however, three essential ingredients that we all share: flexibility, pragmatism and persistence.

While there is no universal panacea, applying the knowledge, tools and skills that we have, backed by a strong pragmatic element, doing it flexibly and doing it again and again and again means that we can adapt, iterate, evolve and constantly deliver what’s required, when it’s required.

Searching for magic beans or silver bullets is a pointless task. There is no single formula. But if you are flexible, persistent and pragmatic, then you can make the most of what you have, determine the best course in the circumstances and then ensure you deliver, however things change around you – because you can be sure that they will.