Explore recent media coverage, from thought-leadership articles, to interviews, podcasts and book excerpts, highlighting Charlie’s insights, Mandarin’s mission, and fresh thinking to help you be more strategic.
In this podcast episode, I interview Charlie Curson, a strategic advisor, investor, and leadership coach, about his book, Be More Strategic: 12 Essential Practices to Build the Life and Career You Want. We discuss the critical importance of strategic thinking in both personal and professional contexts, stressing that strategy is about making intentional choices, not just planning actions. Charlie emphasises that this essential skill is learnable and requires a shift in mindset.
For many people, the word strategy still feels remote: the preserve of CEOs, consultants, and corporate boardrooms filled with slide decks and jargon. But in reality, done well, strategy isn’t an ivory-tower exercise. It’s a way of thinking and acting that can help anyone, in any role, at any level, to create greater clarity, confidence and impact in their career – and also in their broader lives.
In this episode of the Beyond Potential podcast, hoTom Mason and Tom Emery sit down with strategist, leadership coach, and author Charlie Curson to explore what it really means to be strategic. Drawing on ideas from his soon to be released book ‘Be More Strategic: 12 essential practices to build the life and career you want’, Charlie unpacks how leaders can create clarity, make better decisions, and move from reacting to leading with intent.
When 84 percent of executives say their organizations aren’t prepared for the next disruption, the problem isn’t just about managing the uncertainty; it’s outright confusion. Too many leaders still mistake planning for strategy. A plan is a list of actions, whereas a strategy is a set of interrelated, intentional choices about where to play, how to win and what to do (or not do).
Ask the leadership team of an organisation if they have a clear strategy, and almost all hands shoot up. Certainly initially. Ask those same leaders to describe that strategy in just a few sentences – and you’ll the hands perhaps waver, or simply start to lower. What most organisations call ‘strategy’ is often just a plan. A longer term plan. Possibly quite an elaborate plan! Useful, perhaps. Comforting, certainly. But strategy? Not quite.
“You need to think more strategically; you need to be more strategic!” It’s one of the most common, but least helpful, pieces of feedback professionals receive. In this Fast Company feature, Charlie Curson breaks down what strategy really means, separating myth from method. The piece explores how being strategic not only sharpens your decisions and influence, but also reduces overwhelm, giving you back clarity, confidence, and control in a chaotic world.
AI, geo-political volatility and shifting customer behaviour have made speed and agility essential – but without strategy, speed simply means getting lost faster. The truth is, most people were never taught how to be strategic. We're told to 'be more strategic' or to 'think more strategically' but rarely shown how. In this Entrepreneur UK feature, Charlie Curson reveals the 12 learnable practices behind true strategic mastery.
‘How can I (learn to) be more creative?’ This is one of the questions I’m frequently asked as a strategist, advisor and leadership coach. Creativity is one of the least researched ‘fields of expertise’, if I can call it that. Perhaps the difficulty in defining exactly what it is (or isn’t) explains why. The leaders and managers I work with are often surprised at just how creative some of what we do in strategy-related projects, workshops and development programmes actually is.
The Charlie Curson and Mandarin Press Kit is an essential resource for external partners, media, and third-party designers who need to accurately represent the Mandarin brand and Charlie Curson. As a central repository, it contains all approved brand assets, including all variations of the Mandarin logo (logotype, logo mark, primary logo), the definitive primary and secondary colour palettes. You will also find headshots for Charlie, images and press release for his book Be More Strategic, as well as his bio.
The kit is designed to ensure consistency in all third-party communications, facilitating correct usage of all visual elements and maintaining the brand's professional image across all media and external applications.
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Our press brand kit serves as a comprehensive and indispensable resource for media professionals, ensuring that all communications about a brand are accurate, consistent, and on-message.
The Mandarin press kit contains a wide array of approved assets, from high-resolution vector logos and official brand guidelines to carefully selected official imagery and photography, bios containing key messaging points.
By providing these essential tools in one accessible package, the press brand kit empowers media professionals, streamlining their workflow and eliminating guesswork.
The correct and consistent application of these our materials guarantees that key visual and messaging elements are used as intended, protecting the brand's identity from misrepresentation or misuse.
The Mandarin brand guidelines document is an essential companion to a press or media kit, serving as the definitive rulebook for how the brand should be presented. While the press kit provides the assets (like logos and images), the brand guidelines provide the crucial context and instructions on how to use them correctly.
The guidelines ensure consistency by outlining proper logo usage, colour palettes, typography, and tone of voice, all of which are vital for accurate representation. By using the brand guidelines, media professionals can avoid misusing assets from the press kit, guaranteeing that the brand's identity is maintained with integrity and professionalism across all public-facing materials.
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