Making Strategy Happen | Chris Maffeo - Part I

Our Guest: Chris Maffeo of the Maffeo Drinks PodcastThis is Chris’ LinkedIn summary:My love for the industry comes from afar, coming from a family of F&B distributors since 1884: The business survived two world wars but closed shop with my Grandpa’s passing, just after marking the 100th anniversary, when I was 6. All that’s left are my childhood memories of products and flavors and a black & white photo of Nonno Vito, known in town as Don Vito, proudly sitting in front of the entrance, that I keep in my wallet. Fast forward, my last 20 years started with a master's degree, living in a few countries 🇮🇹 🇬🇧 🇧🇪 🇫🇮 🇸🇪 🇨🇿 , 🇩🇰, 450 flights worldwide, and jobs I had always dreamt of until something changed.In 2019, I received one of those calls that a son living abroad hopes he will never get: my mum had passed away without the time to say goodbye. I looked at my 5-month-old daughter and decided it was time to stop being her career-driven, frequent-flying dad and start building the foundations of the woman she would become. I decided to quit highly paid senior corporate roles and repurpose my life and priorities.I deep-dived and realized that I had never accepted that 100 years of family business learning could disappear, leaving only great memories behind. Verba volant, scripta manent! My mum, a Latin teacher, would always say.So, I decided I would not let that happen again and committed to documenting the learnings from my mistakes and successes, having my daughter in mind as a potential reader.3 months later, I set up my own company.Regardless of what her path in life will be, she will be able to use those learnings and they will be saved for the next generations. Until she is ready for them, I've decided to share my experience with drinks brands founders and employees to help them fast-track their learning curve avoiding mistakes that can cost them tons of money.In this episode00:01 Intro07:21 What is a good brand strategy?14:20 The Thread between strategy and execution21:24 Setting the Right Expectations on Brand Building27:29 Frugality, Money in A&P and Time31:55 The Bottom-up Strategy44:41 Should an ample opportunity arise, can you change your strategy? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.filibertoamati.com/subscribe