Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Do Less, Better
Written by Gregory Cromwell
Last night I had an epiphany of sorts when I came up with three words that sum up the direction I would like to take Bush Branding & Marketing and probably more to the point, my personal life. Ironic that my new mantra (Do Less, Better) would come to me via advice I was giving our 8 year old daughter, Morley.
Morley, like me, loves to take on as much as possible in the shortest time frame. Yesterday, it was halter training her Dexter Cow Abelina in preparation for her debut in the show ring in Bangalow Show. Moe was not happy with the fact that she could not get her cow to walk perfectly in a circle and stand quietly beside her after 5 minutes of training. When I tried to explain to Morley that she need not be frustrated with what she had accomplished in such a short time and that she should pull back her expectations and be happy with doing less, better. Understandably, Moe did not really understand what she had done wrong and what her Dad was going on about in an attempt to hold back her tears of frustration. It was then that I realised these words were as much about me as they were her. In an attempt to drive my words of advice home I went explained to Morley that my time working with her and her cow was an example of me practicing what I was preaching. A half hour before I had turned down the urge to join in on a horse ride with my wife and my daughter Aubrey. My normal approach to things is to try to do it all; but for some reason on this occasion I showed some restraint and focused on doing one thing well--which was to focus on Morley and her cow training.
In closing, I will leave you with some more words. "If I had more time I would have written you a shorter letter." This is an expression that was passed onto me by the Creative Director of Ranscombe & Co on many occasions when we were pitching short and snappy headlines and copy to clients. In today's web 2.0 and social media world the ability to say and do less and communicate more and better is a winning combination.
For some more ideas on how to do less, better for your business. Have a look at this article "Marketing 2009: A Game Plan for the Recession".
Last night I had an epiphany of sorts when I came up with three words that sum up the direction I would like to take Bush Branding & Marketing and probably more to the point, my personal life. Ironic that my new mantra (Do Less, Better) would come to me via advice I was giving our 8 year old daughter, Morley.
Morley, like me, loves to take on as much as possible in the shortest time frame. Yesterday, it was halter training her Dexter Cow Abelina in preparation for her debut in the show ring in Bangalow Show. Moe was not happy with the fact that she could not get her cow to walk perfectly in a circle and stand quietly beside her after 5 minutes of training. When I tried to explain to Morley that she need not be frustrated with what she had accomplished in such a short time and that she should pull back her expectations and be happy with doing less, better. Understandably, Moe did not really understand what she had done wrong and what her Dad was going on about in an attempt to hold back her tears of frustration. It was then that I realised these words were as much about me as they were her. In an attempt to drive my words of advice home I went explained to Morley that my time working with her and her cow was an example of me practicing what I was preaching. A half hour before I had turned down the urge to join in on a horse ride with my wife and my daughter Aubrey. My normal approach to things is to try to do it all; but for some reason on this occasion I showed some restraint and focused on doing one thing well--which was to focus on Morley and her cow training.
In closing, I will leave you with some more words. "If I had more time I would have written you a shorter letter." This is an expression that was passed onto me by the Creative Director of Ranscombe & Co on many occasions when we were pitching short and snappy headlines and copy to clients. In today's web 2.0 and social media world the ability to say and do less and communicate more and better is a winning combination.
For some more ideas on how to do less, better for your business. Have a look at this article "Marketing 2009: A Game Plan for the Recession".
posted by bbm
