The solo business owner = 110% care factor
They are emotionally involved in every project, passionately committed to achieving results and personally responsible for all decisions. In short, they are determined to get it 100% perfectly right.
Big business client = 95% care factor
Generally they are less emotionally involved in the project, very committed – but not so much passionate – about achieving results and have other people to bounce their decisions off. In short, they want the project completed well and they want it off their desk.
Passion is a good thing, right? Well yes, but sometimes it can strangle action.
Many marketing initiatives I have observed move quickly to start with. The brief is taken, concepts drawn up and drafts delivered for review. Everyone’s happy so far. Then it’s only on the final 5% that things start to stall.
Tweaking, reviewing, analysis, adding more information, waiting for the right time or indecision all start to creep in, and the final touches to the project stretch into weeks. This is an attempt to make sure everything is 100% ready for launch.
The fact is, many a timely campaign or sharp idea has been watered down during these final ‘perfection’ stages. Rarely will the planets align for the 100% perfect environment and often the final few percent can take longer than the rest put together. So not only will you be achieving very little, you may be making things worse!
In a corporate environment, ranting bosses, fixed deadlines, fast-moving competitors and a slightly lower care factor combine to keep things moving forward – “let’s get it out the door!”
With solo businesses on a much tighter budget, it is even more important that you don’t waste time and money on something without a return, i.e. wasting it on labouring over the last few percent.
When you care just a little less, things start to happen. You’ll become more focused on getting the initiative out the door, you’ll make swifter decisions and the project will gain momentum. In short, it will actually happen and you’ll be onto the next one.
And let’s face it, 95% perfect is 1000% better than a killer idea that sits idly in your ideas folder.
Just pretend you’re back in the corporate world with a boss that says “I don’t give a X@#$ what else you’ve got on, just have something on my desk by Thursday morning!”
I’m all for passion, but too much can sometimes be a handbrake.
Is there something you need to loosen your grip on?
“ When you care just a little less, things start to happen. ”
Peter Crocker is a director of Flying Solo responsible for marketing and advertising. As a business copywriter he partners with digital agencies and corporate clients on websites and digital content. He’s the co-author of Flying Solo Revisited – How to go it alone in business.
