Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Mud

“Best is the enemy of good” – remember? Yet a common theme in the responses I received was a fear of stretching beyond what made the client happy. Bottom-line – why tinker with what works.

Some of you might know the famous Pepsi dictum – “if it ain’t broke – break it.” In other words, don’t be complacent about where you are and what you do.  Always think beyond; bigger; better.

I found a great thought written by an advertising great that I think embodies the notion and completes last week’s thought

“When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”
Leo Burnett

I would only add that there is nothing more fun than playing a little in the mud.  So even if you do come up with less than stars and even if you do occasionally get dirty, so what!

The ultimate reward is going for the gold and that lifts all of us and our clients.  It changes the way people think about us/you. Ultimately, it raises the bar and creates a unique space for what we do.

Go ahead……..jump…..

Posted by David on 10/10 at 09:15 AM
(1) Comments • Permalink

  1. Why tinker with what works? Because that's how people figure out not only what works better, but what doesn't work at all. We seem to be in a culture (and industry) that thinks change is successful only when it brings about the positive on the first try. And yet, refining our processes also means singling out what elements don't work and eliminating them. Obviously we don't want to fall back on this ideology for every crucial move, nor do we want to do what we know doesn't work, just for the sake of trying something "new" - but when we are all working in a company founded by a man who looked at what was working and saw how to make it better, it's dumbfounding to think how many of us are satisfied being complacent.

    Posted by Dawn Moser  on  2006-10-10 16:10:06

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