When was the last time you were in a phone booth? It has been awhile for me as well but there is business wisdom worth telecommunication in this story:
Recently an article explained that if you are in a phone booth and money is being blown around, some singles and some in clumps, it is best to try and catch the singles, very deliberately, than go for the big bunches. The latter is hard to catch and more likely to be missed or dropped if caught.
There seems to be much wisdom in this regarding much of life, including running a business or one’s life.
The deliberate planning and executing of small steps can make a long run gain, more so than a quick leap for the whole enchilada. The planned, small-step execution allows for adaptation as errors are found. It means that if there is a misstep there is small loss, not large.
In the revamping of a marketing strategy, the entrepreneur had the plan entirely lined up and was ready to pull the trigger to execute a $31,000 annual plan. Fortunately, by asking vendors, he was able to take small steps first, test the waters and adapt the plan along the way. If he would have taken the full package as originally outlined, key target audiences would have been missed. Ultimately the execution may cost a bit more but the pieces will have been better positioned and have a bigger return.
