Increase Market Agility by Replacing Perfectionism with Design Thinking
How quickly does your company react to change? And, do you wish it could react faster?
One thing the Covid-19 pandemic has shown us is the advantage of speed and flexibility in a rapidly changing environment. Due to the virus, we’ve helped several of our brands adjust messaging with short notice and roll out entirely new campaigns in a matter of weeks. At Struck, we’ve found the way to increase agility is to let go of perfectionism. But, this does not mean settling for mediocre work which may leave you wondering, how does one do good work quickly?
We do it by replacing perfectionism with a human-centered approach called Design Thinking. This means we design in real time. We evaluate in real time. And, we improve in real time. All along the way, the customer’s needs drive every decision. Design Thinking is targeted and efficient. It shifts our focus from finding the perfect solution to finding the needed solution.
It was Steinbeck who said, “And, now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” It turns out that being free from the ideals of perfectionism, opens the door to greatness. And, at a much faster pace because of the flexibility inherent in Design Thinking.
For example, one recent client, needed to quickly adapt messaging in a currently running ad. Their previous ad had become inappropriate considering the new realities of social distancing. Prioritizing speed we set out to solve the problem. However, even with new messaging that was great, we ran into other issues. Could we find stock footage? Could we get voice recorded and do editing in a socially distant world? Of course we could, because we didn’t need to deliver something perfect, we just needed something good — something that solved their current problem. With this attitude, our client was able to change course quickly, showing empathy for their customer, preserving their brand equity and maintaining their presence.
Another client saw the pandemic present them with an opportunity. To take advantage of it, they needed a strategy for approaching the varying phases from complete shutdown to normal life. Using Design Thinking, we quickly developed an approved strategy and set out to implement the first phase. However, in the quickly changing world of Covid-19, we saw a better possibility develop for the final phase. Our freedom from perfectionism gave us the flexibility to pursue it. Although our first plan was good, it was never perfect. So, when we saw the benefit of something different, we were uniquely prepared to take advantage of it. Because of this Design Thinking perspective, our client has positioned themselves with fresh, relevant content that, although not perfect, is great in this exact moment.
At Struck, we believe perfect doesn’t exist. That waiting to act until you’ve achieved it will stop your progress. That becoming attached to an idea because you think you’ve achieved it will limit your opportunities. Instead, we focus on great, good and well done. It’s Design Thinking in its best form. You may just be surprised at how perfect that mindset is.
