On some level, however, we know that if we are to drastically reduce our competition and benefit from the resulting power shift, we must pick one door, walk through it and never look back. Our personal desire for variety is suddenly placed at odds with the fundamental need of our business to focus. Is it possible, however, that on the other side of

Selectivity is something he must learn. He must put his passion in its place and walk away from those opportunities where he is not viewed as the expert.

If design truly is a process, then we will define and guard that process and we will walk away from those clients and situations, like the pitch, where the process is dictated to us, or where we are otherwise asked to propose solutions without a proper diagnosis.

We cannot be in business without embracing selling. We must, therefore, overcome the stereotypes and learn to do it properly – professionally.

We can choose to let our fascinations and passions go unbridled. We can choose to remain a “full service” firm doing all things for all people. This lack of strategy will make us relevant to everyone with marketing or communication needs. It will indulge our desires to do something different every day, and to make every engagement different from

Strategy First

Putting one foot in front of the other, we begin by choosing a focus and articulating a claim (the first proclamation). Then we change the way we sell (proclamations two through five). We become selective about our new clients and the work we do for them (the sixth proclamation).

No – for this future client, we must take the long road of helping him, over time, to see that perhaps he does have a problem. We do this primarily through the dissemination of our thought leadership – our writings on our area of expertise.

We sell ideas and advice – the very contents of our heads – and so how we sell impacts what we are able to deliver. We cannot disappear immediately after the transaction is concluded, and leave the client to wallow in his buyer’s remorse. After the close, our clients are stuck with us for a long time.