Doug Davidoff
Great design is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take way.
We’re in the midst of several messaging projects with new clients. As I’ve written before, a message if far, far more than the words you use to describe your company.
That said the words you use are very important. They should serve as the focal point for the actions of everyone in your company. If everyone is clear on what you are trying to do, their creativity can be released and great things happen.
Therein lies the rub. The purpose of your words is to create clarity. The biggest challenge I see in entrepreneurial companies is their ability to create such clarity.
When I talk with CEOs and sales/marketing executives I share with them that the secret of great design is the secret of great messaging. Great messaging is achieved when there is nothing left to take away; it is achieved when the essence of your company is clearly communicated.
Most messages are like a Rube Goldberg Machines. Complicated with lots of commas and “ands,” executives throw everything advantage they could possibly add into the mix. The hope is that if they say enough things, eventually something will spark interest.
The reality is quite the opposite. The end result is confusion in the market and in your company. My advice is to take away, take away, take away – until there is nothing left but the core of what your do; or more importantly why you do it.