Pragmatic Consulting Club - Do Less Than What You Hoped

Yesterday, one of my personal mentors sent me the following quote:

"It's better to do less than you hoped than nothing at all. No zero days."

This came up as I shared a couple of new (and really ambitious) business initiatives I planned to focus on during this next quarter. On paper, they all look great. But what will it take me to put them into practice?

It is in situations such as these that we remember the value of outside perspective.

When I'm working with clients, it's my responsibility to curb their grandiose plans and break things down into the smallest possible tasks. In our busy day-to-day, big plans overwhelm partners and end up being postponed, rarely becoming a reality. Creating momentum is much more effective to make progress.

When we make plans, consultants get excited and overestimate what they can actually put into practice. During my engagements, 9 out of 10 clients need to be told to focus on less:

• When putting together a list of dream clients, they want to add 100 accounts.
• When picking initiatives to build visibility, they want to attend events, run their own conference, speak in public, write, and be active in social media.
• When planning their business development tasks, they want to schedule 10 meetings a week and call 50 people every day.

Small but compounding progress is undervalued. Doing less than what you hoped brings you confidence and excitement. It helps you make real change and progress.