The Ultimate Reality

Okay, Let’s Be Honest, We Want It All
It doesn’t matter if it’s a marketing campaign, meeting, learning and development program, video, print piece, internal communication or audience activation … we want it all! Is it too much to ask to have unlimited resources, unlimited budget and all the time in the world? Okay and then there’s that thing about pigs flying.

Actually we understand the limitations because we face deadlines and budgets every day, but have you ever had the challenge of explaining the ultimate reality of a project to an executive or a team in your organization? No matter how you try, they have a hard time grasping the relationship between time, quality and budget.

This is how I've been doing it for many years. You show the triangle and ask the person to pick two. If it’s Fast and Cheap it won’t be Good. If it’s Good and Cheap it won’t be Fast. If it’s Fast and Good it won’t be Cheap. You get the idea and so will they.

I want to give credit where credit is due; I think I “borrowed” the idea from Tom Hannaford about 20 years ago. The value is the concept makes people smile and then they realize that they can only have two of the three ... no matter how much they want it all.

Try it sometime and let me know if it works for you.

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Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.