Principles learned from the Mars Pathfinder mission.
The second in a series of seven columns highlighting some of the principles from the book, “The Mars Pathfinder Approach to Faster-Better-Cheaper” (Pritchett and Muirhead, 1998)
Let limitations guide you to breakthroughs.
Some of the author’s comments: “Constraints and limitations can be more of a blessing than a curse. They force you out of standard operating procedure. They call forth cleverness, push you toward simplicity, and give rise to elegant solutions. See where limitations take you. Look for the trap door of innovation, the escape route of creativity that can solve your dilemma.”
As a small-business owner – which technically I am – the biggest limitation for me is a marketing budget. I, like most other business people, don’t have the funds to invest in all the marketing platforms I’d like to. So I need to allocate.
I’ll try one strategy for awhile, then something else. Oh, I have one or two smaller projects running concurrently, but typically just one main marketing program. Most recently it was Facebook PPC. I’ve put that on hold while I try something else for awhile.
How about you? What limitations do you face in your business, and how do you overcome them? How has facing those limitations generated new and creative ideas for you? Feel free to comment below.
You can read the first column in this series, “Set goals that make you stretch,” here.
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