Whoever heard of an agency or consultancy that believed in thinking small?

Aren’t we meant to think big?

This is the problem – too much time and money gets spent on big ideas and big projects. There are successes but lots of failures.

So we prefer to think small.

This means in practice:

• Looking for the smartest, most lightweight, answer to a problem.
• Using open source software and social media platforms wherever possible.
• Applying the 80/20 approach. Get 80% done quickly and efficiently. Focus on the 20% that is the difference between a near miss and a great success.
• Testing our thinking.
• Working in small, iterative cycles, learning as we go along.
• Not employing lots of people but bringing together the best expertise for each project.
• Demystifying technology and helping our clients do things for themselves.
• Treating our clients’ money as if it were our own.
• Keeping our impact on the environment to a minimum.

The diagram below illustrates how we work. We didn’t draw it, David Armano did, but it inspired our approach. Thank you David.

We would like to acknowledge the influence of Made By Many. We are fascinated by the way they apply the principles of the Lean Start-Up movement and have learned a lot from their work.

Think Small was also the title of one of the greatest advertising campaigns of last century, by DDB for the Volkswagen Beetle. DDB were highlighting the difference between the compact Beetle and American ‘muscle’ cars. It worked, they sold a lot of Beetles.

Just like Volkswagen in the the 1950s we aim to be different. Big isn’t best. Think small.