"When efficiency is all you're worried about, you pay the price in resilience." - Will Harris, White Oak Pastures
I learned this lesson while moving a mobile chicken coop to fresh pasture in 2018. Every morning I could see how the process was less efficient than cooping up the birds indoors with troughs of high calorie feed to get them to market size as quickly as possible.
I'm still learning this lesson today as I get design requests with 24 hour deadlines.
Efficiency is important, and for many B2B SaaS projects, desirable. The ROI on a single Linkedin ad design or landing page icon is low. Designers need to work with the big picture in mind.
But what about the projects that can really move the needle?
📗 ... the ebook that you're personally delivering to the 5 prospects that could pay your bills for the rest of the year?
🚀 ... the pitch deck that could either double your team's budget or cost you your job?
📦 ... the first delivery of assets with a new client that will set the tone for your whole contract together?
Efficiency is important, but not at the cost of resilience. Not in any industry.