It’s time to sharpen the axe …

Abraham Lincoln is believed to have said,

Give me six minutes to cut down a tree and I’ll spend three minutes sharpening my axe.

No one knows for sure if it was Lincoln who coined the phrase and it’s more likely to be a comment he picked up on his travels.

But coming from the great man himself it’s entered folklore and … a place in marketing history.

What Lincoln was alluding to, of course, was that preparation for the task in hand is critical.

Long, long ago he may have uttered these famous words, but they resonate today more than ever because there has never been a better time to sharpen your axe than there is right now.

If this frightening national shutdown has given us anything it is the opportunity to look at all our marketing collateral afresh.

Many will be caught up in crisis management as the effects of the shutdown begin to bite.

But the days and weeks ahead will surely provide some valuable time to take a hard look at the tools you use to promote your business.

Not just a quick dust-off but a long hard look at the messages those items carry, the emotions they arouse and the connections they make with the people in your market.

In the normal hurly burly which was our default state until only a couple of weeks ago none of us had the time.

Stuff seems to be working ok but we didn’t have a great deal of time to check how effective it actually was.

But now that we’re free of the frantic pace of our normal office environments we’ve got the opportunity to use our time wisely.

Time for some deep and considered thought.

Freedom Day is, I’m sure, going to reveal a totally different world.

New ways of thinking and working and we’ve got to be ready with an armoury of tools adapted for the exciting tasks ahead.

Are you going to be ready?

Food for thought this week, perhaps?

Our doors may be closed but I’m here for a chat if you need me.

Stay safe.

Alec

Fineline Print & Web. The Eagles, 32 Clwyd Street, RUTHIN, Denbighshire LL15 1HW

T: 01824 70 8800 E: alec@finelineprintandweb.co.uk W: www.finelineprintandweb.co.uk