Principles to Live By

It's been a while - but that's not the purpose of this posting. That can be addressed in another posting. For now, I wanted to try to capture the principles that, as a planner and a person in this communication industry, I have learned and will use going forward as my PRINCIPLES TO LIVE BY.

Some are totally 'duh!-worthy' but truly make a difference, most are not unique, all are simple and helpful and do matter in the long run. I repeat them to myself on a daily basis and they help me understand our assignment and the work we do, as well as what my role. So I am just going to have at it:

-Don't burn any bridges
-Document everything
-Every word you write matters, EVERY WORD
-Every word you say matters, EVERY WORD
-Listen, stop, breathe, think - never react first, it never gets you anywhere
-Reread everything, EVERYTHING
-Ask yourself: Who, What, Where, When, Why - four of the greatest, and frankly MOST important words in the English language
-Be simple - less is more - live by Mies van der Rohe's mantra. It always wins out in the end
-Read, Strip Repeat - strip it down - I guess this is a repeat of the above, but editing is always possible
-Be logical, usually it's never more than thinking logically. This is marketing, not rocket science
-Don't be prone to Analysis Paralysis - more data is not necessarily the answer
-Does it tell a story? That's the point, we are storytellers and are paid to entrance.
-There is no one way to do things - you have to figure it out and make it work - reference the above storytelling principle
-Always bring facewash...besides wine, it's the best way to wash away the day

That's the list I've come up with to-date. I think I will be keep adding and feel free to make suggestions.