Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast
In a world where people expect results without investment - or blood, sweat and tears - long-term goals are often an after-thought. But it need not be so. Thinking big and having clear strategic goals are quite necessary before getting down to the nitty-gritties of making things work. When planning for an endeavor, it is always good to go in with the big idea. Do not sell pushing tins and bottles, but category domination. Do not sing and dance about thousands of eyeballs, but rather tell the story about how Davids can defeat Goliaths. Then, only then, do we get to the tactical stuff. How to go after the low-hanging fruits. How to produce the quick wins that would justify the initial investment and win confidence.
Still, no matter how small or ambitious the tactics may be, they answer to the over-arching strategy --- the big picture. There is no two ways about this. All things big and small must point towards a holy grail. If not, the smartest and most creative tactics are not the stepping stones to greatness that they ought to be. Of course, the fact that adherence to a great (and mutually agreed) strategy is an efficient way of eliminating wasteful and unnecessary work. Once one tastes the low-hanging fruits, he/she would want the juicer stuff that are higher up. To climb a tree, it is better to act on the initial momentum and scurry up in decisive fashion. This is much smarter than clinging on to the trunk, hoping for the energy to slowly inch upwards. And it's almost the same wherever tactics and initiatives grow. There would seem to be too many plans falling by the wayside due to the short attention span or poor stamina by those who started them.
Thus, to succeed, one has to keep learning, testing, and reapplying oneself to better tactics, one after another. For those who stop after the first act, the complete picture will never get any clearer, and payoffs will be always out of reach. Remember that there is no standing still, everything, everyone is in constant motion. Hence, when planning for any initiative, the possibility of attaining success is to first think big. Then go for quick wins, and start with tactics that match your resources. Finally, and most importantly, do not give up or rest on your laurels. Build up as quickly as possible. Always remember, this fiercely competitive world is not for sprinters, it's for long-distance runners.