D-Day – Operation Overlord, if you prefer – was obviously one of the hugest days in world history…right? Without it, I’m guessing that your humble, Jewish host wouldn’t be writing this to you.
A big operation? Howzabout 150,000+ allied troops, 50,000 vehicles, 11,000 aircraft, and 5,000 ships & landing craft. Other than that, it wasn’t the least bit complicated.
Here’s how Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, the guy who was in charge of the ground troops in the Normandy Invasion, laid out his plans: on a single piece of paper.
Oh, and if you think there must have been a ton of scribbling in tiny little print on that single page, go hit the link. There isn’t. In fact, the page is about one-third white space.
As a counterpoint to that, I’ve spent portions of this week with a 28-page contract, a 31-page marketing plan, and most uproariously, a Powerpoint presentation purporting to teach the reader how to create a brilliant content marketing plan in seven steps. The deck contains 95 slides.
Let me repeat: 95 f@&#ng slides. To teach seven steps.
If you’re a fan of irony, congratulations. You’ve just hit the jackpot.
In the spirit of K.I.S.S. – for the uninitiated, keep it simple, stupid – let’s not belabor the point.
Now, go chop your plans down like I chopped that 28-page contract to a page and a half.
While you’re doing it, bear in mind the last words on Field Marshal Montgomery’s plan document:
“The key note of everything to be SIMPLICITY.”
P.S. WordPress only lets me underline the “SIMPLICITY” once. He underlined it three times.
