10 ways to do less, but more effectively

There’s not one communications professional I spoke with at this week’s IABC World Conference in New York who hasn’t been told (directly or indirectly) to do more with less.

So, how do you do it? When the cuts are more than a third, or close to half of your previous budget?

One suggestion from Heather Ritchie, vice president of marketing operations and communications at Alcatel-Lucent, who presented a session “Doing more with less: How to deliver results in spite of budget cuts,” is to change your mindset and instead do less more effectively. Ritchie provided the following suggestions on how to do just that:

1. Slow down to move fast. Diagnose the situation fully, and look for voids in the program. By slowing down, you can focus on what’s essential. A doctor doesn’t operate without a full understanding of the issues. You can’t either. Take time to understand what you have, what is needed, and where you can add value.