I’m Addicted to Speed…
…and I don’t mean the drug.
Everyone will agree that we live in a fast pace culture. The convenience of technology has connected us and allows us to multitask better than at any other point in history. We have become oh so familiar with phrases like timetable, deadline, turnaround, and of course “time is money.” But, I have ask, what’s the cost of our need for speed?
Those involved with design and marketing know that a quick creative turnaround is key to staying profitable. But what if that first solution isn’t the best? What if it’s only half as successful as if it were worked over for another day? What if, by moving quickly, you’ve lost sight of the end goal and compromised our creative ability?
These questions nag me in my corporate work, and make me nauseous when I think about it in the context of my church/ministry work. What if I only half the people made it to that life-changing message Sunday? What if I moved too fast and forgot to make it about spreading God’s love and good news to everyone? What if I’m not exercising the creativity that God has blessed me as steward over for his glory?
It says in Proverbs 7:8 that “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” I think it hugely important for all of us involved in the church/ministry communication world to be patient when it comes to creating marketing materials. Just like we’d hope our pastor would take time to develop a sermon inspired and anointed by God’s spirit, we too should step back and give God some time to communicate through us.
This video was posted on the Collide blog last Friday. I’ve watched it several times, and am blown away by it every time. This photographers patience and commitment to creativity and his art inspires me.
Watch the video and share your thoughts on our collective addiction to speed, and the possibilities that exist for us if we’d just tap the brakes every once in a while.
Filed under design, other, video |One Response to “I’m Addicted to Speed…”
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What a huge subject to discuss. I’ve worked at and have done production work for American Greetings. It would seem to me that for as long as they’ve been in business, they would know how long a project takes to complete and what days the holidays fall on from year to year. I would think that they could be giving printers (who are at the end of the production line) four weeks to print instead of four days. Even if the product needs to arrive on a certain day, there seems to be no reason that AG couldn’t get all of the info out months ahead of time.
I don’t know why it is in our nature to procrastinate. I do think that some non-creative people have difficulty with the concept and value of creativity and the development of ideas. They may not understand that the longer the sub-conscience can mull over a problem, the better the solution can be, so they don’t see the value of giving the designer or marketer more time to work on a project.
I also think that people that want to help need to be organized enough to be able to say no sometimes. I hardly ever say no when asked to help with a church or school project. And as it goes, the people that always help are the people that are always asked to help because they are the people that always help. Then they can burn out and aren’t able to do their best work and then they can feel like they’ve failed.
I don’t know how to productively fit into today’s world without moving at the speed our clients want. If we can find a way to set aside “down time” for ourselves, we would probably be able to work at the same pace and feel that it’s not as bad. There has to be a balance in all we do or sooner or later we will fall on our face.
All we can do is our best. Keep moving forward with the goal of bringing as many people to God that you can.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak my mind,
TR