My career in student activities taught me that it is usually better to focus on impact instead of inputs.
- Having fewer well-attended events is preferable to many events with low attendance
- Curating active student organizations beats having many groups with inactive rosters
- Holding trainings for the engaged few is more productive than requiring a roomful who tune out
That mantra has stayed with me and made me keen to notice when others focus on quantity instead of quality, something that unfortunately happens with regularity.
- The conference organizers schedule a multitude of simultaneous workshops and diffuse the attendance
- Restaurants have such extensive menus that they lose their distinctiveness
- Weddings turn into week-long extravaganzas that overshadow the actual ceremony
- People have so many collectibles or decorations that it becomes impossible for the best ones to stand out
It’s ingrained in our capitalistic society that more is better. Try to disabuse yourself of that notion. More isn’t better. Better is better, and oftentimes that means doing less. Focus on impact, not input.
