This is a challenging quote from Peter Drucker on Long and Short Term planning.

“You have to produce results in the short-term. But you have to produce results in the long-term too. And the long-term is not simply the adding up of short-terms.”

It’s tempting to say this is basically saying “You’re screwed.”

It’s better to say that this supports the idea of two-speed marketing.

A series of short-term campaigns doesn’t build long-term results. It just puts you on a treadmill. As soon as you stop peddling those short-term activities, business dries up.

You’ve got to add long-term brand-building too. Brand-building shouldn’t be seen as a succession of 10 6-month programmes (Did that work in 6 months? No. Let’s change it). It’s one 5-year programme that works with 10 6-month sales campaigns.

Take a look at Binet & Field’s “The Long And The Short Of It” and our guide to combining long and short-term activities.