The Power of Brevity

A Concept Will Ultimately be Known by Just Two Words, what will They Be?

“The first sentence is your one—and likely only—chance to tell someone what they need to know and convince them not to move on.” - Jim Vandehei, Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less

Many of us have recognized the loss of attention that has plagued our society, and yet I’m not sure this phenomenon has ever not been in existence. It’s the reason we have phrases like “elevator pitches” or “tell me in less than X words” to begin with. Think of the many taglines and jingles of your childhood that despite you forgetting things like anniversaries, birthdays or even your children’s names - you somehow remember. 

It is one of the best gifts to hear and champion someone’s distinct vision for a future development opportunity. A vision often rooted in personal history, data analytics, financial acumen, and extreme passion. And yet over many years in playing the role of listening, documenting and building off such visions it dawned on me that each idea, regardless of how rare or grandiose of a vision you have, is ultimately dwindled down, by the power of Google and perhaps our ever-shortening attention span, to just One to Three Words.  

For example, when you look up the following restaurants in Google, they are distilled to just one to three simple words and one sentence.

11 Madison Park

Fine Dining Restaurant

“Upscale American tasting menus from chef Daniel Humm served in a high-ceilinged art deco space.”

Mineta Tavern

French Restaurant

“Celeb-magnet hot-ticket tavern with upper-end French bistro fare & reimagined vintage decor.”

Gjusta LA

Bakery

“Artisanal bakery in a sprawling, warehouselike space offers up special breads baked on-site.”

Girl & The Goat

New American Restaurant

“Hot spot where Stephanie Izard serves up innovative small plates from a dramatic open kitchen”

Each of these restaurants have distinct concepts and quite extensive reputations and I’m sure when created they were described in many elaborate and thoughtful words. And yet, to think that the average consumer now fundamentally engages with their identity in this brief capacity gave me the realization - perhaps there is something to the power of an elevator pitch - the power of brevity - the power of this roughly two-word description.

The significance of brevity when creating a development concept is critical - whether it be multi-family dwellings, restaurants, hotels or other – as it assists in helping the consumer understand the purpose and clear identity of your story swiftly. Yet to accomplish this requires that the individuals creating the various aspects of the product to be well aligned and know this identity through and through - easily regurgitating when necessary. It’s them first and foremost that you must convince not to move on and not to reinterpret in a dilutive fashion. They are the ones bringing the idea to fruition after all and each of their roles and additions to the project have the potential of causing harmony or friction with the vision you are seeking.

THE CONCEPT

I have had the great gift of working many years with some of the most talented and inventive owners, chefs, designers, architects, procurement agents, operators and more - each of whom play a significant role in the creation and development process. And yet, repeatedly I watched a loss of identity incurred when a concept was not clearly communicated or understood by the team that would assist in it coming to fruition. Every new translation allowed details to potentially fracture the identity of the space. Perhaps you have been there - sitting at a sophisticated restaurant and noticing how the 1990s top hip-hop playlist, while fun sure, doesn’t quite align with the sophisticated French bistro surrounding you - or less obvious, where the casual spunky gastropub has somehow selected a wide rim all white porcelain plate setting that screams fine dining and certainly does not echo the sentiments of the descriptors previously mentioned.

It was within this role that I began to create the framework for what I referred to as The Concept Deck. As early as I could, at the very “conception” of an idea or the project and prior to the design and branding teams coming on board, I began to sit with the leaders of the companies that had hired me to delve into determining what is their two-word description. No more. No less. The purpose of this process, as mentioned above, stemmed from the desire to ensure a cohesive end product through a clear and easily regurgitated description hard to misinterpret - from the design teams selected, to the details designed and the operational interactions - the concept must be easily described and understood through and through.

THE SURPRISE

Through this process, I would often get some push back - “well, it will be a Casual and yet Sophisticated French Bistro & Cafe” they would utter - or perhaps “it’s a Southwestern Inspired Mexican Cantina & Bar with a Late Night Offering” - while there is nothing wrong with this to the average consumer, the words were redundant or worse they cannibalized each other - not to mention the fact that after just reading this many of you could not remember what was just stated much less understand it. So, it was in the process of further synthesizing the ideas into clearer visions that fit the 2-3 word description that I ended up discovering a wonderful byproduct - a surprise.

For you see, in delving deep into the concept and creating these Concept Decks - ultimately providing the 2-3 word descriptor and 1 sentence narrative supported by analytics, market study research, competitive analysis and inspiration - we had a clear directive to hand to our key partners - and behold, they were thrilled! Over and over again, the designers and various third-party teams would express the utmost gratitude for the information provided. Where one might think they would feel their toes had been stepped on or perhaps they had been creativity thwarted, in fact they felt complete freedom in creativity knowing the direction that had been agreed upon they could now wholeheartedly expound on.

While it can be fun and entertaining to go on and on about your or someone else’s grand idea for a product or experience in creation - time is limited, the attentiveness of the consumer is challenged, and all too often with more words comes even greater of an opportunity for confusion. I would challenge anyone in this position to reconsider their efforts and force themselves to entertain the power of brevity - you may be surprised by the gift and clarity it will bring to your team and the longevity of impact it will have on your consumer.