Breaking up with your frustrating templates

May 2023

"I’d rather adjust to your absence than be endlessly frustrated by your presence". This could be the GOAT of break-up lines. While in its original context, the delivery was no doubt intended for an interpersonal relationship breakdown, it can also be fittingly applied to day-to-day business operations that just aren't working for you.

Underperforming business templates have the capacity to frustrate users, cost businesses money, and deliver average brand experiences on an ongoing basis.

Templates can become stale, stagnant, or downright off-course, which causes staff frustration and operational inefficiencies.

It doesn’t need to be this way.

PowerPoint and Word were purposefully designed for businesses to function effectively and are widely used throughout professional services. Templates, specifically PowerPoint templates, have enormous potential for businesses to harness and leverage.

Consistent and effective

Templates can be designed in such a way to support the user and carry out business efficiently and effectively. PowerPoint, in particular, has the potential to be used for more than just presentations.

Having built whole systems using PowerPoint, we know template systems keep your documents on-brand, speed up document creation time, and deliver your visual brand in a consistent and professional manner.

Drag-and-drop functionality can be accommodated in PowerPoint, making it easier for pre-existing content and/or branded assets to be compiled quickly and effectively.

Every organisation has different needs and branded assets, and unique solutions can be found that suit individual organisations. There are many ways to cut the PowerPoint pie.

Looking good has never been so important

We are at a point in time where we’ve never been so impatient or time-poor when it comes to digesting visual and written content. We need information that is easy to take in, efficient to deliver, and conveys the right message.

Businesses need their documents to hit the mark, and hit it hard.

It is particularly important for small to medium-sized professional service firms to gain the edge when up against larger corporate organisations. Big corporate firms have designated design teams that help them look good (I know because I used to manage brand and design teams within these organisations).

Small to medium-sized firms deserve to look good too. They need to stay competitive and come out on top in pitches and proposals when competing with more resource-rich firms.

Well-designed templates and template systems can be set up for your brand to provide efficient outputs and powerful outcomes. Template systems facilitate pre-existing content to be easily compiled into documents, all using the tools you already have at your disposal.

Healthy systems support their users and keep you looking good for longer.

Solutions

There are solutions out there for problems you may or may not know you have. As a general indicator, if staff are frustrated on an ongoing basis by something that should be simple, this usually signals that a problem is ripe for solving. A diagnostic review of your current brand and template status can reveal where improvements can be made.

Time is a precious, unrenewable resource. Is it time you adjusted to the absence of your frustrating or underperforming templates?

There are always better ways worth exploring.

Two deer in the snow walking apart which represents breaking up with your Microsoft templates

Breaking up with your frustrating templates

Two deer in the snow walking apart which represents breaking up with your Microsoft templates

May 2023

"I’d rather adjust to your absence than be endlessly frustrated by your presence". This could be the GOAT of break-up lines. While in its original context, the delivery was no doubt intended for an interpersonal relationship breakdown, it can also be fittingly applied to day-to-day business operations that just aren't working for you.

Underperforming business templates have the capacity to frustrate users, cost businesses money, and deliver average brand experiences on an ongoing basis.

Templates can become stale, stagnant, or downright off-course, which causes staff frustration and operational inefficiencies.

It doesn’t need to be this way.

PowerPoint and Word were purposefully designed for businesses to function effectively and are widely used throughout professional services. Templates, specifically PowerPoint templates, have enormous potential for businesses to harness and leverage.

Consistent and effective

Templates can be designed in such a way to support the user and carry out business efficiently and effectively. PowerPoint, in particular, has the potential to be used for more than just presentations.

Having built whole systems using PowerPoint, we know template systems keep your documents on-brand, speed up document creation time, and deliver your visual brand in a consistent and professional manner.

Drag-and-drop functionality can be accommodated in PowerPoint, making it easier for pre-existing content and/or branded assets to be compiled quickly and effectively.

Every organisation has different needs and branded assets, and unique solutions can be found that suit individual organisations. There are many ways to cut the PowerPoint pie.

Looking good has never been so important

We are at a point in time where we’ve never been so impatient or time-poor when it comes to digesting visual and written content. We need information that is easy to take in, efficient to deliver, and conveys the right message.

Businesses need their documents to hit the mark, and hit it hard.

It is particularly important for small to medium-sized professional service firms to gain the edge when up against larger corporate organisations. Big corporate firms have designated design teams that help them look good (I know because I used to manage brand and design teams within these organisations).

Small to medium-sized firms deserve to look good too. They need to stay competitive and come out on top in pitches and proposals when competing with more resource-rich firms.

Well-designed templates and template systems can be set up for your brand to provide efficient outputs and powerful outcomes. Template systems facilitate pre-existing content to be easily compiled into documents, all using the tools you already have at your disposal.

Healthy systems support their users and keep you looking good for longer.

Solutions

There are solutions out there for problems you may or may not know you have. As a general indicator, if staff are frustrated on an ongoing basis by something that should be simple, this usually signals that a problem is ripe for solving. A diagnostic review of your current brand and template status can reveal where improvements can be made.

Time is a precious, unrenewable resource. Is it time you adjusted to the absence of your frustrating or underperforming templates?

There are always better ways worth exploring.