Why your marketing should be operating in Sprints.

Most organizations have a "hunker down and get stuff done" philosophy.  Here’s why sprints have HUGE advantages for your marketing team compared to a traditional "get it done" structure.

1. Sprints teach us the DISCIPLINE OF EXECUTION.  Very rarely do people have trouble starting new initiatives.  Starting is not the problem, getting to the end is. By getting extremely detailed with the tasks required to get a finish line in a specified period of time, there is a fighting chance that a large initiative will actually make it all the way to completion.
2. Sprints teach us to FOCUS.  Because of the time constraints imposed by the sprint, projects require clarity on organizational priorities, desired outcomes, and scope limitations including time and budget.  These elements are critical to the success of an initiative but are frequently sacrificed on the altar of hurry.  Hurry is the antithesis of a sprint.  Hurry's intent is to check a box and be done.  We want to invest enough time to prove a concept, not just check off a task.
3. Sprints teach us our CAPACITY.  One of the critical functions of a sprint is to define our constraints (project scope, timeline) so that we can push to a specific deliverable.  One of the key benefits is that the team learns to make better estimates of resource capabilities and deliver more consistent results over time.  
4. Sprints provide periods for FEEDBACK, CELEBRATION and REST.  Too often, we break down our teams with never ending workloads and little time to celebrate achievements. The beauty of a sprint is that there is a natural place to briefly stop, evaluate and rest.  The critical element is to learn from our effort.

Sprints teach us to keep our promises.  Simple things, hard things.  Make a promise, keep it.  Repeat.