The
Story of the Big Rocks
One
day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students.
As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said
“Okay, time for a quiz” and pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth Mason jar
and set it on the table in front of him. He
also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a
time, into the jar. When the jar
was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this
jar full?” Everyone in the class
yelled, “Yes.”
The
time management expert replied, “Really?”
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel.
He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to
work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.
He then asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?”
By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them
answered. “Good!” he replied.
He
reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand.
He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces
left between the rocks and gravel. Once
more he asked the question, “Is the jar full?”
“No!” the class shouted. Once
again he said “Good.”
Then
he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled
to the brim. Then he looked at the
class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
The
truth this illustration teaches us is: “If
you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”
With
apologies to the unknown author, we ask the question “What are the Big
Rocks in your business?”
By
focusing on the business objectives—the Big Rocks—we can then layer on the
appropriate strategies and tactics to accomplish your goals.

Why
a Cooperative?
Big
Rocks A Marketing Cooperative is an affiliation of senior professionals with
expertise in all facets of marketing. A
virtual organization, we have access to the appropriate
“thoughtware” to
provide full-service solutions without the extra costs of unnecessary overhead
and management.

What People are
Saying...
“Brett
is energy unbundled and insight unmatched. Add in her extensive experience,
instant responsiveness, and wonderful personal skills, and you have a recipe for
the perfect marketing partner."
Douglas M. Brown, Past President and CEO,
Tuition Plan Consortium
“Brett McCarty is
everything a client could ask for in a marketing professional--smart, talented,
focused, strategic, energetic, reliable, accessible. She's a valuable
member of our management team and I seek her perspective on issues beyond
marketing. Her insights, assessments and quick wit are invaluable to me
and the company. She's truly a Renaissance woman!"
Nancy Farmer, President and CEO, Private
College 529
“Brett
is the consummate marketer – strategic yet flexible – someone who gets the
‘big picture’ and works within your parameters, turning rough ideas into
reality.”
Mark
Greenberg, President, EPiX