If It Aint Broken, Don't Fix It. But If It Is...

A common expression in IT is "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" as it is important to keep a consistent experience in the infrastructure - staff get's to send emails on time, they get to access their sales documents on the portal, etc. But what if it is broken? We fix it. The mail server went down, we get a severity one alert to "immediately" resolve the issue together with an email from the CEO saying email is of primary importance in the organization.

I wonder why so many organizations don't do so. They see a business process that doesn't work, a work environment that does not foster creativity, or a marketing campaign that does not bring results - they're just simply broken. Yet management still expects to see better results. W.L. Bateman highlights this in a very popular quote, "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got." If it's broken, you've just got to fix it

I saw this video of Seth Godin's presentation at Gel 2006 which somehow highlights what this means.

Include staff development in your business model

I'm a bit biased when it comes to staff development and training. I'll admit - I'm a trainer. But somehow, your staff development has a direct impact to your organization's success. I was on a conference call assisting a staff on installing and configuring a new technology that they need to deliver to their customers. The first thing I usually recommend is to go for a formal training. What's "not" surprising is that the most common response is "we don't have a budget for training." The irony behind it is that one generates a revenue when delivering any type of service. Organizations expect to get something without giving something as an investment. What's worse is that I've seen organizations where their business model doesn't include staff development at all. Most consulting and services delivery companies where they bill their clients by man-hours want to make sure that the majority of the time they bill should be charged to the clients. Where does staff development and training come into the picture?

We spend money on our stock portfolios and financial investments, thinking that they will have a good return in the future, depending on the market movements. We invest in making a good impression and creating a brand image. What could be more important than the very people who help the organization generate the revenue and profits that all balance sheets reflect?

As Zane Zafrit, CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited, said, "It’s clear that people really do make a difference in the success of (an organization)"

You Get What You Pay For

With all these scares on the melamine issue from products coming out of China, I couldn't help but think about the very principle behind it. I am not against low-cost labor or cheaper alternatives but the bottom-line still remains which happens to be one of my favourite taglines these past few days: you get what you pay for. A lot of multinational companies have outsourced their manufacturing to China because of the low labor cost, thinking that it would eventually end up with increased profits. Probably for the short term but with products being recalled, I don't know how they would quantify that. The same is true for just about anything. A lot of companies treat employees and staff the same way. They think that not sending people to training or not properly investing in them would eventually end up with increased profits because of lower costs. This ends up with employee morale going down causing them to become unproductive and eventually leave. Management thinking that they can get away with not investing in their staff ends up being more costly in the long run.

Same is true with leadership and teamwork as pointed out in the Law of the Price Tag in the book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by Dr. John Maxwell. When organizations are not willing to pay the price for growth, they end up losing a lot. Bottom-line still is: you get what you pay - or not pay - for.

The next time you see a cost entry in your balance sheet - whether for an employee benefit or a business investment - evaluate it with a different perspective. I don't see it as cost when it is for an employee benefit but rather as an investment. And always remember: you get what you pay for!

When Reducing Cost is More Than What It Is

I've been following the progress of Tim Sander's book "Saving The World At Work" and found a great perspective on cutting down on cost (didn't I say I'm a fan of Tim Sanders?) I'm really good at finding means to cut down on costs, coming from a third-world country where resources are scarce. In businesses where making profit is a top priority, the common message is to increase revenue or lower down costs to make sure profits go up. The ideal case would be to do both at the same time, hence, maximizing profits. Today, cutting down costs means more than that. It means saving the environment, as the book highlights. Whether you are turning off the lights when not in use or simply reducing the amount of paper used to print documents, it's a means to saving your environment. And this is one message you need to convey to customers, staff, partners and stakeholders. Not only do you get their support (who wouldn't want to save the environment with what is happening around us?) but also gives you a different perspective on increasing your profit margins.