I have the deep conviction that to be an excellent manager, it is enough to be guided by popular wisdom. " Cheap is expensive " - This is ABSOLUTELY true for organizations. The sad thing is that experience shows that it is one of the most frequent errors. But let's not cry: let's see below the top 5 of the useless savings in organizations. Each time we are going to level up, each "sin" is worse. Now if you're short on time, skip the first three points and focus on the final two points. So let's start with the top 5:
5. Cheap infrastructure
This is number five, the least of the sins in this top 5; If you save by this means, we can "forgive" you. There are circumstances in which - especially in industrial / productive organizations where it is completely understandable, and almost inevitable. In addition, new companies often do not have resources - read money - and "organizational muscle" - read time, staff, processes - enough to invest in a good infrastructure. That said, don't get things confused. Even for the small industry, if working conditions are not helping the staff - Truth of Parole - then they are affecting them. Lighting is a classic problem, and by the way, in most cases, quite inexpensive to solve. In the case of positions subject to intellectual work,temperature is important.Your key and control people will produce more for you if you are more comfortable. I knew the case of a Purchasing Manager who literally worked on an improvised floor with pallets, in a mezzanine of a warehouse, with almost no light and a hellish temperature. Trust me: it's getting to you. Now, in the case of service companies and especially, if there is direct contact with the customer, remember that everything comes through the eyes. The backoffice can even be neglected - your frontdesk, never.
4. Cheap equipment:
We already started climbing the ladder. If your people work with cheap, outdated or incorrect equipment, it is no longer "pecata minute." Productivity. That is the issue. It seems incredible, but in my experience, a monitor or keyboard with let's say slight problems can decrease a person's productivity by 20%. And not to mention the shared hardware in organizations: printers, copiers, scanners, etc. The effect is multiplied by n, where n is the number of users on the computer in question. Have you ever lived the line of people around a damaged printer? Not worth it: fix it. Change it. Hire a preventive and corrective maintenance service. It is much cheaper. Your operation is getting stuck because of this. And don't get me wrong:It's not about having the latest technology craze or the newest and most expensive equipment on the market - it's about availability, productivity and reliability. You understand me.
3. Cheap suppliers.
And in the middle of our "top five", cheap suppliers. Let us characterize well that it is a “cheap supplier” (because there are suppliers that offer excellent services at very convenient prices, the kind that we all want). A "cheap provider" is one that offers low prices, at your expense. These are a problem not only because of what you are already thinking intuitively (quality problems, whether in raw materials, services or whatever else you acquire as an input for your value chain or support processes, and therefore both with an impact on the end customer - your customer -), but because of operational wear and tear for you. Your organization faces the customer, and at the same time has to deal with the supplier. It is "hitting" both ways. With this sin, you are already blacklisted.
2. Cheap staff:
Number two: we are already in the deadly sins. Logically, there are positions, situations of situations and moments of moments, but in general terms, having cheap personnel: very low-level personnel and without investing in training, motivation, communication is being expensive. We can detail this: if you lead a department, direction or company, it seems incredible how important executive assistants and secretaries are. Those are key positions to free up your time. Middle managers and coordinators are too. In general, low-quality professional profiles, all to save "a few dollars more", are turning out to be very expensive. Excuse me for the colloquial tone, but yes: it's very expensive! This is explained in greater detail by its impact on the major sin, point 1 below:
1. Cheap "personal" time:
Are we always talking about organizational management? Yes. Let's start by saying that “personal” time can be divided into the time dedicated to the organization - read work time - and the time dedicated to your private life - read family, your own person, etc. If you do not invest well in these two points, everything else is going to be half-done, and even to be meaningless. Let's see in more detail:
1.1 Public / work time: to begin with, in case you haven't realized it, you are part of the organization, and for the simple fact of looking to improve yourself by reading these at least well-intentioned lines, it is a fundamental part of the same. Then the same principles and ideas outlined in point 2 apply to you, but multiplied by a factor of ten: You are in a key position, and you must be qualified, motivated, trained and prepared for it. And if it is the CEO, leader, captain or whatever we want to say, not to mention!
1.2 Private / intimate time: This is not a philosophical article, much less psychological, but let's say it straightforward: no matter how hard-working and / or hermit you are, the truth is that nobody works even remotely well if they are tired or unmotivated. What do you work for? Who do you work for? As Stephen Covey says, "we will only be truly effective if we start with the end in mind," and I allow myself to add, if we keep that idea shining on us all the way. Take that vacation. We have all experienced the syndrome of the "5pm disaster": there is something pending on your agenda or some problem, and at that time it is a catastrophe for you, and you have no idea how to solve it. But, as an act of magic, the next day, after resting, it wasn't a big deal. Imagine the effect accumulated by months or years without stopping to work. Rest.Give yourself your place as a person too: you will work better, and make sense of all that effort….
