As of this writing we Americans are still waiting to hearwho will be our next President. Without taking sides, I'd like to use this situation as an obvious and excellent example of a common dilemma that business people work through on a near-daily basis. Namely, the trade-offs between time, quality, and cost.

These three components enter into almost every decision we make as business folks. The more consciously they are recognized and factored into the decision-making process, the greater our chances of being successful!

Time

Even before the polls closed nationwide, we all witnessed the importance of the time element as each network raced to be the first to declare key states like Florida, Iowa, and Wisconsin, for one candidate or the other. In the news business, time frequently supercedes quality.

In our businesses, aren't we sometimes guilty of this, too? Rushing to market before working out all the bugs in a new product . . . hmmm. Or, worse yet, accepting less than what the customer wants (and was originally spec-ed in) just to meet an introduction date?

Quality

In the election scenario, the quality of the vote count has been the driving argument for the last thirty days. We've all learned dirty little secrets about "chads" (how many of you knew that word existed before November 7th?) and questionable election processes and procedures -- even for those of us from Chicago!

Folks working together on a business product or program must agree on the sought after level of quality. It's usually not easy, but it is a necessary step in the process. This is especially true for programs that take more than a day to complete or for programs effected by changing market or internal conditions.

Cost

The stock market sinks, the overseas community views the U.S. as weak, and some election workers miss Thanksgiving dinner with their families!

Some say these are all just a sampling of the costs -- financial, diplomatic, and personal -- that are associated with this protracted election process. True, there are costs associated with any= effort; and, generally speaking, the longer and more detailed the effort, the more it costs!

So what price do we business people pay for the same types of experiences? Personnel and production costs above those estimated. Lost opportunities in the market when a product or program launch is delayed. And on and on!

The Balancing Act in Business

How do we balance time, quality and cost factors in business? Consciously -- always!

1. Remember you all work for the same company and all want that company to "win" in the marketplace (a significant difference between the workplace and the current election example).

2. NEVER (and I do mean NEVER) start a project or program without a clearly understood and agreed upon written goal or objective. This document needs to have time, quality, and cost parameters clearly defined. Do this at the beginning or prepare for lost productivity, in-fighting at every turn, and a project that seemingly goes on forever without any conclusion or end result.

3. When changing market or internal conditions throw you a curve, review it in light of the agreed upon objective. If necessary, the objective may have to be modified, but this process demands that it happen consciously.

Happy Balancing in 2001

Remember, Mosaic creates customers and increases sales for business-to-business companies through specific project work, on-going retainer assignments or marketing coaching sessions.

Until next time.....

Rosemary Walter
847-483-5018
Rose1Walter@MosaicMM.com

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