Is near enough good enough?

Time is the most precious commodity in business today.

It is the one thing we cannot get more off no matter who we are.

So doesn’t it make sense that we maximise our time as best we can?

I was recently working with an executive who was putting together customised quotes in Excel for clients.  The monotonous cutting and pasting of data was driving him crazy and in a market with slim margins, he was worried about the time it took to get the quotes done along with the risk of errors if he picked up the wrong code number.

He was under such time pressure he got to the point that near enough became good enough, until we were introduced to each other.  In 90 minutes, we discussed what he had been trying to do, acknowledged the high risk involved in the current process and came up with a new plan to fast track quote completion from several hours to a matter of minutes.

The impact on his demeanour was astounding.  The look of sheer relief on his face and the excitement of feeling empowered to be able to do this again and again was joyful to me.

As he walked me out of his office we stopped by a colleagues desk and he shared his excitement of the hours this new process would save him in time but more importantly whilst reducing his stress levels and the risk of errors.

Sometimes we need to step back from what we do and ask ourselves are we settling for near enough when we could be doing something differently, getting better results and reducing risk?

What do you need to step back from today?

Donna Hanson works with teams to get them off their everyday technology and back to doing business. Want to get your team empowered to get more done?  Visit www.donnahanson.com.au to find out how Donna helps.