Point of diminishing returns

I would like to spend this week's post on what I started calling as "point of diminishing returns". 

I was more of a purist growing up - one who wanted to do the absolute right thing in the absolute right way all the time every time.  But as I started experiencing the world, I shifted more towards the practical/pragmatic side of the spectrum. I realized that getting the job done is really more important than trying to do it the absolute right way, this is not to be misunderstood as giving up on core values and doing anything to get the job done. 

I started thinking through this little further and spoke to few people I have utmost respect for and realized why my fundamental instincts have actually changed.  I believe it is because if we try to stick to doing every thing perfect, we are actually leaving money on the table.  For example, let's discuss just this blog post.  My goal is to spend 15-30 minutes of my weekend on some creative writing exercise which gets my thoughts going, helps in expressing myself better, and share my thoughts with few others that may benefit from them or may start an intellectual dialogue.  With that being the goal, if I really wanted to be perfect with forming my thoughts, constructing perfect passages, using the best vocabulary possible, and be 100% grammatically correct, it could easily take up to an hour or more.  On the other hand, if I put in a decent effort and still get my thoughts down in my desired goal of 15-30 minutes, I am getting the job done albeit it may not be 100% perfect.  I could spend that extra 30 minutes that I would have otherwise spent on the blog trying to be perfect on something else that could generate more value.

Translating that thought process to business scenario, there are many instances where people/businesses spend enormous amount of time trying to get to a perfect solution and in the course of it burn too many resources than getting it just right to a point where it will deliver most of the value.  After certain point, where the solution reaches 80 to 90%, it should be released to market and value should be realized.  That point where almost 100% of the value can be realized without churning too much on the last minute effort is the "point of diminishing returns".  There is also a latest buzz word in the market place for this - "80% solution". While few purists may get outraged hearing that the solution being implemented is a 80% solution, it is upon the pragmatists to explain the value proposition from less than perfect solutions. 

Comments?

Get Organized

"Get Organized" - Dr. Anil Makhija, Professor of Finance, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. 

As I reflect back on my learning's from Fisher MBA, one of the important learning's that made an impression on me is the opening address from Dr. Makhija.  Dr. Makhija spoke to the class on our first on campus visit and he started saying, "I can talk a lot about many things but the only one thing that I want to ask you for now is to get organized".  He said that is the most important thing because all the students are juggling multiple priorities around work, personal life, professional careers, and school and unless we get organized we just cannot be successful in our MBA pursuit.  That one sentence left a lasting impression on me. 

Reflecting back on that, I agree 100% with him.  Unless we get organized, I don't think we can be successful in anything that we want to achieve.  Taking Dr.Makija's advise, I did get my things in order and made a conscious attempt to get and stay organized.  It helped me tremendously during my school days and I was able to plan out my schedule much better and was able to achieve what I wanted to.  It also helped me feel like I am in total control as opposed to feeling tense over every little thing.  It just makes you more productive and makes you feel more in control of your destiny. Simple things like making a to-do list and maintaining a personal calendar can be invaluable tools in helping us get organized.

It's also very important to stay organized once you get organized.  It's very easy to get disorganized even before you realize.  So developing some good habits, sticking to basics and not overdoing will help you stay organized.  As for me, there are instances where I get out of shape and will take a few days to realize that and then I make a conscious effort to get back in the groove. 

Thanks Dr.Makhija for the powerful one line message you delivered that made a huge impact in my life and I am sure that would have made an impact on many others as well!!!