4 Words of Fantasy: Do More With Less

I took Physics several times in college: Physics for Non-Science Majors, Physics for English Majors, and Physics for Students Needing a Science Class. I needed the credits and it seemed like a pretty logical way of looking at how things worked. In the process, I learned how to build a box that could be dropped from the top of a three story building with an uncooked egg inside so the egg would remain intact. I learned that you can’t push on a rope. And I learned that you can not make more of something with less of it.

Imagine my reaction when ‘Doing More With Less” became the management mantra of the current economic situation

It’s true that the workplace has become more demanding and complex. With the increase in consumer and client expectations, the result in work environments is an ever changing and faster pace. Executives, Managers, and Professionals who are achievement oriented and responsible by nature have a solution to the increasingly demanding work place: work longer hours. This solution allows people to maintain a feeling of control.

The logic seems to be that if you work on Sunday afternoon and get all of your reports done, you can hit Monday morning ahead of the game. Of course, it also means that you won’t have time to exercise, you’ll have to neglect your family and friends, probably eat lunch on the run, at your desk, or skip it altogether, and hop on the computer after dinner to get in an extra couple of hours of work. Another option is to cram it all in, which makes it harder to keep track of the details, because there is no time to relax or review. It’s a short term band aid solution that comes with a personal cost.

Against Physics

Many are like a recent client of mine who I’ll call Louie, who saw no alternative. He viewed the problem as one to be measured by quantity and told me that there was simply too much work to be done in one day. While I could have suggested that Louie delegate, I am realistic enough to know that delegation is not always the easy answer. With cutbacks on staffing AND staff already also overloaded, I might be setting Louie up for more trouble. And I can’t assume that he has great delegation AND follow-up skills.

Another challenge: Louie’s workplace culture could be reinforcing the “work longer hours” syndrome. In some organizations, longer hours are a “badge of honor” and the first car in the lot in the morning and the last to leave at night could be passage to further promotions.

I told Louie that exhausted people are not going to be super productive in the long term. People are not machines, and that included him! Who knows when this “More with Less’ madness is going to end? So I suggested that he get practical.

Best Ideas

I asked Louie if he ever learned about the 80/20 rule. This is actually the Pareto Principal, based on the distribution of wealth in Italy at the turn of the century. After a survey and assessment of the data, it was found that 80 percent of the wealth was in the hands of 20 percent of the population.

Think of that in terms of effort: we expect that all of our efforts will result in the same level of results, but n fact only 20 percent of our efforts are of real value.

If you think about this in other aspects of your life, you’ll see the validity:

• 20% of customers = 80% profit
  
  

• 20% of criminals account for 80% of all crime
  
  

• 20% of motorists cause 80% of accidents
  
  
  
• 20% of your wardrobe is worn 80% of the time (maddeningly true!!)

So Louie can’t really do more with less. Rather than try or ask others to try, how about some realistic strategies grounded in plausible logic?

• Forget Speed - Don’t expect to fix this overnight.
  

• Don't Cut - Re-Engineer - Stop cutting back, slashing budgets, people, and programs here and there and hacking away at the workforce, your output, and your morale. Pull out a fresh piece of paper and determine what must be done, who is best to do it, and what your priorities are right now. Let the things that don’t serve you fall away rather than do everything in a ‘sorta-kinda’ way. (If you need help with this process, give me a call.)

• Develop Emotional Awareness - Understand what you are feeling and why. Knowing why you feel upset or stressed can provide valuable information about what needs to change in your life. Become more conscious of when your jaw is clenched, you are holding your breath, or your stomach is churning. 

• Create an Internal Locus of Control - Resilient people believe that they’re in control of their lives. While we can’t control our circumstances, we can control how we respond to those circumstances, and that makes a big difference in our attitudes and in the course our lives take.

• Cultivate Optimism - Being an optimist is more than looking at the “glass as half full.” (Though that helps). It’s a way of viewing the world where you maximize your strengths and accomplishments and minimize your weaknesses and setbacks. When you see the positives in situations and believe in you own strength, it’s more likely that you’ll steer through rough terrain more easily.
  

• Support - Know the value of social and professional support and surround yourself with supportive colleagues, friends, and family. Develop a cadre of resources and ‘go-to’ people that lessen the feeling that you have to go it alone.
  

• Keep a Healthy Perspective - Develop a willingness and ability to learn from your mistakes rather than deny them. Try to find meaning in life’s challenges. (Mary Chapin Carpenter sang, “Sometimes you’re the windshield; sometimes you’re the bug.)

You can not really do more with less. You can however do better with an improved ability to focus and prioritize. You can be smarter with less.

I don’t know when the economy will improve. I can’t say when you’ll see the uptick in your business. I DO know however, that this is only a moment in time; it’s not your whole life.

I also know that I need to be wearing the right 20 percent of clothes in my closet!

 © Daniels & Associates. All Rights Reserved.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

12.08.2009
Stress Management
MDWorks, Inc., 10270 Old Columbia Road, Columbia, MD 21046
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12.09.2009
Tips for Avoiding Common Resume Mistakes
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12.11.2009
Focus and Energy: Where They Went and How to Get Them Back
Women's Business Roundtable, Towson Small Business Devlopment Center
Towson, MD

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