Every decision we make is a trade.
Every. Single. One.
Why?
Because resources are finite and management is the management of finite resources.
So every time we decide to do something, we are also making a decision to not do something else.
The only problem?
We hardly ever seem to tell people about the things we decide not to do.
In fact, we often times don’t even take the time to tell ourselves.
The reality is, however, that choices come with consequences, whether we communicate them or not.
So the next time your boss, your colleague, your team, or even you, come up with a new big idea to chase, don’t forget to slow down long enough to ask…
What is on the other side of this trade?
Because there always is another side, whether we acknowledge it, or not.
It may be another project being delayed or more than likely it may be a team member sacrificing their own time to stay late and get the job done.
Facilitating Friction
So what can we do? For starters, facilitate friction.
If every decision is a trade, we owe it to ourselves and those around us to be the stewards of that tradeoff; to highlight what we’re giving up in exchange for what we’re getting.
The Truth About Trading Time
For much of my own career, my desire to please and to perform led me to blindly sign up for deliverables without consideration for what was on the other side.
The result was that I worked too much, I overworked those around me, and in general I traded my personal time in exchange for professional accomplishment.
It wasn’t just that I made a bad trade, it was the fact that at the time I didn’t realize I was making a trade at all.
But that’s the thing, whether we acknowledge it or not…
Every decision is a trade.
Editor’s Note
Kanahoma is an education marketing agency based in San Diego, California. We live, work, and play at the intersection of beautiful brand creative and effective direct response marketing.
You can learn more about what we do and how we do it at Kanahoma.com.
Wishing you all the best,
Seth