The earliest reference to this saying may be in Money Diggers, circa 1840. Yet, in spite of the world being such a different place some 176 years later, the idiom still rings true.
A recent lunch conversation with a former colleague and good friend got me thinking about the choices we make in business. As an Information Technology leader with a few decades under my belt, I've made countless choices for and against innumerable products and services. In some of these cases, the decision for a given solution is demonstrably right or wrong, and the change was initiated in fairly short order. In other cases, the right or wrong choice falls into more of a grey area.
What's really at play when we find ourselves in the grey area?
- What drives us to make these big changes?
- What do we (the organization) really gain from the change?
- Is it just a change for change's sake?
During a session at a recent trade event, a small group of CIOs was discussing ROI and the impact of tangible and intangible benefits from a given initiative. While they all made great cases for fiscal returns and how they drive decision-making, their arguments for the non-financial benefits seemed a bit hard to pin down. Clearly, the math isn't always easy.
I've seen numerous companies change core business systems multiple times... often when staff changes. In these cases, the justification may be nothing more than Bob likes company "A" more than he likes company "B". Obviously, no one really likes company "C", even if they do have a 30% market share.
What's even more mind-boggling is seeing companies move from product "A" to "B" to "A" again. Is choice "A" really a better choice now than it was before? Can you really call this innovation? Are we actually being thoughtful about these choices, or are we letting our personal biases and emotions guide them?
The old saying that "No one ever got fired for buying IBM" might be a clue that another factor is at play here... fear! How many business choices are made in defense of a job or a career? Today, many companies welcome internal entrepreneurship, experimentation, and failure. But it's still the exception, so how do you find the guts to make a truly innovative decision?
I obviously don't have the answers to all of these questions, so I'll just challenge you to do two things. First, really think about how you view past decisions. Not just your own, but those made by others that you live and work with. Second, evaluate how you engage the decision-making process. Really dig into the internal and external forces that shape your choices. You may find that you don't even need to skin the cat!