(Source: Flickr)
If you had all the time in the world but not much money, then your capacity to create new ideas and connect with people would be great, but your capacity to consume would be limited.
On the other hand, if you didn’t have much time but had a lot of money, then your capacity to create new ideas and connect with people would be limited, but your ability to consume would be considerable.
Time and money, where should we be placing value?
This is not just a question for individuals but also for organisations.
Universities appear to value time over money (at least this was traditionally the case), and so tend to be geared towards sharing ideas and enabling people to connect with one another.
Many corporations today take the opposite approach and value money over time, and so tend to be geared towards maximising short term earnings. Employees are required to be in the office regardless of whether this improves productivity, initiatives that provide value to consumers but don’t generate revenue get discontinued, and the mantra “time is money” might on occasion be heard echoing through the hallways.
Companies will of course need to keep an eye on cash flows, but important strategic decisions should not be held hostage by the quarterly earnings report.
A resilient company will be one that has freedom to maneuver and sufficient time to anticipate new opportunities and respond to impending threats in a thoughtful and considered way.
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