The recent book, The 4-Hour Workweek, has been making a big splash recently. The current zeitgeist in America of trying to allocate more time to leisure is perfect for this young author’s scenarios. The 20-somethings, as a generational cohort, seem to value time more than money.
Regardless of the generational values being expressed, there is a very cogent argument that outsourcing is both more efficient and effective. I happen to agree with this.
Peter Drucker said that we are always trying to help employees improve on their weak areas. For some reason, bosses everywhere always think that asking an employee to work on a project in an area that they are weak is good for them, it will give the employee on opportunity to grow. Drucker points out that this is inherently a poor strategy – why not position people where they can utilize their strengths? And isn’t this what outsourcing does?
This issue is closer for me than it might appear — my business is essentially an outsourced accounting department. In fact, I routinely tell Small Business Owners that their time is better spent doing what they do best. And I spend time doing what I do best – an efficient processing of their monthly expenses, and an expert evaluation of their financial condition and tax situation. They couldn’t do what I do as well as I do it, because it’s all I do. And they can make a greater profit doing what they do well, because it’s all that they do.
But now the time has comes for me to outsource and I can see how it can be difficult. Trust is the issue. How do I know that the person to whom I am assigning this work cares about it as much as I do? What are some of the things that I can do to find out if this person has integrity? And maybe more to the point, how can I show my prospects that I will care about their business as much as they do?