"The Long Game"
Is your company looking at “The Big Picture”? “The Long Game”?
The Long Game,
Is your company looking at “The Big Picture”? “The Long Game”?
This is an important component to a company culture. It isn’t ‘only’ Wallstreet (stockholders and boardrooms) that can take a short-term approach.
You need to be aware of your culture, right down to supervisors. The attitude of “I don’t care what comes after me” is just as destructive as a board of directors not caring about anything that comes after the latest earning cycle. This can manifest in a couple of ways, but the most common and obvious, is to be myopic about costs. Looking only at the short term and ignoring the impact that cutting corners will ultimately cost. If you save $100k / year on software but have to hire 2 additional people because of the decision, did you really save anything?
If you have managers who carry this approach, they’ll unknowingly damage the long-term health of the company for the sake of looking like a cost cutting hero in the short term. The damage may not show initially. It’ll obvious enough 2 years later when they’ve moved on. At that point, their replacement is on the hook to clean up the mess, and find a solution the problem the first manager created. It’s similarly damaging to employees. Short term measures such as lack of training, short staffed, or going with inefficient tools that demand employees put in long hours or working nights or weekends impacts morale. It potentially increases turnover, and may also increase overtime pay if you’re dealing with hourly workers.
Squeezing costs is seldom a viable long-term strategy. It might look good on the surface but the damage is being done to the foundation. Unfortunately, managers may feel they aren’t going to personally benefit from an approach with a horizon of longer than a couple of years. They won’t risk spending the money and wrath or superiors who have 'demand results now' mentality. If you work for a company or a manager with that approach, you’re wise to take note.
Bottom line, take stock of your strategy and your people. Make sure that they view it from “The Long Game”. Like ancient trees putting in roots, set the foundation for the long term. You’ll ultimately be happier with the results.
Watermark Data Company Blog
