The pressure to produce income in business often results in shortcuts. I'm not talking keyboard shortcuts, fraud, or other illegalities here such as were done at Enron. We're talking cutting corners in order to shade performance to achieve goals in business. It is bad business practice but not illegal.
Image via Wikipedia
Here's an example. Recently I bought a used iPhone from a retail store here in Winter Park. I've been on an Apple Mac since 1984 so it seemed only logical that an iPhone was in my future. In fact, I wrote The On-Purpose Person on a Mac that looks like the one pictured to the right. Come into my office and you'll see my Mac Plus sitting on a filing cabinet. All this is to say I was long overdue to get an iPhone.
So I put my name on a list to get a used one because I wanted to own an iPhone and not have a long term contract. The phone checks out - looks nearly new with no scratches to the back or front. It is in the box. Drop in my SIM card and it works like a charm. I get home and the charger is rejected by the phone.
Turns out the sales guy who sold me the iPhone yanked the OEM charger and replaced it with an el cheapo version. That little cube costs $30 to buy.
He cut a corner on me! And he nearly got away with it. If the phone hadn't known the cube was a knock off, then I wouldn't have known any differently.
Thinking I had found a great little local business to support, I was getting ready to recommend this store to several friends. Now I'm cautious because the guy cut a corner with me. By the way, I returned to the store, talked to the owner, and was immediately given an Apple charger. Kudos to the owner who thwarted to some measure a threat to his business. Then again, why does he have a corner cutter like that working there? Surely, it can't be the first time the sales guy has pulled that trick.
A few years back, I had the pleasure to interview Philip Crosby, author of Quality is Free. In essence, this guru and thought leader of the quality movement in 1980s had a simple message, "Do it right the first time. It costs too much no matter what to make it right after the fact." Crosby proved the cost of cutting corners doesn't pay.
Little people cut corners! Real leaders lay cornerstones. Which are you?
----------------------------
Did you miss The On-Purpose Leader Experience offered with the Central Florida Christian Chamber of Commerce? Catch the replay by clicking here. Registration closes on Jan. 11!
ShareThis
