Manager at large corporation: "No, we cannot do. I have no budget"
Me: "Yes you do have a budget. It just says $0. What *OTHER* resources do we have that we can use?"
Why do we sometimes focus on what we don't have? Instead of considering what we have. And what alternatives there are.
Strange.
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If financial expenditure is planned and controlled by the mechanism of "budget", what about time and energy? Some managers try to micromanage the expenditure of human energy ("don't waste energy on that") while others seem to imagine that it is unlimited.
ReplyDeleteThere are all sorts of soft resources that can get used up, especially if you don't pay attention to preserving them and renewing them. Including credibility and trust.
Managers in large organizations help one another, or at least put on a big show of helping whenever they can afford to, because they expect the favours to be returned. "Play up, play up, and play the game."
To consider what we DO have we must think. This requires us to not only consider our own point of view but others' too. We must also therefore consider many variables and many angles. We must step into uncertainty and face censure and resistance.
ReplyDeleteIt's easier to focus on what we don't have. It's easier not to think or stretch our creativity.
So from an energy and exertion perspective, it's not strange.
Sad though. I agree with you - its far more fun and exciting to consider what we DO have and to explore and experiment with alternatives.
Great tweets! Keep 'em coming!