Pay With Money or Time

💌 225 words ⌛1 minute

You can solve a problem in two ways. You can try to solve it on your own and go through the experience yourself. Or you hire an expert or invest money to get someone else’s experience to solve the problem. As a manager, it's your job to decide what you are paying, time or money.

Why it matters: For nearly every problem there is already a solution. By software, by other people, and by other organizations. You don’t have time to make every mistake on your own. But there are experiences your team has to make on its own. The key to being a great manager is understanding which experience is valuable for your team.

Dig deeper:

• If a problem is specific to your organization, there is value in solving it. If not, look for an existing solution.

• It doesn't have to cost money. Leverage free frameworks, tools, and practices for generic tasks.

• When you pay an expert to solve your problem, make sure you and your team learn something from it. Otherwise, you created a new blackbox.

• Paying for an expert buys you back time: The time you don't waste on the problem AND the time now free to invest in something else.

What’s your strategy so far? When do you pay for the experience, when you are taking the long road?

— Daniel