Don't agonize; optimize!

By Rick Grbavac “He who does not economize will have to agonize.”   — Confucius My friend in Corvallis, Oregon, real estate agent Alan Deitch, sent me this quote today. It provoked me  to stop and think about all of the people who have been laid off during this past year’s recession.  Companies have had to ‘economize’ and those laid off have had to ‘agonize.’  I understand the need to reduce costs to reflect sales declines; I am hopeful that we are  nearing the bottom.  But a better word in the above quote might be “optimize”.  Now is a great time for companies to get the optimal performance from their workforce.  Why not build capacity for being nimble as the markets come out of recession?  There’s probably never been a better time to figure out what your most effective people are doing and the best ways to get everyone else to do those things.  He or she who does not optimize is toast.]]>