Doing Better with Less

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All across the world things are slowing down.  In many places they have come to a dead stop.  As I write this blog entry I’m sitting at the Seattle airport heading out to Chicago where I will deliver the keynote address to the MSDN Developers Conference.  I like doing the keynote address because it allows me to think in a larger context about the world, about business and about how we can survive, thrive and succeed in what has to be the worst economy I’ve seen in my lifetime.

I remember when Windows Server 2003 was launched that they had a tagline for the marketing campaign - “Do More with Less”.  I was thinking this morning that in these times a better line might be “Do Better with Less” . 

Let’s face it – we have less to work with.  In many places that means tighter budgets and fewer people.  This means that some things just won’t happen.  Some projects that you would have done in the past are put on hold, other things, good things that you wanted to do simply won’t happen.  We could whine about this or we could decide that this is an opportunity.  This is an opportunity for greatness to rise up and shine more than ever before.

Your boss, your grand boss and great-grand boss are all thinking about how they can cut.

  • Cut budget
  • Cut staff
  • Cut projects. 

Yet at the same time they are thinking about how they can grow. 

  • Grow market share
  • Grow customer satisfaction
  • Grow cost savings through efficiency

When I think of this, I wonder what my bosses think about me?  Am I the guy who they are looking at thinking “There’s someone we can cut” or am I the one who they think “I wish everyone in my organization worked like that guy.” 

This is not a time to do nothing… it is a time to do the right thing, the better thing that will:

  • Increase efficiency
  • Increase visibility
  • Increase profitability

What does this mean for you?

I want to hear how your organization is coping with these changes.  Are there cutbacks? Projects cancelled? Layoffs?

A change has come… I don’t think we will ever do business the same way that we did before, and that is a good thing. 

This is perhaps the greatest opportunity in our lifetimes.  Will you rise to the challenge?