Years ago, I heard the phrase, “Cost, Quality, Or Timing… Pick Two”. What was meant by this phrase is that in every big project, there are 3 factors in play.
1. The cost of the project. How much do you have available to invest? How much are you willing to spend to get it done?
2. The finished quality of the project. Do you want the project done with excellence and the highest levels of quality? Can you settle for lower levels of quality and be content?
3. The time it takes to complete the project. How fast does it need to be done? Can you wait a few weeks, months, or years for completion?
“Pick two” means that you can generally only have your choice on two of the three options for each project. For example, if you want it done fast and with high quality, it will cost you more than you want. If you want it done cheap, you’ll have to either give up some quality or how long it takes to get it done (ie…do some of it yourself instead of hiring it out).
With recent economic challenges, the first question that leaders and project managers in most organizations are asking is, “How much does it cost?” This is generally a good thing when finances are lean. However, if cost becomes the highest priority in making a decision on every single project, you'll generally forfeit some of your hopes on the quality that you want the project done in or the time it takes to get it done. If you ask "what does it cost" as your very first question, every single time, then you'll generally accomplish things really slowly or with lower standards of excellence.
Keep in mind that there are some projects that, if done in lower quality of work, will cost more in the end. On the same note, there are some projects that, if delayed, will cost more than if they were implemented right away.
For example, at my first church, I was the only pastor at the church when I was hired. We "couldn't afford" to hire another pastor, but upon closer examination we couldn't afford not to. We were failing to reach some people who had teenagers because we had no student ministry. We hired a second pastor and gave him the project of starting that ministry. He was very successful at that role and in his other roles. We started growing more rapidly as we were now able to attract people that would not have stayed if we didn't have a student ministry. Those additional people became long-term financial supporters as we grew.
Sometimes what costs more in the near term costs less long term.
Sometimes what costs less in the near term costs more long term.
The role of leadership is to take a good hard look at all 3 of these things (quality, cost, timing) and evaluate which are the highest priorities for each project. Which are the highest priorities for your current project?
Pick two!
.JPG)
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