Ever started a new sport or hobby and got over-excited and bought all the best equipment available — only to give up a few months later, barely using anything you purchased? This is exactly what they call “all the gear, no idea.”
Yet the truth is that getting fancy equipment for sports is rarely a necessity. Consistent practice with average equipment is far better than sporadic practice with top-of-the-range equipment. The same goes for looking after your company.
The right equipment versus the best equipment
Before we go any further, we need to make a distinction. We’re not saying that equipment has no value whatsoever and that it’s never worth spending money on — we’re just saying that a good or standard piece of equipment is often just as useful to you as the very best.
In badminton, you could spend anything from $5 to $500 for a badminton racket (yes, really). Getting the absolute cheapest racket available might not be a wise decision, but a $20 one will probably serve (get it?) your purposes.
What about business? As long as your employees have equipment that works, you might want to pay more attention to how they’re feeling.
Diminishing marginal utility
In economics, there’s something called diminishing marginal utility: the idea that an additional unit of something will make us extremely happy, but the more additional units we consume, the less our satisfaction will increase.
If you start playing badminton with a baseball bat and then you upgrade to a $5 racket, the improvement will be phenomenal. Then if you upgrade from the $5 racket to a $20 one, you’re likely to see a significant improvement again. But as you continuously upgrade, the gains will become increasingly marginal.
This applies to practically any kind of investment in equipment. Do you really think upgrading everyone’s computers in your office to the latest model will skyrocket their productivity? It’s unlikely — but giving them flexible working hours might.
Replace your fancy equipment with “suitable equipment” instead
So, if fancy equipment is overrated, what should you turn your attention to instead? Your technique and your mindset, of course! If your badminton serves are terrible, don’t blame that entirely on your cheap racket.
perhaps your human resources efforts are lousy (or non-existent), and all your employees are resentful for working where they do. Ouch.
If that’s the case, you might need some help with your human resources efforts, and that’s precisely what we can help you with at Gema Consult.
Get in contact today to find out how we can help you.
Author
Former Inland Tax Revenue Authority, Bringing a Fresh Creative Approach to Finance
The department of finance can often be very cut and dry. Indah Hanika, however, brings a fresh approach to this, which comes from her passion for helping to grow businesses and an understanding of its creative side, which allows her to communicate across departments and create spectacular financial systems.
Providing a logical approach to day-to-day business is how Indah keeps Gema functioning as smoothly as it does. Understanding the more creative aspects of the consulting firm is what makes her so effective as a collaborator—being able to pass on that expertise to her clients? That is what makes her someone you truly want on your side.