Managers ask for resources while the Management demands results. And when managers fail to deliver, resources are cited as the cause of failure. Although the profound apprehensiveness of the management may be well conceived, without bare minimum resources managers can never deliver results. Whereas, owing to the limited nature of resources, managers will always have to prioritise and choose.
In case of new ventures or initiatives the top management assigns certain budget after consultation with the finance wizards and the decision makers. Although such budget may be deemed sufficient from the higher altar, it may not suffice the requirements of the foot soldier tasked with the endeavour to deliver results. As the nuances can be gauged only at the ground level, the way in which resources are materialised and transformed into results, are only known by to the executives. Hence, the top management should also let the executives voice their opinion while determining such budgets.
In many cases, when the results or the outcomes are doubtful, the management tends to allocate a budget that they are comfortable to part with in case of a failure. However, such approach rather assures failure and lets top manager pat themselves on their back as their doubts prove to be true. Imagine if Elon Musk had allocated such ‘okay to write-off’ budget to his ventures! Being skeptic, I usually avoid referencing such success stories as there as many unknown failures for each success.
But my point is that in absence of the bare minimum required budget, a venture is certain to fail. For instance, if we start a retail business, we will require a certain minimum rental budget to acquire a store at high footfall location – in absence of which, a compromised location with low footfall will certainly reduce our odds of success. Similarly the minimum budget for an impactful advertisement campaign can be a large sum, and any compromise will result in disproportionate loss in results. Hence, managers and management need to consider such indivisible items while determining budget.
Without constraints and decision grey areas, management would be a child’s play – perhaps age of empires! Hence, management and the managers should mutually acknowledge resource constraints. And rather than getting bogged down by constraints, managers should strategies to find alternates and workarounds. Constraints maybe applicable not only to resources but also to timeline. Especially in 2022, as most countries have a fairly developed economy, finding alternates solutions and outsourcing avenues are quite feasible.
If you are contemplating on what to prioritise, you must identify VOCs (Voice of Customer) and prioritise the resources required to deliver the non-negotiable or must-be features for client satisfaction. Then you can use an Affinity diagram to organise VOCs followed by Kano Model to prioritise offerings and determine resource prioritisation. And finally, if you have surplus budget, you can develop a strategy canvas to determine your competitive position in the market and strategise allocating the extra bit.
New low-cost airlines and fast food chains are perhaps the best examples of budget optimisation through resource prioritisation based on the customers expectations and requirements. Although many other businesses follow this approach, these examples are easily relatable as everyone is familiar with the experience and uncomfortable seating!
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Feature Image Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash
Savvy Munshi 