The design that fits
Is worth the price
One of the greatest gifts my parents ever gave me was knowing the value of a dollar. I grew up in a family that was pretty poor. It seemed like we were always one step away from financial disaster. I knew the importance of every dollar and how hard they were to come by. As a gift to her grandchildren and a help to my parents, every year when it came time for school to start my grandmother would come to visit and would take me and my brothers shopping for new clothes. Clothes that we wouldn’t have otherwise. We were always given a budget and given the freedom to select items that we wanted and needed within that dollar amount.
One year I had decided that I was going to buy a pair of Girbaud jeans. Some of you are old enough to remember when those were in fashion. The problem was, they were three times the price of the other jeans I had. I had tried them on a few months before. I couldn’t believe the difference. The fit, the style and how they made me feel was remarkable. It was like they were made specifically for me. I couldn’t afford the jeans that day but I now knew the difference and I knew what I wanted and I started saving to make it happen. In the fall, when my grandmother came to take me school shopping I knew exactly where I was going and what I wanted to buy. With the money my grandmother gave me and the money I had saved I had enough money to buy 1 pair of Girbaud jeans and one shirt.
I remember having a conversation with my mother, who was trying to persuade me to be practical and get 3 or 4 pairs of jeans, and explaining to her that I was willing to say no to quantity so I could get the quality that I really wanted. My mother and grandmother allowed me to get the 1 pair of jeans that day and I don’t think I have ever been more satisfied with a purchase. They both thought that I would regret my decision and learn from it. I did learn from the decision. I learned that making the choice and sacrificing for the right thing is so much more rewarding than the work it takes to live with the thing that is not quite right.
As a leader, you and I need to continually invest in ourselves and our teams. But more often than not, I see people throwing good money after bad on books they are never going to read, programs they are not invested in and systems that do not serve them. It’s time to stop buying the quantity that doesn’t fit quite right and invest in the solution that is designed for you. You may have to save up for it or say no to some other good things but the value is worth the price you pay.
