As a customer, you can have any two of three choices. You can have something made good and fast, but it won't be cheap. You can have the desire of your dreams made quickly and cheap, but the quality won't be there. Or you have a quality-made item done inexpensively, but it won't be done in a hurry.
Those of us in the manufacturing world have to live by this little philosophical gem on a daily basis. Yet, when the customer gets a little power after rising through corporate ranks and becomes your boss, he (or she, in any case anyone feels left out) tends to forget this universal lesson learned during that managerial rise.
Two year ago, my boss wanted a new tester. One that was sophisticated enough to launch a space shuttle, designed and built as soon as possible, and without spending more than a dollar. My team came up with a tester that could test his new solenoid for $20,000 and be built within 12 months. After 9 months of listening to "is it built yet?" "why is it so much?", we had finished his fancy tester that had more features than the original design and cost us $10,000. Of course, we had to scrounge parts from antique systems, such as obsolete data acquisition cards, an old computer cabinet with an even older computer (including an ancient 14 inch monitor). But we did it.
Now he wants another tester --- one that doesn't have obsolete parts in it, for $5000 and ready in 6 months. I asked him if he had ever heard of 'good, fast, cheap' saying. He replied that he had many decades ago. "It still applies," I said. He ended the conversation with "Do you like your job?" I'm beginning to think ... not so much.
1 comment:
Good and Fast. Still prefer quality over quantity. I don't mind spending a lot if what I'm having in return is of quality.
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