TIME, a new currency for a new economy

“If I could save time in a bottle…” These fateful words of the late Jim Croce, dating back to the 1970s may prove to be a most insightful prediction for the 21st century man. Why should you spend your time reading this article? Is the return on your spend worth it?

In different eras of our social and economic development varying currencies have evolved. These currencies generally reflected that which was inherently valuable, transportable, universal (to the defined universe of the era) and relatively scarce. This could be wood, food, spices, jewels, precious metals, coins, and eventually paper money and the genesis of world trade, the letter of credit.

Most recently, intellectual capital has been recognized as a currency. However it is the application of intellectual capital and its timely deployment that creates true value. Currency has evolved from that which is passed from hand to hand to that which is passed from mind to mind. Accompanying this shift from the physical to the virtual, is the acceleration of circulation. At no time in our history is knowledge more widely available to a more broad audience than today, the age of the Internet.

If we accept that everyone starts with the same amount of time it becomes a matter of who spends their currency in the most efficient and optimum manner on those resources and initiatives that have the greatest probability of achieving competitive advantage. It is not just a matter of who has it, everyone has time, it is a matter of what you choose to do with it (strategy) and how you choose to spend it (execution). Our employees, our customers, our partners (brokers/agents) and our shareholders all have different expectations than they did five years ago. Technology has created a set of expectations which forces a change in strategy, process and execution. Internet speed and instant gratification is the ‘mantra du jour’.

How we make our IT decisions and the type of initiatives we choose must reflect the current business drivers. Technology is no longer the dominion of the “techno-geek”, business leaders must become comfortable in making decisions in real-time to act and react to business opportunities. The strategic IT plan that was once focused on where we will be in five years is now focused on what we need in place in the next few months.

Can we afford to spend 12 to 18 months evaluating the need for a client system? Once the decision to proceed is made, do we then spend an additional 12 to 18 months selecting an alternative, then expect to have the solution in place by December 31. Is it logical to spend two to three years making a decision and expect the result to be delivered in half that time? Is this judicious use of time? Ironically by the time we implement our client system we are now faced with a new demand for “customer relationship management” (CRM) capabilities, followed by eCRM, followed by a need for “transactive web processing”.

The human resource angle is another relevant example. How long do we have today to hire a scarce IT resource? Do we go through the rigorous interview process that was the norm five years ago? Time to decide, time to execute, time to exploit, time sacrificed in not choosing a competitive alternative, time to maintain, time to upgrade, time to hire or retrain, time to retrofit. These are just a few examples of how time has become the currency of the new economy.

Time is a currency. Put it to work. Avoid the committee syndrome, make judicious use of your time and that of your organization. Those that respect the currency and use it effectively will reap the rewards. Croce’s song also tells us, “there never seems to be enough time to do the things once we find them…” You may not be able to save time in a bottle, however if you objectively observe the decision processes within your organization, you may find it where you least expect it.

The Wired World welcomes your feedback. Contact us, via E-mail at <vspencer@corporate.southam.ca”>b>vspencer@corporate.southam.ca