When it comes to reducing costs as with losing weight, there are quick (but painful) ways to get results right away. Or you can go for a more sustainable approach, which Erica describes.
Does ‘tightening the belt’ really help?
Tighten our belt. Okay. It’s a well-known saying and it’s thought of as a positive thing to do. As in, do more with less. Be strategic about your resources. Cut to the chase. Do away with the unnecessary.
In general ‘tighten the belt’ is supposed to be a good thing to do. But let’s play this out in real life.
Suppose you really do need to reduce your costs — as many leaders in industry do. Suppose you try to do it by forcing the same operation into a smaller budget. It’s like wearing a too-tight belt.
It might look good or even work in the very short term but it’s not likely to yield a sustainably good result. It’s like to be painful. It may even do damage or cause things you don’t expect.
A better way? Adopt an authentic way to slim down. Instead of squeezing into things you really need, dig down to find what you can really streamline: wasted time, money and energy you can stop spending with no impact to your crucial outcomes. This is the business equivalent of a eating a healthy diet and exercising; it doesn’t happen overnight.
Then your belt really can be tightened but your business will be the right size to fit it, with no need to hold your breath!