Right now there is a multiplicity of CONSTRAINTS – But let’s talk about BUSINESS Constraints – how they impact you and how to think about them.
“Constraints” is one of the 8 words that I use to assess, describe, and implement a positive movement in the corporate environment.
A constraint can take many forms. It can be:
Tangible – financial, schedule, or employee population cap defined – Black and White
Undefined – Employee availability, employee or societal mindset, etc. Subject to change – Gray
Out of your control. Items in this category include weather, employee unrest, market uncertainty, environmental changes, governmental policies, or regulations. These constraints may be “out of your control” yet must always be considered as various growth scenarios are evaluated. In some cases, protection such as insurance or contractual obligation clauses covering these constraints is possible.
Within your control: In many cases, you can make a decision or take action that will directly affect the impact of a given constraint. For example, if the supplier of your shipping containers also manufactures toilet paper or mask material, your shipping containers may take a lower priority than normal. There are several things you can do to work with your supplier and impact their priorities. These are not just financial (pay them more) solutions.
You may help them from an employee standpoint to increase their ability to make pandemic-related products – so they can do that more efficiently or faster – and still have time for your shipping containers. You can find a larger market for your containers hence increasing the demand can incentivize the supplier. Or you can ignore that constraint and find a new or different supplier or material.
You may choose to investigate a new shipping material. Perhaps one considered in the past – something less expensive, lighter, or more environmentally sound. The present may be the perfect time to switch and take advantage of those material benefits – with unseen additional benefits.
In this scenario – something which at one point constituted a constraint is no longer one because you have chosen to walk down a different path.
Business and life will always be full of constraints. It is our ability to recognize and respond to them that will define the result of this interaction.
