Eating Down the Enterprise
If there’s one idea that characterized 2009, it is “doing more with less.” If I had access to LexisNexis, I’d tell you just how many times it’s been used in print, but, alas, I don’t. Let’s go with it anyway.
The recession has forced managers and the C-suite to scrutinize budgets, choose which projects to embrace and which to scrap, and decide how many employees to sack. It has left a bad taste in many mouths.
“Doing more with less”: trimming the fat; getting back to basics; losing the bells and whistles; re-featuring; making tolerable tradeoffs; dialing down; innovating; repurposing.
Here are some variations of “doing more with less”: trimming the fat; getting back to basics; losing the bells and whistles; re-featuring; making tolerable tradeoffs; dialing down; innovating; repurposing.
Usually, I consider buzzwords and catchphrases as an affront, or a ruse to get me to think I matter as a worker. Then I remembered a column I read on Washingtonpost.com earlier in the year, “Eating Down the Fridge,” written by Kim O’Donnel, who happens to be a good friend of a good friend.
The column is O’Donnel’s challenge to her readers to skip trips to the grocery store for a week, and instead use what’s already in the fridge and pantry. It’s an experiment in doing more with less. (O’Donnel’s effort was inspired by fellow foodie Steven Shaw, co-founder of the web site eGullet.org, who endured his own no-shopping-for-a-week challenge.)
After re-reading it, the idea of getting back to basics in business offends me less, and almost seems noble. Read more…
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