Do You Want a Project or a Solution?
We have more resources available to us now than at any point in human history. It’s easier than ever to figure out how to do something yourself. Need answers to all of life’s mysteries? Google and ChatGPT are at your service. Want to create an app? With an assist from artificial intelligence (AI), you can do it - no coding required. Want to re-wire a house, learn how to throw a perfect curveball, or get started playing the guitar? YouTube has a wealth of information to guide you. Want to make something, fix something, rebuild something - you can do it and know-how isn’t a limiting factor if you’re willing to do a little research and work through it.
Want to DIY it? There are More Resources Available Now Than Ever Before
Now that almost anyone can do almost anything, the question shifts from “How do I do this?” to “Should I do this or work on something else?” in my opinion. Time remains our most valuable resource, and nobody from Warren Buffett to your next-door neighbor can make any more of it. So, if you can now do anything, you probably need to be even more judicious about what you take on.
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. You can build your own email server for your business - or you can fork over a minimal fee to Google, Outlook, or one of dozens of other providers. Almost nobody chooses to do the former since it’s time intensive and provides few benefits (not to mention more potential downsides) than the low-cost alternatives on the market.
Everyone has expertise and skills that are unique and that they can leverage to create their own unique advantages. AI and YouTube can probably get a novice to a level of baseline competence pretty quickly. But a couple of YouTube videos can’t replicate decades of lived experience. Maybe baseline competence is fine for a task - or maybe it’s dangerous. Beware the Dunning-Kruger effect, a cognitive bias in which novices overestimate their skills while experts underestimate theirs. The siren song of acquiring a new skill can lead a novice traveler astray and they may find themselves breached on some unseen metaphorical rocks.
Don’t Overestimate Newfound Skills - Beware the Dunning-Kruger Effect
The calculus has changed from “Can I do it?” to “Should I do it?” This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it’s not. Before, expertise was the limiting factor. Now it’s time. Does the time investment justify the payoff? Is this the best and highest use of your time? Can you DIY it, complete the work at a novice level, and create something that saves money or adds value? Maybe you can, and for a lot of projects completing them at a novice level is more than adequate. Or maybe completing a project at a novice level opens you up to some serious problems you’re not aware of.
I met with a customer recently, and he was describing a particular challenge in working with a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. He could envision the solution and honestly could probably create a home-brewed solution if he had the time. But the last part of that sentence is doing the heavy lifting - if he had the time. He’s busy, he’s short staffed, he has a million other responsibilities on his plate. He has the know-how to solve this problem (or is capable of acquiring it), but the last thing he needs is another project. He needs a solution.
As demographics continue to change and the Baby Boomers continue to retire, problems like the one my customer is facing are only continuing to pop up. Companies are going to be forced to do more with less as labor becomes less available and more expensive. We must all be more cognizant of how we’re spending our time and how we’re going to do more with less.
Paying for a solution instead of doing it yourself when you’re able to isn’t lazy or a failure. It’s recognizing where your time is best spent and where it generates the greatest return. Sounds like a smart use of our most valuable resource to me.
-Alex