The hard fact of life is that you spend hours grinding away for a project, feeling super productive, only to realize... well, not much actually got done. That sinking feeling of wasted effort can be a real bummer.
Every business – startup or established talks about efficiency and productivity at work and we are all obsessed about Return on the Money Invested; but we forget or choose to ignore the most important capital and which I believe is the most underrated metric – TIME. Enter ROTI – Return On Time Invested, the lesser-known cousin of ROI (Return On Investment).
Time is not free!
While it may feel like the cheapest currency you have but really, it’s the opposite. Once spent, it cannot be recovered. There is an opportunity cost involved in every minute spent. What else could we be doing with that time?
In this digital economy, we spend hours comparing deals on various websites, find coupons and finally save a few hundred? Have you ever thought about what else you could be doing in that much time?
We are more focused on the financial returns from what money we have invested. Of course, that is very important but once you start thinking about time as money, there will be a change in your mindset and your productivity will increase manifold.
I’m not trying to be philosophical here but think about it – are you “spending” time or “investing” it? It’s about working smarter not harder.
ROI or ROTI?
Ask yourself these two questions – The first one is the classic money metric – “Did that marketing campaign generate enough sales to justify the cost?” The second one is "Did I use my time effectively to achieve the desired outcome?"
I’m in a field where there are times we don’t realize when 24 hours are over and certain times you are far more relaxed. We have just begun the new financial year and we all know how the last quarter of the financial year is – deal closing, collections etc. Same was the case with me. I was drowning in different projects and felt like I was running on a hamster wheel. Busy, yes, I was, but how productive I was is the question.
Value over Volume
In any business, networking is critical; however, it is important to identify the right opportunities as not all are the same. For eg. smaller, targeted events with high-value partners yield better results than attending a number of large, generic conferences.
The Paradox: "The Harder You Work, The Less Money You Get"
This old saying hit home for me. We have all grown up to believe that burning the midnight oil was the way to success. But what’s the truth? More hours do not necessarily mean more money or better results. It’s about value vs. effort.
Emerging Markets vs. Mature Markets
For a start-up, flexibility and innovation are the key for growth. They have the ability to pivot quickly which means their time investments often have high returns, while for an established firm, it’s all about streamlining processes to make it more efficient.
Optimize ROTI with the 20-80 rule
It’s not about working less but about working smart. 20% of your work should bring you 80% of the results. When you have a great ROI with your marketing or your sales, your business flourishes. When you have a great ROTI, your work and life flourish, resulting in higher productivity and profitability.
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