“No, we can take care of it.”
This was the answer a colleague gave to the question of “Do you need more resources?” during a project meeting about process optimization. It was true that small amounts of work could be fit in among other tasks, but in R&D we had speculated more than once about what might be accomplished if there was a position dedicated to process. This colleague had even made similar comments once or twice.
No, we wouldn’t have gotten that new person if we had asked for the position, due to budgetary considerations at the time. But that wasn’t the point. The day before another colleague in a similar meeting related to a product rollout had an immediate answer to the same question about where he would like new salespeople and what marketing campaigns should be run to support the new product.
It was a matter of mindset. Of thinking within what seemed feasible or riding the train of thought further into what could be. And it was a difference that hadn’t been driven home to me until I discussed the meeting with my manager afterwards.
If I don’t ask for resources then I can’t receive them. I don’t know what the long-term or company-wide plans are at a more strategic level above me on the corporate ladder.
If I imagine what I would need for my perfect solution, essentially look at the bigger picture, then scale back to what is realistic, I may come up with a different and more effective use of current resources than I started with.
There is no reason to avoid thinking large and long-term in order to answer the question of “What resources do I need?”, no matter whether the subject matter is personal or job-related, even if those thoughts are not shared with others. At the least I will understand the situation better. I might even come up with something new.
