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100 Ways to Succeed #81

Written by: Tom Peters

Article Overview: 100 Ways to Succeed #81:P>C

100 Ways to Succeed #81

There's a convenience store near me. They just finished what I'd guess is a $500,000 renovation. It sure helps! Bravo!

Whoops!

The previously crappy staff attitude is as crappy as ever. (All the more obvious because there's a Starbucks just a block away. For that matter, I guess there's pretty much a Starbucks within a block of everything these days.) Frankly, I feel they pretty much pissed away the $500,000! I'll trade a paint job for attitude any day!

It calls to mind a big issue—which holds for the receptionist in the 3-person, walkup accountancy—and for the U.S. military. It's so easy—and so visible—to get caught up with the capital budget. It's "permanent" and you can take a picture of the result, often as not. The people budget is far more intangible—and far more important. Money isn't everything, but when you're almost finished your planning exercise this year, I urge you in the strongest words I can muster to cut the projected capital expenditures by 5% or 10% ... and put the savings into the people budget, penny for penny or billion for billion!

(Hint: This is a very, very big deal!)

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Article Tags: capital budget, capital expenditures, convenience store, exercise, guess, money, paint job, receptionist, renovation, staff attitude, starbucks, whoops



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