THE TOOLKIT
You will always be asked to do more with less.

This is the nature of business. It is the ability to be smarter, swifter, faster, more efficient, more valuable, of higher quality, and of greater value than the competition. Wal-Mart seems to not only understand this concept but has incorporated it into their business model. Although I don’t directly work with Wal-Mart, from what I’ve read and from what I’ve heard from clients, there is an expectation for vendors who work with Wal-Mart to continually be able to do more with less year after year after year.

Each year Wal-Mart turns to its vendors and asks for greater efficiencies, more value, and/or lower costs. At times, this has created some very controversial results, especially in foreign countries. However, is this principle not the basic premise of business? Is this not how organizations become more competitive with one another? Isn’t this one of our major influencers when purchasing commodities and items, price and value? Is this not how our competition could potentially overtake us or vice-versa?

Wal-Mart is not intending to be a mean or disrespectful or inhumane. They are intending to be competitive. They are intending to provide their shareholders with as much value as possible. They are intending to give their customers the best price possible. They are intending to provide their employees with long-term employment because they intend to be more competitive than others and around for a very long time.

Doing more with less is merely becoming more efficient, more productive, and more competitive. When it works in our favor, as in lower prices at Wal-Mart, we appreciate it. However, when we are on the other side of the equation, and we are being asked to deliver faster, smarter, and cheaper results, we tend to get a bit upset and assign a responsibility of “jerkness” to those that are asking us to be smarter, faster, and cheaper. However, as I’ve said before, there is usually no intent to make life difficult.