studio non troppo : mindful design : facilitation

Photo: MShades

When there’s more of something in one place than there is in another, that discrepancy can be a resource. The water at the top of a creek has more potential energy than the water at the bottom of a creek, and that’s why a water wheel can do something useful like mill grain. Or if you have fine silk fabric and the people around you only have coarse or low quality fabric, you may be able to exchange some of your high quality fabric for food or something else you would like. We’re used to thinking of benefits and value together.

But inefficiency and waste can also be resources in some cases. Lawyers benefit when two parties cannot come to an agreement on their own. Matchmaking websites make money in addition to matches because the process of finding a good partner for a relationship is rarely straightforward. The stock markets have built-in inefficiencies: they’re known as commissions, and stockbrokers don’t seem to mind them.

In thinking about how you’re trying to earn money with your business, have you considered how to leverage inefficiency and waste? Some of the strongest solutions to tough problems don’t just ameliorate failures; they use failure as a resource.