Money is the “fuel” that all organisations need to survive because all endeavours incur costs. It is the flow of money that is important – static money is just a number. Money is used to buy time – more specifically LIFE-time. We trade our life-time for money which we then use to buy the goods and services that we need to survive in the modern world. These goods and services are delivered by processes that require people’s time to design, implement, operate and improve. So we all want the best value-for-money that we can get; the best value-for-lifetime. So what happens when the flow of money is constrained? Value, Lifetime and Money are interdependent – restrict the flow of any of the three and all three slow down. It is inevitable. With this perspective it does appear that the finance tail can wag the quality dog; and the lifetime tail can wag the quality dog too. So when you experience low quality goods or services try asking this question: “Is it the flow of money, motivation or both that is the root cause?” Stories please ….
Health Care Systems Engineering Blog