Thursday 5th May

We seem to be moving faster and faster into an instant world.  Companies now compete on the internet to see who has the fastest delivery times, and Amazon are even offering same day delivery if you go with Amazon Prime.  Everyone expects instant service; if we have to wait a few weeks we often prefer to go elsewhere.  “Is it in stock?” “No, but we have it in another store” – and so you go there to pick it up.  Even if we have to wait in line at Starbucks or Pret we get agitated.  Instant gratification is the name of the game.  Most large stores now work on a minimum stock system; their computers estimate the minimum shelf-life of products, the tills collect sales data and stock is automatically ordered to reach the minimum level, most stores have six or even seven deliveries of the same item every week.

I had a Managing Director a few years ago who would organize same day meetings by e-mail, last minute-ism I am afraid.  It never seemed to bother her that the people called to the meeting might have other arrangements, or even that they might be planning to be elsewhere at another meeting; her last minute decision to call a meeting would take precedence.  And with e-mail there is no hiding place, one is expected to have ones e-mail open at all times and to respond immediately.  I often received e-mails late at night asking for reports to be sent first thing in the morning, which would mean staying up late or waking early to do them.  Of course I do realise that my reading my e-mails and responding simply added to the culture of last-minute-ism.  But why can we not think ahead, plan, give people a bit of notice – we used to do it; I can remember receiving typed correspondence, delivered by hand, giving notice of meetings or requests for information and asking me when I thought this might be completed.  But as we rely more and more on computers we (or at least those in charge) cannot see why it should take us any time at all to press a button and produce information and e-mail it back.  I was actually quite busy at work with never any “spare time” and yet I was constantly asked to make emergency payments to suppliers when, with a little forethought, this could have been scheduled along with the regular payment run.

And none of us are immune, we all leave things to the last minute; and then often panic because we cannot find our credit cards or our keys or our phone.  Slow down and try to plan ahead a bit and life will go much smoother.