On order, limitations, and what lies beyond

I really love order, and when I can work deeply (finally), I do it in a very ‘messy’ way. 30 open web pages, countless screenshots, and saved images. So, there’s a lot of frustration in realizing how much ‘junk’ is left after such an intense work session.

The simplest solution to this situation is to just throw everything into a folder and hide it deep in the computer. Because, of course, I also strive for (apparent) order in my daily folder system.

Of course, this method is worth just as much as when we crumple our clothes and toss them into the wardrobe so we don’t see them, so the mess doesn’t weigh on us. But we know that if we opened that wardrobe, unstructured chaos would pour out.

It is what it is; this is one solution. Or we could say it's the perfect transition regarding the patterns I've received. Right in the middle of the scale.

Since these documents likely won’t come back to me anyway, there are a few that I consciously place on my desktop. They contain years of accumulated knowledge that will be ‘useful one day.’

And are they really useful?

During my recently consumed lunch, I was thinking about how to tackle another work-related, business topic, the question of outsourced labor. This is important because the Maltese company group recently opened a specialized office in Morocco, and we deal with this question daily. Just how can we sell this well!?

Right before lunch, I opened the ‘Sales’ folder that I keep in high regard on my desk and quickly scanned through it to see if there was any useful knowledge.

Last October, we organized a Startup Wednesday with one of the pioneers of the Hungarian startup ecosystem, StartITup, where I was one of the organizers. This involved some rearranging of tables, buying pastries, emailing, and moderating a panel discussion, as far as I was concerned. And collecting presentations after the event.

The following slide was presented by Ferenc Balázs, who is the Innovation Leader at Bosch Hungary.

I like to believe that everything happens for a reason.

This was the only slide I saved from the three presentations. I had just left it open before lunch without review, and I was just thinking about the topic when I returned to the computer, and this flashed before me.

What does this mean in practice?

Maybe that the available resources constrain us. Our company, our activities, our market. And that this can be expanded. As the saying goes, life begins outside the comfort zone. The revealing phase, the broadening of perspective approaches when we gain access to resources that weren’t available before.

But what could this be?

• A new workforce in a familiar area?
• Someone who brings entirely new knowledge into the organization?
• A different perspective? Cultural differences?
• Language barriers and overcoming them?

I honestly don’t know myself, but from my own personal experience, I see that very rapid change and development can occur in such situations.

And what else is on the other side?

Money, of course. Something we don’t like to talk about. Or at least we Hungarians don’t; I learned this here in Malta.

But the situation is that we live and work in a capitalist system in Europe. In a changing, currently not very ideal economic environment.

So, many might need to find a trusted partner to achieve their goals, which usually point toward business success.

And what fears might arise regarding nearshoring/offshoring/remote staffing/outsourcing/call it what you will?

Perhaps the most important is the long-term quality of the workforce!?

But does anyone provide a guarantee for this?

Maybe the person with whom these people sit in the office, whether it’s on the continent or the other side of the Mediterranean.

Language barriers?

Relatively easy to test.

Time zones?

Fortunately, the differences are quite small in this region.

Legal issues?

I’ve already discussed this in my previous posts on similar topics; it’s often worth seeking help and building partnerships.

I don’t want to encourage anyone to dive into something like this without thorough research.

But I also know that at the end of the day, every company is an Excel sheet, with a few rows of names, positions, and numbers.

And if these numbers can be changed safely, together with a trusted partner, so that we can sleep peacefully, perhaps with a smile on our faces, then it’s worth having a conversation about it.

And with whom? To the best of my knowledge, this will be the right person: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gareolite/

He’ll be kind, I promise.