Most people would sense that they are attracted to fear and are sceptical towards hope. And during this economic period there is a lot of scaremongering around. Nowadays the media are regularly imprinting us the idea that a double dip recession might be at our doorstep. What is your initial reaction? Do you fear the double dip?
For sure you would have heard the saying "what goes up, must go down". We accept this as a fact of life as we take into consideration that there is such a thing like gravity. There was a period not that long ago where politicians in the United Kingdom said "boom, no bust" and now the entire nation is picking up the pieces.
It takes no effort to be negative and for most of us it comes too naturally. In essence this is not a bad attitude, because being cautious is one of the important ingredients for survival. But it is dangerous when it paralyses you. As humans we need to stay creative and solve problems, not dwell on them.
So what if there will be a double dip recession. The economy goes in cycles and it will always have an upward trend. So in effect you can say "what went down will eventually go up, and go up higher than before". At the moment people may find themselves in financial trouble because they weren't prepared for a downturn. But that does not mean that your life will never improve again. You can always dream of a better future, but are you also fired up to take action?
Imagine you have the devil wearing a t-shirt stating "double dip" on your left shoulder and an angel proudly showing off her dress that says "lucky dip" on your right shoulder. Which one will you allow to survive? I bet it will be the one you 'feed' the most attention.
Not convinced? When you are in good health and you will say "I feel sick" continuously for 5 minutes, then you will start to feel sick. Just trust me, or else feel miserable before you trust me.
When you are able to be positive, then you will automatically see opportunities arise. And certainly I would like to get you in a good mood, relaxed and open for a revolutionary idea.
The current SAP consultancy market seems under pressure when seen from a self employed consultant perspective. Those with many years of experience and confidence in their own capabilities would prefer to avoid competing on price. Actually, they would want to increase their rate. How can that be achievable?
Before I come with a proposal, why not list some of the dogma's prevailing in the Western society:
- High quality consultants are difficult to find
- Cheap labour from developing countries are usually not cost effective
- Expensive contractors are not by definition delivering acceptable results
Many customers are struggling with the cost of SAP resources and have to pay the bill for mediocre or undelivered solutions. That is because currently consultants are being "paid on attendance". So irrespective the quality delivered, the customer will take the financial risk for failure.
So what if there would be a pricing scheme that is based on being "paid on acceptance"? So the consultant gets paid a very comfortable top market rate when the deliverables are meeting expectations, but need to work for free during the period spent on fixing issues after deployment.
Imagine two projects. One is using traditional "paid on attendance" credo whereas another more daring project uses the "paid on acceptance" methodology.
- Which project attracts the elite within the consultancy market?
- Which project attracts the most loyal consultants?
- Which project attracts consultants who are willing sharing their knowledge?
- Which project resolves identified problems during implementation the fastest?
- Which project produces the highest quality of documentation?
- Which project has the lowest amount of issues logged during user acceptance testing?
- Which project will be the most likely to be delivered on time?
- Which project has the lowest amount of critical issues logged within the first quarter after deployment?
- Which project achieves the fastest return on investment?
It is during these uncertain times when innovative ideas will surface and will reach an audience. And with any revolutionary thought, I would expect to receive more restraint than agreeable reactions. Of course I am aware that it is easier to say 'no' than 'yes'. It is easier to distrust than to believe it may be feasible. Personally I would be over the moon to be part of an assignment that dares to embrace the "paid on acceptance" ideology. How about you as a customer, consultant or recruitment agent?
My name is Isard Haasakker, and I believe in the lucky dip.
