Are you someone who wants to get something done—you may be excited about a new project or idea, or in a rush to see the results you want—that you attempt to cut corners and take shortcuts to get there faster?
I've been there.
“Don’t rush the process. Good things take time.” — Anonymous
Efficiency simply describes the ability to achieve a desired outcome or output with the least amount of input. And for most, it's undebatable to think that the shortest way is the fastest way, which could mean it's efficient in producing a desired outcome with lesser time, energy, and resources. However, this concept of efficiency could be a paradox in itself that while you may think shortcuts and cutting corners are the fastest way to achieve desired results, they could actually slow you down, cause long-term repercussions, further delay you, and can hinder your success. Sometimes, what seems to be the easiest, fastest, or cost-effective way may not be the most efficient way in the long run.
Even with the best of intentions, some people become overly excited with their ideas that they can't wait to share it with people, they can't wait to launch a product, they can't wait to start the business, and they rush through the process in the hopes of getting instant results and overnight success or even just wanting to get things done right away. More often than not, this sets us up for failure.
How Does Cutting Corners Actually Slow Me Down?
In whatever aspect of life, we must learn to take it slow and embrace the process. Cutting corners might look like the fastest and easiest way to achieve your desired results, but they can actually slow you down even further in the long run. Here's why...
The Illusion of Speed and Efficiency.
Coming from a family who loves to travel and go on road trips, we schedule the drive early in the morning to get to our destination early in the day and be able to maximize the time we have in our stay. To get there faster, we are fond of shortcuts or the fastest route to get there, even if they are unknown or uncharted territory for us. And needless to say, we have been in moments where these "shortcuts" made us lost our way and took more of our time than we intended.
As defined in the U.S. Dictionary, cutting corners is an idiom that could describe a person who takes shortcuts or finds ways to do something more quickly or easily, often at the expense of quality or thoroughness (Cut Corners: Definition, Meaning, and Origin (usdictionary.com)).
It's when a person takes the seemingly shorter or faster route in an effort to use the least amount of time, effort, and even resources but often by skipping a few important steps, doing things unorthodoxly or even unethically, using inferior methods or materials, with no respect to the proper procedures or process at the cost of quality in an attempt to achieve desired results right away. When we cut corners, in whatever aspect that may be in our life, it may give us the illusion of speed and efficiency in the short-term. It may seem like it speeds things up in the moment, but because of the compromised quality in the work we put out, there is a higher risk for failure. It often leads to poor quality results that leads to error and failure, causing us to consume more time and spend more resources for damage control than we actually intended. Our attempt at efficiency and productivity by cutting corners may eventually be a counterproductive attempt at achieving desired results and a more costly inefficiency. At the moment, we may see short-term gains as we cut corners to speed things up or get to where we want to be faster. But these short-term gains may lead to long-term losses and eventually slow us down even further, or even take us further back than where we started.
As the head of the media department in our church, together with the amazing team alongside me, we have gone through the process of learning throughout the years. But one thing that I've learned is that, although we may have good ideas, they're as good as a wishful thought without careful planning and execution. We have had a lot of projects that started with good ideas, but because we rushed through the process of planning, we poorly executed the idea, resulting in poor-quality results. At that time, we thought of it as wasted ideas and wasted effort, but we eventually looked back on it as a learning opportunity for us to do better on our future projects. As hard, costly, and time-consuming the process may be, it's all part of the process to get to the results we want to achieve. If we desire to achieve the results we want, we must be ready to pay the price. We must be ready for the cost, the sacrifices that we need to make, for the resources we may need to expend, for the time we may need to give, and for the whole process to reach our desired results with quality that lasts. Embrace the process. Good things take time.
“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” — Arthur Ashe
The Hidden Costs of Cutting Corners.
The media department in our church didn't start with much. We had limited equipment with low to mid-end quality that we had to maximize. And because of the limited resources, when we needed new equipment, we would always get the most affordable one, often times the cheapest one we could get in an attempt to save money at the expense of quality. We weren't complaining about it. In fact, we love what we do, and we do what we do for God and to bring His Message out into the world for them to know Jesus and to be encouraged. However, we put ourselves in a box as we accepted our limitations as is. More often than not, these cheap and affordable low to mid-end equipment don't last, often earlier than their intended lifespan. This causes us to buy new replacements multiple times, which costs more than actually buying high-end, high-quality equipment once that lasts.
Cutting corners have hidden costs that we may not see in the short-term. In the moment, we experience the instant, yet fleeting benefits. But these don't last and will actually cost more in the long run. But more than the long-term losses, may it be in finances or time, cutting corners also costs you your integrity and character. This reveals who you are and the principles you live out. As we moved forward and realized this, we started to invest in high-end and high-quality equipment in our team, not only because this is the more efficient choice long-term, but also because we honor the God we serve and want to give out the best of what we have for Him and for the people. This applies to every area of our lives and the standard that we live out in the workplace, in our businesses, and in our relationships.
Cutting corners not only costs you your integrity, character, and standard in life, it reveals it. Here are some ways people cut corners in different aspects and contexts that may compromise one's character, and the repercussions that follow:
Skipping through the process - This is when people skip important steps rather than going through the proper procedure or process in an attempt to save time at the expense of quality and of character and integrity. This may result in poor-quality results, damage to your reputation, and even legal issues that may lead to financial penalties. It may happen when people bribe their way to get something faster, make things go their way, or get away with things. Or perhaps when people pay more to get their driver's license through a "fixer" or someone that could get you to skip the long queues, written and practical driving exams, and ensuring you get your license faster without any hassle. Although this may be the easier way to go, this results people in adding to the problem of reckless and uneducated drivers in society, adding up to potential accidents in the future, and also compromises your integrity and character.
Choosing the inferior methods or materials - This is when people attempt to rush through the process or cut off on expenses and use inferior methods or materials. This results to a higher risk of failure and costs more time and resources to correct the issues that arise over time. For instance, this happens when a contractor uses inferior materials for an infrastructure in the hopes of saving more money but will cost even more as poor-quality materials will lead to structural issues later that require costly repairs and even risks to safety and legal repercussions thereafter. This reveals the standard you uphold in your line of work as well.
Delivering substandard work - This is when people sacrifice quality in an attempt to maximize their resources with limited amount of money and labor expended. But substandard work you put out will never last, will have no lasting return, and says a lot about your integrity and character, which may lead to damaged reputation, fewer future opportunities, and damaged relationships with colleagues, employees or employers, customers, or even just people in your life that trust you. When people cut corners and produce poor-quality results, it's bound to fail. This may happen in business owners trying to cut down on expenses by compromising quality for quantity. As a quote I saw once says, "Price is only ever an issue when the value is absent."
Focus on your character and integrity as you uphold excellence in whatever you do, and you will reap the benefits of your sacrifices. The process will take time, will cost more, and will be a difficult ordeal. But it will be necessary to achieve the results you desire to see. If you want high-quality results, you need high-quality habits that take you there.
“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.” — Albert Einstein
The Hindrance to Your Success.
While cutting corners or taking shortcuts may seem like the fastest, easiest, and cost-effective choice, and they seem to have that illusion of speed and efficiency, they come with hidden costs, and this will eventually become a hindrance to your success. In your attempt to rush and speed up the process—in the hopes of getting instant results, overnight success, or wanting to rush things to get to where you want to be or achieve the results you want to see—this actually slows you down even further and will cost you even more time and resources because of the substandard work you put out, the poor-quality outcome that results from poor-quality habits, methods, or materials, and the higher risk of failure as a consequence of cutting corners.
Here are some notable stories of how cutting corners hindered success:
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Recall (2016) - Samsung rushed the release of its Galaxy Note 7 to compete with Apple’s iPhone. But in doing so, they cut corners in the quality control process, compromising the integrity of their product, resulting in defective batteries that caused the phones to overheat and catch fire. Samsung was forced to recall millions of these devices and eventually discontinue the product entirely, incurring a loss of approximately $5.3 billion. This damaged Samsung’s reputation and gave competitors an edge in the smartphone market. Cutting corners on quality for a faster launch significantly hindered Samsung’s success with the Note 7. This was one of the most talked about issue in social media at that time, with countless negative reviews, actual footage of phones exploding and blowing up in flames, and we used to be terrified as my brother owned one of these in the past.
Theranos Scandal (2018) - This has been a controversial scandal that I was once intrigued with and researched thoroughly on, as I watched the documentary of this whole story. Theranos was a healthcare startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes, claimed to revolutionize blood testing with a device that could run hundreds of tests from a single drop of blood. However, Holmes and her team cut corners by faking test results, using third-party machines instead of their own, and deceiving investors, regulators, and the public about the technology's true capabilities. The truth came to light in 2015 through investigative journalism, and by 2018, Theranos had dissolved. Holmes and the company’s COO, Sunny Balwani, faced multiple fraud charges. In 2022, Holmes was convicted and sentenced to over 11 years in prison. The decision to cut corners on technology development, ethics, and transparency destroyed the company and tarnished Holmes’s legacy as a once-promising entrepreneur.
There are many more stories that have happened in the past and in the present day, where cutting corners have hindered success, as nowadays, people desire for the instant. Even in social media, people are drawn to 15-second reels more than hour-long educational documentaries and informed videos. Many people want instant results, instant benefits, and instant gratification. But success does not come overnight, and it is definitely not a one-time destination. It takes time and it is a life-long journey and process. Don't cut corners at the expense of quality, your character, and integrity in an attempt to get there faster. You'll get there anyway, so why the rush when you can get there slowly but surely? In your journey of going through the process, may you be reminded of this quote by Moliere that says, “The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.”
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." — Robert Collier
In conclusion, embrace and enjoy the process towards success and be prepared for the sacrifices you need to make and the habits you need to have to achieve it. The process may be slow, will take much of your time and energy, will cost you money and resources, and will be hard. And cutting corners by choosing the seemingly easier, faster, and cost-efficient way may skip some of these things in the process and may seem like the more efficient choice. As tempting as it sounds, it will only cost you more in the long run as you are compromising the quality of your work or output, leading to poor-quality results, failure, damaged reputation and relationships, and tarnishes your character and integrity that eventually hinders your success. There is a cost to success. If you want success, you must be willing to pay the price.
May this blog post empower you as you go through the process towards reaching your success. Do share your heart and thoughts in the comments. See you on the next blog post!
Sending love,
Coleene.
Read the previous blog post: Are You in the Right Circle? 5 Signs You Might Need to Change Your Circle of Friends
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