Page 86 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis What happens if the part is no good? The line worker hits a red button that shuts down the entire assembly line. People notice. Guess what? The quality of parts in Japanese car factories used to be 5 to 10 times better than it was here. And that led to much smarter American manufacturing and much better cars. You’ll discover that the time you spend managing people can have a huge impact on the way you run your business. A simpler, smaller example is my friend Dan. Dan invented a card for the Amiga computer that used a bunch of computer chips to generate music. He bootstrapped the business from scratch and built a tremendous reputation for leading-edge components. One reason for his success: His suppliers were quick to teach him about new parts on the market and eager to help him reengineer his products to make them faster and cheaper. A lesser supplier would have let Dan go on using more expensive, more profitable chips. But a smart supplier knew that he was better off helping Danʼs business, because in the long run theyʼd both make more money. The same is true for your business. If the vendors you work with are responsive, high-quality organizations focused on your success, youʼre much more likely to succeed. Obviously, not every vendor is going to meet this criterion. So you need to invest time and energy in finding alternate sources and in training and rewarding vendors to work with you better. | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | h 86/103 f