I was at the local mall yesterday. The mall closes at 6 pm and I could not help but notice that at many shops the door keepers were standing by the entrances15 minutes before closing time already. Motivated and ready to slam the doors shut precisely at 6. In fact, so eager were several of these stores that they already had half their folding doors closed. This was despite the fact that the mall was still alive with shoppers.
Which made me stand back and think: "And I thought times were bad...?"
Possibly the mall has regulations about punctual closing of shops. Possibly the unions, overtime pay, and employee work hours had something to do with it. But that is not my main concern. My greatest concern of all is the symbolism of the act. In other words the desperate significance of the principle of minimum input. You know? The principle so popular among losers, which dictates that the best policy is to put in the smallest mount of effort, in order not to waste one's energy and risk not being rewarded for it. Who still thinks like that? Evidently many.
Who can still afford in these uncertain times to say no thank you to a few extra sales? Obviously a lot of businesses.
It made me think about all the stories my grandparents used to tell about the great depression. Times were so hard that my grandmother remembered collecting the sheep wool that was caught on barbed wire fences. This they carefully made up into bundles and sold to he wool merchants. No, they were no so desperate that they had to scrounge in order to live. But times were lean and wool prices were high. They simply believed in capitalizing on opportunity, even if it was small. It was a principle that they followed in life, and that principle made them prosper over time.
I know it makes little sense to keep a big store open for a few bucks in extra sales. However, symbolically-speaking at least, my belief is that when times are hard I would be open for longer than the opposition. I would encourage shoppers to stay beyond regular trading hours, in stead of switching the lights off and making that dreaded announcement: "Attention all shoppers. Please note that this shop is now closed. Our regular hours are from 9 till 6 and we look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Please be so kind as to make your way to the checkout counters now..."
I don't want to come back tomorrow. I want to spend my money with you NOW!
There are businesses that close up in recessions. And then there are those that emerge from it stronger. Our business involves unique technology. We provide solutions that nobody else does. We deliver it by means that few people have tried. And we continually look for even more original ways than that. We like disruptive technology and disruptive ways of sharing it with the market. We believe in being part of the latter category of businesses: those that will grow and thrive even when times are bad.
When people are inconvenienced by the economy they will slam doors shut precisely at 6. But when they are hungry one day, I suspect they will close at 6:15. It will not be the act, as much as the symbolism of it that will impress me. The day I see that, I will know that the fundamental psychology of what is wrong in our economies maybe be ready to change. That will be my signal of hope.
Why would stores be eager to close early when shops are closing at a rapid rate all around the world? The minimum input principle is symbolic of a cancer in the very thinking model of capitalism.
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