Are you cost-put or throughput minded?

I have always been a swing for the fences kind of guy. As my wife tells me all the time "Either go big or go home!"
This can be a bad way to live sometimes. For example if I haven't swung a golf club in a year I have a tendency to still go play 36 holes my first day, and try to hit the longest drive of my life. Needless to say, my chiropractor makes some great money off me the beginning of golf season.

But it can be a great way to live as well. Some of the most successful baseball players in the world consistently have around 2 times as many strike outs as they do home runs. Every 3rd time Hank Aaron or Barry Bonds would come to the plate they would hit a home run. The other 2 times they would strike out and have a seat on the bench. Success for a home run hitter is nothing short of hitting a home run. Which means they do not come to the plate with their manager asking them to just bunt. They do not come to the plate to swing shyly and play conservative baseball. They come to the plate to swing for the fences. Nothing short of success is aimed at. This comes with some consequences. They strike out a lot. But man, they do excel when they connect.

This mentality can be referred to as "throughput." In business a "throughput" mentality means that you do not step into the batter's box shyly, you step in ready to swing hard at every good pitch. It means you will do whatever it takes to succeed. You are not interested in merely surviving. You want to thrive. You will spend whatever you have to spend, you will work as hard and as smart as you need to work, you will step out of your comfort zone and put your head through a wall if thats what it takes.

The opposite of "throughput" is "cost-put." A "cost-put" player is asked to bunt. Their only goal is to not "strike out." They aren't trying to thrive. If they can simply survive and make it to a base, then they are happy. This player steps into the batter's box shyly, they play conservative, and simply try not to fail completely. This mentality has some advantages: they strike out far less, they become an expert at playing "it safe," and if they survive they are still on the team. But it also comes with some disadvantages: They will never ever hit a home run, nobody will ever know their name, and they will never know what it's like to make the money the home run hitters make or feel the rush of thriving in their sport.

In business a "cost-put" mentality says "How can I save money, cut costs, and just survive." They play conservative and they strike out far less.

Let's take a restaurant for example. This restaurant has 50 tables but only fills about 25 of them.

A "cost-put" mentality says "How can I sell those 25 tables, move into a smaller place, and cut costs across the board?"

A "throughput" mentality says "How can I fill those tables to capacity? I will spend whatever I have to spend, work as hard and as smart as I have to work, and will settle for nothing less than success at what I set out to do."

Which mentality will survive? Which one will thrive? Which one will strike out?

Which mentality are you? Are you "cost-put?" Or are you "Throughput?"

I guess that really depends on whether or not you want to survive or thrive.

I recommend swinging for the fences. Life is too valuable and too short to merely survive. You must find a way to thrive. And in my experience the businesses just trying to survive very rarely do. And the businesses that will settle for nothing less than success often thrive and almost always survive. Because, even when you strike out once, or twice, you still get in the box the 3rd time to hit the home run.... after all, you will settle for nothing less than success.

- Jon Bohm