And the step before that is recognising where your weaknesses are, because your business will ultimately reveal them. That's the topic of another post, though.
This is one of those patterns that’s so easy to fall into when you’re stretched: outsourcing looks like progress but it’s really just deferring the learning you still need. Deloitte’s outsourcing research consistently flags oversight failure, rather than supplier failure, as the primary reason these relationships break down. As I see it, you need just enough working knowledge of a function to know whether you’re being well-served or simply well-managed. What’s the function you’d most warn founders against handing over too soon?
Clients come to us because they do not have the expertise in-house and they do not want to spend on building it from scratch. That is a completely valid reason to outsource, but the ones who get the most value are always the ones who understand enough to evaluate what they are getting.
When you are looking for a partner for a one off project or a specialized capability, check the credibility, look at the reviews, talk to past clients. There is always going to be some level of trust involved, and that trust has to be built on something real before you hand over anything that matters to your business.
Great piece!
You don't need to *do* the function. You need enough understanding to write the brief, read the output, and spot the leak.
That's a week of learning, not a career.
The expensive mistake isn't outsourcing.
It's outsourcing before you've done that week.
And the step before that is recognising where your weaknesses are, because your business will ultimately reveal them. That's the topic of another post, though.
This is one of those patterns that’s so easy to fall into when you’re stretched: outsourcing looks like progress but it’s really just deferring the learning you still need. Deloitte’s outsourcing research consistently flags oversight failure, rather than supplier failure, as the primary reason these relationships break down. As I see it, you need just enough working knowledge of a function to know whether you’re being well-served or simply well-managed. What’s the function you’d most warn founders against handing over too soon?
Depending at what stage of the business you are at everything can be too important to handover or vice versa.
Clients come to us because they do not have the expertise in-house and they do not want to spend on building it from scratch. That is a completely valid reason to outsource, but the ones who get the most value are always the ones who understand enough to evaluate what they are getting.
When you are looking for a partner for a one off project or a specialized capability, check the credibility, look at the reviews, talk to past clients. There is always going to be some level of trust involved, and that trust has to be built on something real before you hand over anything that matters to your business.
You can hand work over without switching your brain off. That’s usually the difference between buying help and buying yourself a new problem.