DailyPost 1770
TURN AROUND TIME!
While the turn around time is literally the most critical factor in all operations of life, busy in the very business of life, there is hardly anybody who ever gives it a thought. Turn around time is the time taken from the time of the initiation of an activity till the time it reaches in its genuine fruition. It certainly does not mean the completion of all activities, pertaining to anything humongous and more so which cannot be easily calculated. Empty hollow goals also do not fall in this category. It means activity based action with a direct correlation and impact on the result and the quality of service or the product delivery life cycle. This concept and practice would come in handy in everything we do.
Taking a simple example of Police reaching the spot from the time of it being informed, taking the action required and close the call. Wherever, further action is required, it would get into the requisite loop with its own turn around time. Best of the Police forces in the world boast of their efficiency on the basis of the turn around time. So it goes on for other policing activities; the time taken for single activities of investigation and also one complete investigation. What is the turn around time for the Forensic Science Laboratory to give a report? This turn around time would impact the investigation in a variety of ways, not only what we see superficially as a delayed report. This can be very aptly explained as a negative example of compounding.
The turn around is the cumulative total of every effort and efficiency brought in, in the whole process and then delivering it earlier and also better than any of the competitors. The backend linkages have first to be understood in a very meticulous detail; the man, material and the ecosystem needs have to be discerned, worked upon in the most professional manner and then a neat blueprint has to be created and executed with precision. Suffice to say, no turn around time can be managed at one go. It has to necessarily be iterative and thus is generally endless moving towards perfection. It is a mirage worth chasing. Breaking the turn around time barrier would help you break the normal category and move on to a different league; you will realize it yourself.
An Asian Paints beats all its competitors in its turn around time, from time the paint box leaves its assembly line to the time the cash / revenue is paid to the company for that transaction. In the case of earthquakes / floods etc the time to put into operation multifarious / multi-locational teams in the shortest possible time is what turn around time is all about. The vaccine development turn around time in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, proved this concept to the whole world; what iterative professionalism can do. It differentiates the professionals with a vision and immense drive to make it happen, with the also rans. Bereft of this thought, even the passage of a bill pertaining to the most recent fundamental right can be a pipedream.
FOR THE NON-DELIVERABLES, TURN AROUND TIME IS AN ANETHEMA.
Sanjay Sahay