345. Better. Cheaper. Faster. Pick Two.

In leadership, as in life, you can't have it all. There are trade-offs for every choice. You want it better, cheaper and faster. You only get two. Choose wisely.

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I’m not sure you know this about me, but I love to cook.

I’m the primary chef in our family. (Also, the primary grocery shopper and primary dishwasher, but that’s an entirely different container of ketchup.)

I live in Southern California, where the weather is perfect, so I can grill year-round. And I do - 2 or 3 times a week. Almost everything tastes better cooked on a grill. Am I right?

I used to have a Weber grill, which is like the gold standard of grilling, but it broke. Probably from overuse. Instead of dropping a grand on a new Weber, I bought a similar look-alike for less than $300.

It’s a good grill.
Except the burner covers keep falling off.
And the starter button doesn’t always work.
Oh, and the food cooks unevenly.

Seriously, though, it’s a good grill.
But it’s not a Weber.
It’s just cheaper.

I made a tradeoff when I bought this grill. I didn’t know I was making a tradeoff at the time, but I sure learned the hard way.

That’s the thing about life - there’s always a tradeoff, whether you’re conscious of it or not.

Most people aren’t fully aware when they are making a tradeoff. I bet you aren’t always aware.

It’s ok, don’t feel awkward. I’m here to help you.

But first, we need to chat about one of my coaching clients.

The CEO Who Wanted Everything Now

A lot of leaders have problems. I’m a leadership coach for high performers. I fix their problems fast.

One of my clients, a fast-growing 8-figure SaaS company, needs to develop new, complex functionality for its largest client. At the same time, they are being pressured to integrate new AI features into their platform.

“I need it all launched in two months,” the CEO told the head of technology.

The head of tech pushed back because, well, that’s just not the way the engineering space-time continuum works.

When the CEO insisted again on the 60-day deadline, the head of technology did what any other head of technology would do in this situation: he updated his resume.

You see, the head of tech knew that many of life’s decisions are all about tradeoffs. And in most cases, there are only three to choose from.

Welcome To The Project Management Triangle

There’s a thing called the Project Management Triangle, which has about as much to do with project management as it does with grilling.

The basic gist is that, in any given decision, you have three choices: Better, cheaper, or faster.

The catch is, you can only choose two of them.

• Fast + cheap = low quality

• Cheap + great = slow

• Fast + great = expensive

Every leader confronts this dilemma in their daily decision-making, whether they realize it or not.

Heck, you most likely have to confront the project management triangle in your daily life more often than you realize.

My friends over at The Work Chronicles understand this. Either that or they have installed yet another bug in my office because they just dropped this comic and their timing is kinda creeping me out:

Why Leaders Screw It All Up

Like my client above (and like the Work Chronicles cartoon client above), people often pretend the rule doesn’t apply to them. They always expect to get something of high quality for a low price in a quick time frame.

That’s just not how life works.
There’s always a price to pay.

Sometimes the price isn’t in hard dollars. Sometimes it’s in motivation and productivity.

People aren’t stupid¹. When you force them to deliver a high-quality product in a tight timeframe for little money, they know they’re being set up for failure.

They’ll be frustrated. They’ll probably disengage, and they’ll most likely lose their desire to succeed.

But here’s the thing: when it comes to wanting everything all at once, the project management triangle isn’t actually the problem.

[Plot twist]

When Leaders Can’t Make Tough Decisions

The triangle can be difficult to accept. But, difficult or not, it’s still a reality, and it’s still not the real problem.

The real problem is the leader who refuses to make tough decisions.

Leaders who don’t understand the Project Management Triangle and don’t make decisions based on its premise are forcing their teams to absorb the consequences.

That’s not leadership, that’s abdication of responsibility.

It’s your job as a leader to make hard decisions. When it feels like it’s a lose-lose situation, you STILL have to decide which way you want the team to lose.

Nowhere in the leadership manual does it say that you’re allowed to avoid the tough decisions.

Very often I see leaders who refuse to accept the lose-lose scenario. They try to change the laws of reality to make their ego look good and blame others for failure.

You can’t expect your dog to run like a cheetah and then punish the dog for her failure to be faster. But this same exact scenario plays out at work all. the. time.

So stop doing it. Stop setting up your team for failure with unrealistic expectations.

Here is what I want you to do instead…

What I Want You To Do Instead

Good leaders understand the tradeoffs of the Project Management Triangle. They understand that, to build a strong culture of inspired productivity, they have to choose which two options matter most - even if it feels like no two options are a winning situation.

Once you make the decision, explain the tradeoffs to your team. Use it to inspire and motivate them. Then stick with the choice.

Let me repeat: stick with the choice.

For instance, “This project has to be fast and cheap. I know it won’t be the best we can do, but it doesn’t need to be award-winning.”

And when they deliver the project, don’t come down on them for not delivering something award-worthy.

By being clear and acknowledging the triangle, you are creating focus and accountability instead of building resentment.

And that leads us to the challenge.

Your Leadership Challenge

This week, think about the big decisions you’re confronted with. What are the tradeoffs you have to make?

More importantly, think of the big decisions you haven’t made. The ones you’re delaying or procrastinating on. Is there a tradeoff that you’re avoiding?

Make your decision today by acknowledging the trade-off.

Let me know what you’re doing in the comments!

Remember, if you aren’t consciously accepting the trade-offs, you’re gonna be spending your days getting angry at a crappy grill instead of just paying the money for the Weber you wanted in the first place.

Metaphorically, of course.

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My name is Jeff Matlow, I’m a 3x entrepreneur, author, and leadership coach to high-performing leaders. 

Book a call to solve your problems.

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1. well, most people aren’t stupid.