Especially for SME – 15: Time.

24 November 2021

SME 3: Is there any other intangible resource?

Mr. Lowe: The most elusive of all resources including creativity is Time. In fact time spent on any other resource decides what result we get out of that resource and so Time is the number one critical resource for us. That is why we had said earlier that result = resource x time. This also implies that whereas all other resources depend on time to give results, time itself does not depend on any other resource to give results. As the degree of independence is an index of power, Time is the most powerful of all resources- tangible and intangible.

SME 2: What makes time king of all resources? Many times we sit in front of the TV set and watch a serial and do not realize how much of this powerful resource we have consumed in the process!

SME 3: There is a TV in my office also!

Mr. Lowe: That is why TV is called an idiot box, it makes anyone sitting in front of it an idiot- by simply luring him to spend his most powerful resource without his knowledge! This stealing of time is far more damaging than the thief stealing money. Whereas money cannot create Time, Time can create money.

SME 1: Does this mean we should never have some relaxation like watching a TV serial?

Mr. Lowe: No, No, every one of us need a break from work and so relaxation is a critical aspect of working effectively; but for the break we cannot get back to the same speed of output as we were doing before the break.

SME 3: Is there some kind of a proportion of work to break?

Mr. Lowe: Yes, we can take a 15 minutes break for every hour to one and a half hours of work we do. But we must ensure we return to work as soon as that 15 mins. Is over! This is where TV serials , games etc. come in the way and they lure you to keep on until you realize that 15 minutes break has become longer than the work time!

SMS 2: Let me come back to my question: What makes time king of all resources?

Mr. Lowe: There are many unique features that Time has and no other resources have:

1. We humans cannot control the speed with which time moves, we cannot accelerate or decelerate it and so have no control over its consumption, unlike other resources.

2. Time, unlike other resources is non-storable. We cannot put it in a bank and get it whenever we want.

3. Its availability is fixed: i.e., amount of time available is fixed, we cannot increase it or decrease it by borrowing it or begging.

SME 1: Interesting! Is there any other uniqueness about Time?

Mr Lowe: Yes, ofcourse!

4. If I take a loan from you I can return it but if I take your say last 5 minutes there is no way of returning those 5 minutes! That is why I don’t keep anyone waiting for me! What do you, the owners do? You fix a time for a meeting and who is the last person to enter? You, of course, else we think our prestige goes down! Look at Mamata, who made the PM wait for her: Can she return that waiting time to him? She was stupidly trying to prove to the public, her prestige is above that of the PM!

5. Without spending time, you cannot get any result, positive or negative! It is time that adds value – positive or negative.

6. SME 2: I have never looked at Time that way! …………………….…….contd.