Saving Big Bucks With Barking Beasts
It’s tough to make a buck when you are running an airline, but when Robert Crandall was president of American Airlines, he did something we can all emulate in times when saving money is essential.
Crandall looked for every potential cost-saving by scrutinizing each expenditure and asking if there is a better way. While reviewing the budget of one of AA’s facilities, he noticed that a night watchman was on duty every night. Crandall asked “why don’t we hire a watchman for three random nights a week, potential thieves won’t know which night he is there?” They did and next year, after no thefts and money saved, he said “why don’t we replace the watchman with a vicious German Shepard?”. This they did, then reduced the dog’s duty to three nights a week. Still, no thefts. Money saved.
Then Crandall made the ultimate innovative move. They hired a professional handler – wearing protective gear — to anger and wrestle with the dog, while recording the frightening growls and barks of this savage beast. They then replaced the on-duty dog with an electronic recording that would randomly play a few angry barks loud enough to scare the most determined thief. More money saved!
What time and money consuming functions are you performing in your life and work? How innovative can you be in serving that same function in a cheaper and easier way?
Scrutinize your core processes and daily routines, and discover some creative ways to save resources with your own version of barking beasts!
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