Outsourcing - a bedtime story.
Johnny has 10 apples - but he can’t hold them all at the same time - but he want’s to keep them nearby so he can get them to sell when he needs them.
Johnny sells 5 apples to his mate, Fred who holds those apples for him and passes them over for a price when asked.
After a week or so, Fred’s Dad comes along, sees that Fred is taking up too much time and effort holding the apples for Johnny and replaces Fred with a cardboard box. Fred can now go and see his other mate Jim who has some Oranges he needs holding.
Johnny can still get his apples, but is a bit miffed that Fred is not there to pass them to him. Johnny actually has to get the apples out of the box himself which is too time consuming and is loosing him money through loss of sales. Johnny complains to Fred’s Dad.
Fred’s Dad comes along and cuts a side of the box away and throws it in the bin so that Johnny can get the apples easier. Johnny is happy. Fred’s Dad is happy too as he can now pay for a smaller box, one with only 3 sides!
Fred comes back with his Oranges and shows them to his Dad. His Dad has the great idea of putting the 2 together and puts the Oranges in the box with the Apples. Now Johnny is pissed off again as he has to wait for the Oranges to get out of the way to get his apples from the box.
Fred’s Dad is happy though. He now has a box with 3 sides full of Apples and Oranges! He doesn’t have to pay for another box for the oranges!
Fred’s Dad is called away on business and his Uncle, Bill comes to take over control of the box. He sees the box full of Apples and Oranges and he also sees Johnny and Jim using the box to get their fruit. Aha! Thinks Bill. I can make it easier if I take away the box and put the apples on the floor. This will make it easier for Johnny and Jim to get their Apples and Oranges and I can save money by not owning the box! Great.
Johnny and Jim are not happy. They have to fight to get their fruit now. There is no-one giving it to them. It is not in a nice box (with 3 sides) and they are just rolling around on the floor not in one place or another. They complain to Bill who has a great idea.
I’ve got this other box! It’s bigger than the one you had before! It’s only got 2 sides on which will make it easier for you to get your Fruit and it is already being used by 2 other people to manage their Fruit aswell! And - it won’t cost you any more money!
Johnny and Jim are happy! They get their box back. They get their fruit when they need it. But they have to wade through the Bananas and Pears to get them though.
The 2 guys who own the Bananas and Pears get pissed off. They now have too much other fruit in their box to deal with and complain to Bill. But Bill has gone off on business and his wife, Judy, has taken his place.
Judy has the answer!
She will cut off a side of the box to allow them to get their fruit out easier!
Johnny, Jim and the 2 other fruit sellers are happier, but alot of their fruit is now falling out of the box and they are not quite sure how many pieces of fruit they have left. It’s all a bit of a mess.
Johnny has had enough. He buys back his 5 pieces of fruit and puts them in his pocket to hold them. Jim does the same.
Johnny is happy as he has all his fruit back in his control. Jim is the same.
Judy is happy too. She just sold back the fruit at a bigger price than Fred bought it at in the first place!
Job done.
As part of the couch to 5k plan you have to enter into a race. Running 3 times a week is all good and well - but why are you doing it? (apart from to get fit).
Well, it's not a giant lizard slaying robot and its not a new religion.