Go Easy on the Spice

I recently learned that the phrase “variety is the spice of life” comes from a six-volume, blank verse poem written by William Cowper in 1785. The poem is called The Task: A Poem, in Six Books, and it comes in at about 150 pages—and that is about 150 pages longer than any poem should ever be allowed to be.

I do not use the phrase “variety is the spice of life” very often. I understand the sentiment but I find that it isn’t always true. Properly seasoned food can be wonderful but when too many spices are used the results can be quite displeasing. Carefully managed landscaping can make a beautiful yard but excessive lawn ornamentation can be disastrous. Often, simple is the best approach.

Francis of Assisi understood this when he wrote: "Do few things but do them well, simple joys are holy." This is something all in-plant managers should know and understand. When it comes to the services we offer too much variety can be a liability.

A good friend of mine who managed an in-plant at another college learned this lesson the hard way. Several years ago he took note of the high volume of offset printing his institution was outsourcing and decided to purchase a 4-color offset press. He reasoned the introduction of a new service would yield cost savings and increase revenue. However, the press he purchased could not accommodate all of the variant sizes and complexities of the work that was being outsourced. He was only able to bring back in house a portion of the outsourced work and the investment was a losing venture. The in-plant closed within a couple of years.

I once visited another nearby in-plant that offered an incredible array of services. Besides basic copying, bindery, and offset printing they also offered engraving, printing and installing vehicle wraps, forms printing, die cutting, and fabrication of displays and packaging materials. Their shop seemed to be built as an attempt to become the sole source for every possible printing need their parent company could ever want. Sadly, they too are no longer in business.

My last blog was about risk taking and about living life at the edge of ourselves. I wrote about the inspiration I find when I see people accomplishing great things. Inspiration is meant to be a life-giving experience. In medicine, inspiration is described as the taking in of air by the lungs. Inspiration is something that literally breathes life into something else.

If you are an in-plant manager looking to grow your in-plant, you need to be certain the new services or products you are hoping to incorporate will likewise breathe life into your operation. Variety may be the spice of life and variety can spice up your in-plant. However, as leaders we need to be master chefs and we need to understand what we are adding and why we are adding it. Inspiration is not an excuse to dismiss knowledge and experience.

To put it another way, I have crafted for you this poem, which should take you far less time to read than Cowper’s 150-page masterpiece:

They said that I needed to grow
They said to do more than I know
“Transform and Expand!”
“Core business is bland!”
But variety shut down the show.