What is an hour?

What does it mean to pay for an hour of work?

When I take my car to the shop, the mechanic usually gives me an estimate based on parts and hours of labor.

It's an easy way for him to think about it, but for myself, I don't really care how many hours it takes him.

I care about two things, maybe three: What's it going to cost me? When will it be ready? And is it going to be fixed right?

Whether it takes him 1 hour or 10 makes no difference to me.

When you're looking for expert help with your systems, what do you really care about?

I'm going to guess it's probably about the same as those three things.

And maybe one more: Is the help I'm getting likely to achieve the development goal that I need to see in my organization?

Hourly rates, estimated number of hours, choice of technology —does any of that really matter?

When you're deciding how to get help with your systems, it's good to remember what really matters to you, and find the help that will allow you to get what you’re after.

All the best,
Allen