“If a problem can be solved with money, then it’s not a problem but a cost”, Jewish proverb
We often consider shortage of money as a problem. Is shortage of money really the problem? Whenever someone proposes a solution, it comes with an estimated cost. Change the solution and the cost changes. If a solution can change the cost, then is cost really the problem? Isn’t not have a good solution be the real problem?
For more than two decades, Pakistan has been trying to connect the country with a network of roads. They have always considered funding to the problem but the last few years have shown that funding was not the problem. High levels of corruption and weak governance were draining the funding. Expert foreign contractors were being used, even for mundane tasks. are the real problems. High interest loans were being used to finance the construction. Recently, the government turned changed the situation with a new solution. It cracked down on corruption and improved governance. It decided to use local expertise rather than expensive foreign companies to do most of the work. Foreign contractors only get contracts to cross difficult geography and and build tunnels. This has reduced the cost of construction significantly. Furthermore, new motorways are being built from income generated by existing motorways; toll and renting space to businesses in rest areas. This model further reduced the cost because there is no money to borrow and interest to pay. The change in solutioning has sped up the expansion of the road network. Prosperity follows roads because an inaccessible area cannot fully participate in national and global commerce. As new areas prosper, traffic will increase and the the revenue from the road network will continue to increase and reduce the burden on the state budget.
Going to space used to be so expensive that only a few governments had the money and the capability to send anything to space. Then a man came along and figured out why it was so expensive. The rocket was discarded after one use. Rockets are expensive. He focused his efforts on developing technology to make a rocket reusable. After several attempts, Elon Musk’s SpaceX succeeded. A better solution reduced the cost to a point that space tourism is beginning. Cost was the handicap but the problem was the solution, not the cost.
Focus on the solution. If it costs too much, come up with a better solution.