I hired a wonderful Brazilian woman yesterday, Graciela, to clean my apartment for a few hours, and I learnt two important lessons. One isn't really relevant to outsourcing directly: that persistence leads to sales, and even I give in and buy something out of the exhaustion from someone trying too hard over too long of a period to sell me something.

The second realization was this: If she didn't clean my apartment, then I wouldn't've done it (in anything more than quick, trivial sorts of ways). That is to say, without her, my apartment would not have gotten the real, thorough cleaning it deserves.

This is an important realization because this blog is dedicated to discussing how efficient--or inefficient--doing something outsourced is compared to doing it in-house. But Graciela added a key fact to the mixture: that outsoucing doesn't just make it more efficient, it makes it more likely that it will happen at all.

Business analogs to this are common enough: I want to improve the User Interface for ProductX. I could find time (in six weeks!) to do it myself, do it, review it, show it around, and then maybe eventually I'll implement it. But, when I make the decision to do it, instead of scheduling time for myself to do it, if I hire someone today to do it, then it is much more likely to happen at all.

Outsourcing, then, doesn't just make things more efficient; it makes things happen that otherwise wouldn't.

I wrote in SpareInk yesterday a brief article summarizing one difference between American and Argentine cultures:

This difference, then, is not just the difference between two con man movies, but a summary of the difference between the American and Argentine cultures. In Argentina, it seems, everyone is always trying to screw everyone else -- and when you find someone who isn't, then you are pleasantly surprised. But in America, it seems, no one is trying to screw anyone -- and when you find someone who is, you are disappointed.

The percentages of people conning others may end up being the same with both countries--I don't know the numbers--but these difference in expectations give very different feelings to interacting with people and having relationships of all sorts in both countries.

This insight applies to outsoucing there as well: I would be lying if, working in Argentina, you don't get the feeling that everyone is trying to take advantage of everyone else. At the very least, even if you don't see it much, everyone says it so much, and with such insistence, that you can't help but feel it. (Similar to the pattern of talking about depression making you more depressed!). It is scary, and it is a risk.

How is this risk minimized? One of my methods is to be very explicit about the professionality of the enterprise. That is to say, in a land of many crooks, if you make your honestly very explicit, then there are two results. One is that you will be repected and the other like-minded honest people will want to come on board with you. (This is the bet I'm making.) The other possible outcome is that lots of people will try to take advantage of me: and, being very conscious of this, I fight this by both constantly being on the lookout and using my standard safeguards, and by always advertising our strength and willingness to stand up for what we believe in: no one wants to rob the strong who he knows will fight back, instead they target the weak.

Among the various investments I have made in my outsourcing company, the two best ones have been the following:

First, my plane ticket to/from Buenos Aires in May. The couple of weeks spent working there, getting to know everyone in person, was invaluable. This reinforced our community and dedication, allowed everyone to see that the other sides of the company are "for real," and we had various long meetings--planning projects, discussing the company--that would have been impossible over the phone. Hiring people near you is more expensive because, well, they are near you.

But I can't fly to Buenos Aires weekly. So this is why the second most useful investment I've made in the company is buying a Lingo box and subscription. For US$80/month, I can call about 35 countries, including Argentina, for zero marginal cost--ie, for free for each call. I've been speaking to Argentina for 2.5 hours every day since I began the service a few weeks ago, not to mention the extra calls to my friends in Canadia, Mexico, Chile, and elsewhere I've been making.

On the cost: yes, there might be a cheaper service, possibly even Skype. But what I like about Lingo is the ease-of-use--I don't need to connect microphones to my computer nor dial long special codes before each call--rather I use my standard telephone, just plugged into their device. I also like it for the same reason I buy an unlimited metrocard every month, even if I might save a bit of money buying 10-packs: I know I watch every penny, so if I am paying for each call, then, before each call I will ask myself if I really need to make it, I'll be watching the clock every minute, and so forth. But knowing that I've already committed to the sunk cost of the monthly fee, I will comfortably take advantage of it and talk without worrying about the cost--and this is precisely the incentive structure I need to ensure that I speak to everyone in Argentina lots. Not to mention, for just a few dollars more, I can get a local Buenos Aires phone number and have it routed to me!

Talking on the phone with everyone in Argentina these last few weeks has been wonderful. It is the next best option to being there in person. The downside is that I've become the psychiatrist to more than one person in Argentina; the upside is that speaking on the phone is about 5 times more efficient than instant messaging (our usual standard form of communication)--so I end up saving a significant and measurable amount of time. We've also been avoiding misunderstandings and other problems that previously were too easy to happen when you chat via the computer. Everyone in the company feels the improvement--except for one graphic designer, who doesn't enjoy speaking on the phone that much. Oh well.

Overall, Lingo: two thumbs up!