Tradeoffs vs compromises

A tradeoff is a hard situation where something has to give. For example if you want high quality clothing the material costs more than low quality clothing. There is a hard tradeoff here and you need to decide which one you want.

Compromises are man made, companies impose them on their customers. For example, there is no law of nature that says you have to charge late fees for returning rented goods late.

In a lot of industries compromises have become part of the fabric, people think they have to be part of the process. This opens up a lot of opportunity to come in and remove these compromises. Look at industries with the view of “What is the customer being asked to compromise on?” and “Why can’t we remove this compromise?”.

Examples:

• Why can’t we treat the sale of a second hand car like a new one?
• Why do customised products take so long to be delivered?
• Is peak/surge charging really necessary?