Have you heard about Man Maths?
It’s the logical decision making that men (this one in particular) often use to justify a purchase they are planning to make. The second biggest purchase most of us make after a property is of course a car. This is where Man Maths comes into it’s own. The partner may well be thinking of something practical, something with good fuel economy and a decent boots space for the kids’ stuff or the dog. But Man and his Maths is thinking differently. He’s thinking Porsche and he’s now working out a return on investment that proves that buying a Porsche is actually a far better investment. There will be one column in the spreadsheet – Pro column obviously. There is literally nothing worth recording in the con’s column.
When it comes to presenting the Man Math’s, the potential objections have been researched and counter arguments made ready. The great thing about Man Maths is that the sums always add up favourably.
Those like me who are proficient in Man Maths, especially when it comes to Motorbikes, need a purchase approval process. This is my wife. She is my inspiration for Zahara. She has rejected many a purchase request in her 30+ years with me, always scoring top of the leader board for Approval times. No is usually her approval (reject) comment.
In the business world, you also need a Louise. Someone to check the purchase requests. At least you aren’t dealing solely with Man Maths. You must consider all manner of things like practicality, functionality, affordability, green agenda, credit lines, cash flow. And the more people you have working for you, the faster the requests come. And yes this is where Zahara comes in and this is where the payback is fast and impressive. You can create approval automations that let the good stuff through but stops the unnecessary or simply wrong purchases making it to the company card or the supplier’s ordering system.
So my advice is to protect yourself from people like me with their Man Maths qualifications and get on top of costs.