We live in a world where we are often pressured to take shortcuts to save time and cut costs as much as possible. However, the wrong shortcut could end up costing a lot more. Here’s an anecdote to think about:

Let’s say you are running a project and the goal is to upgrade a road to a remote property. You solicit bids from several contractors and ask them to do it for the least cost possible. You also stipulate you don't want to get any permits.

None of the contractors are willing to work under those conditions, so you get your own earth-moving equipment and a friend with some experience to help you upgrade your road.

In the process, you fill in a spillway to a dam for a reservoir. You think this is no big deal, because the fine you pay for that is far less than what it would've cost to hire a contractor to do the job properly.

Three years later, in a heavy rainstorm, the dam breaks because the spillway has been compromised. Seven homes are washed away in the ensuing flood and 10 people die. What was intended to be a shortcut to save money ends up taking lives.

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