Sathya Narayanan - Abundance, Allocated (Page 7)

A simple map: ask by choosing a decision, measure a few relevant activities, and check against real work. Keep detail when it changes understanding or action.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

A Useful Map Does Not Need Every Pebble

Start with the work that matters. A simple map of delivery, streaming or software can teach more than a huge spreadsheet nobody can explain.

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Packing ten orders falls from 60 to 40 minutes. Use the 20 freed minutes for more orders, better service or fewer mistakes. Time freed is not automatic cash savings.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

Give Saved Time a Job

Saving ten minutes does not decide what happens next. A packing team, a hotel listing site and a software business show how to make freed time useful.

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Stopping card sales loses $30 revenue and saves $10 materials. The committed $40 table rent remains, leaving $20 less. Removing a cost label does not cancel a bill.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

A Cost on Paper Is Not Always Money You Can Save

Dropping an activity does not cancel every bill assigned to it. A school-fair table and a software service show how to ask the right savings question.

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Illustrative first month: $100 received less $20 hosting, $10 setup and $30 support leaves $40 before other company costs, not final profit.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

The Sale Is Only Part of the Work

A customer can need setup, support and returns after paying. Follow a software customer and a hotel booking to understand the cost of serving someone.

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An ordinary hotel booking uses 4 support minutes. A date change adds 6, making 10 minutes. Same booking count, more work; times are illustrative.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

The Extra Steps Inside an Ordinary Order

Two orders can look alike until one needs a change, a call or a second attempt. Add the steps to see why the work differs.

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Of 100 support minutes supplied for $100, 60 minutes and $60 are used; 40 minutes and $40 remain unused. Unused capacity is not automatically waste.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

Ready to Help Is Different from Busy Helping

A support team costs money while it waits as well as while it helps. A 100-minute example makes available capacity and unused capacity easy to see.

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Packing can follow similar orders; storage needs space multiplied by time; support can follow minutes helping. Choose a measure that fits each activity.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

Count the Thing That Creates the Work

A parcel count can help explain packing, but not how much shelf space a parcel occupies. Choosing the right measure is the heart of a useful cost model.

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Two customers use 20 and 80 support minutes. A $100 pool can be split $50 each or assigned $20 and $80 by time. The total bill stays $100.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

The Trouble with Splitting Every Bill Equally

Two customers pay the same amount, but one needs four times as much help. A small software example shows what an average can hide.

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Work repeats per item, per batch or for the whole service. The same ten cards need 6 setup minutes in one batch, or 30 in five batches of two.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

One Item, One Batch, One Service

Packing a parcel, unloading a truck and running a warehouse repeat for different reasons. Learn to spot the difference with fulfillment and streaming.

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A book-delivery promise creates finding, packing, labelling and transport work. Illustrative packing time: 4 minutes at $0.50 per minute costs $2.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

Costs Follow Work: What Happens After You Click?

A click can start a chain of real jobs. Follow a book order, a Prime benefit and a delivery to see what activity-based costing is trying to measure.

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Ten books in one box take 2 minutes and $1 to check and label; ten separate boxes take 20 minutes and $10. Assumes $0.50 per minute; books, boxes and delivery excluded.

Alloconomy 9 Oct 2026

Activity-Based Costing: Follow the Work

Two orders can bring in the same money and create very different work. Ten simple ideas help us see why, from Prime and streaming to delivery and software.

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11-part series · Explore the ten ideas