Overbooking is a tactic airlines uses to increase profits. That is, they sell more tickets for a flight than they have seats to accommodate. Airlines do this because they know there will be a certain number of people on any given flight who will be “no shows” and they want revenue from every seat on the plane.
Overbooking can be a good tactic for boosting your productivity as well. If you need 5 volunteers to set up for your church’s special event, you should recruit at least 8 because their commitment level is never as strong as yours. If all 8 do happen to show, no problem. But if you need 5 and get 3 you do have a problem.
When working on a building project, purchasing extra supplies and returning the leftovers is a much better strategy than running out and paying your helpers to wait while you get more.
Only God can see the future. That’s why overbooking is a good strategy for redeeming the time.
Rick Grubbs is best known as the host of “Redeeming the Time,” a one-minute radio program featured on hundreds of radio outlets around the world. He has spoken thousands of times on Biblical time management in all 50 states and 26 other countries. He is the author of the book “Morning Momentum: God’s plan for launching an unstoppable day”. He and his wife Carrie live in Salisbury NC with several of their 12 children.
