“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker
A common issue that invariably pops up in my work with teams is what I call responsible efficiency.
An example I give comes from the end of the school year when there were the usual group emails flying around about gift contributions. The instructions were clear – transfer $x amount to this bank account for the teacher and $x amount to this other bank account for the class parent. Yet 20% of the parents got the accounts or amounts muddled up.
A few extra minutes double checking the instructions would have saved many minutes of ongoing multiple emails (everyone being cc’d) and re-transfers later. Paradoxically, the reason it happened (misread due to being so busy) simply served to inflame their, and everyone else’s, busyness.
One person’s well-meaning inefficiency can unintentionally but significantly impact the efficiency of a whole group.
Efficient people and teams make it effortless. They are punctual, relevant, considerate, aware and can finish meetings 10 minutes early with clear next steps confirmed.
More time and space in our day can be created if everybody remains responsible for and aware of the ripple effect of their choice of behaviour or action.
So in the spirit of efficiency, I’m going to stop here!