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- Effective vs. Efficient
Lately, I have received requests from people asking me to talk to their teams about my “efficiency content”. So I think it is time to take a step back and talk about why I keep referencing the word “Effective” in all of my productivity related efforts. For those who are clear on what the difference is, I think this might also be a good time to reflect on our own effectiveness this year so far.
Effective vs. Efficient: Is there even a difference?
I literally cringe every time someone uses those two words interchangeably, as they are very different. The best definition that I found states that “Efficient is doing things right. Effective is doing the right things”. This table summarizes both concepts really well into 4 buckets:
Effective and Efficient: This is where we all want to be, pursuing the right goals and in a cost-efficient way.
Ineffective and Inefficient: Companies ensure people don’t stay in this bucket for long by coaching them out of it (or out of the company).
Effective but Inefficient: Have you ever thought “How can this person keep getting promoted?” Well, they are likely in this bucket: pursuing the right goals, but at a high cost (e.g. their team’s morale)
Ineffective but Efficient: This is what I call the TRAP ZONE. People “feel productive”, working long hours, doing a ton for others; but sadly, it’s on the wrong things. Most people I know (myself included) have been or are currently in this bucket. You receive constructive feedback and think that your manager/team is not being fair. It kinda feels like the world is against you.
How to get out of the Trap Zone, and start becoming more effective?
It is most likely that every day coming into work you are becoming more efficient, but not necessarily more effective. Obviously, there are a lot (!) of things that you can do to become more effective (that’s why I have dedicated a whole newsletter and trainings to the topic); however, it can get a little overwhelming. My recommendation is to kick-start your “Journey Towards Effectiveness” (trademark pending) by doing this:
Open a blank word file: and start listing all the tasks/projects you have done in the past 3 months
Bucketize all of those into themes (i.e. Big Rocks): For instance, some are tactical to keep the team afloat, some are really strategic like authoring a proposal of something no one has done before, and a lot are in between
Are all these themes tied to your organization’s goals? Some people don’t even know what their organization’s goals are, so this is a good time to find out
Do Gap analysis: Reflect on how much of your time is spent on each bucket and what would be the ideal time depending on your level and tenure.
Put together a proposal:
Do you over-index on tactical themes? Propose how to simplify or spread the work amongst more team members
Do you lack strategic projects? Write down some ideas you want to bring to live now that you’ll focus less on tactical things
Do you over-index on financial / analytics themes despite not being your core responsibility? Maybe you just do this because you know how to, but eventually the team will suffer when you leave and you should point that out right away.
Your blank word document is now a one pager that includes: (1) Your organization’s goals; (2) How do you currently spend your time and effort; (3) A proposal of how you can maximize your time and effort; (4) High level goals for each one of your themes
Align with your manager: This will most likely take several iterations …and that is great, it means they actually care!
Shake hands: and execute towards this one pager
Best,
Jorge Luis Pando
Please share with others: I will be sharing content every Friday. Who is this for?
People who want an actionable take on how to improve their soft skills.
Learners who want to go wide (as opposed to going deep) into different types of content that have helped others around the world (i.e. 20% of the concept can get you 80% of the way there!)
Those trying to “climb the corporate ladder” and who want to know what has worked for many others like them.
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