Why Being Effective is More Important than Being Efficient

Productivity is said to be a balance of efficiency and speed that produces better results with less effort in a shorter period of time. As a means of increasing productivity, the business world emphasizes the importance of being efficient. This makes sense on the surface. Who wouldn’t want their employees to be more efficient? The problem is that efficiency isn’t always effective, and often, focusing on high efficiency cuts corners and decreases profitability.

The difference between being effective and efficient

Working efficiently is the ability to get work done quickly with ease, but if you’re blasting through a list of tasks that don’t contribute to meaningful results, being efficient is irrelevant. An efficient person can complete a long list of daily tasks, but being efficient usually requires cutting corners and performing each task with the bare minimum of effort. Efficiency is not measured in results, but rather, how quickly and easily a job gets completed whether or not it produces results.

On the other hand, working effectively ensures that time is invested only in the most important tasks. Effective people prioritize their tasks and tackle them in a calculated manner that supports a specific end goal, which often means ignoring and even eliminating irrelevant tasks. For example, fleet managers routinely use software to ensure their technicians focus on priority work and eliminate bloated wrench time. The result here is an effective workflow for everyone that creates the consistency needed for faster repair times while maintaining accuracy.

Effectiveness is measured in results

You can always measure a person’s effectiveness by their results. An effective person will perform each task thoroughly and to high standards without cutting corners. If a given task can’t be completed that day, an effective person will schedule their work time so they can complete the task properly. This might include spending a few days or weeks in research mode, or simply taking the time to do it right. In the end, an effective person may take two or even three times longer to get the same job done, but it will be done correctly and completely.

Being effective often requires long pauses

Taking long breaks, pauses, and otherwise not doing anything is considered the antithesis of productivity and efficiency, but it’s required to be effective. Nobody can push themselves day after day, all day, for weeks, months, and years without consequence. However, it’s not about taking a vacation and getting back at it – it’s about pausing throughout each workday to stop all activity and let the mind and body refresh.

Effective people rest as much as they work, and that holds the key to their effectiveness. Employers may think they want to hire people who can crank out endless tasks all day long for years on end, but if they compared those results to a highly effective individual who works half as much, they’d probably see that the effective worker makes a bigger impact on things that matter, like generating sales and leads.

Sometimes being productive prevents results

In some departments, like marketing, being constantly productive can reduce effectiveness and prevent results. Anytime there’s a creative component involved, time is needed to let ideas formulate.

Albert Einstein was known for taking naps and waking up with brilliant ideas. There is something to this. If you’re constantly engaging your mind and never let it rest, you’re going to struggle trying to come up with solutions or creative ideas. Activity and periods of rest and contemplation are equally important.

It’s like building muscle. You go out and do the work to train your muscles to failure, but then you need to rest to generate the results. Whether you’re training to get bigger or just get stronger, your muscles will only grow while you rest because that’s when the self-repair process is initiated. If you work the same muscle group every day without letting up, you won’t get results.

A strong emphasis on productivity perpetuates inefficiency

Employees who point out inefficient processes are often ignored, which is unfortunate since improving those processes can greatly increase productivity and profits. But when the focus is on efficiency, addressing concerns that require altering systems will slow things down and reduce productivity for a time. Businesses who prioritize efficiency over results won’t stop to make the required changes because they don’t see the long-term value.

Profitability ultimately requires effectiveness

No matter how quickly someone can complete a given set of tasks, there’s no guarantee their speed will produce meaningful results. Knocking out a list of busy work in record time is a skill, but people whose actions are tied to well-defined goals are the ones who get results that matter.

(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)