Which is more important to first get right: Effectiveness or efficiency? Intuitively many choose first to be effective: Just get it done, worry about doing it properly later. This approach may produce short term gain but it is disastrous in the long run. Even though some things may get done, doing them inefficiently takes away from the enjoyment of our work, depletes our energy and momentum, and causes ineffectiveness; this is true for individuals as well as teams.
Yet a principal responsibility of managers—shareholder proxies—is to ensure the long term sustainability of the businesses entrusted to our care. We give ourselves every chance of success when we focus on efficiency first, and then effectiveness. Form before function. Quality before quantity. How before what. Efficiency results from following the correct form. Effectiveness produces an intended result. [click to continue…]
