Effectiveness Before Efficiency
Efficient – How do we do more projects with fewer people?
Effective – Let’s choose the right project.
Would you rather do more projects that miss the mark or fewer that excite the customer?
Efficient – How do we finish the project faster?
Effective – Let’s fully staff the project.
Would you rather burn out the project team or deliver on what the customer wants?
Efficient – How do we reduce product cost by 5%?
Effective – Let’s make customers’ lives easier.
Would you rather reduce the cost or delight the customer?
Efficient – How can we go faster?
Effective – Let’s get it right.
Would you rather go fast and break things or get it right for the customer?
Efficient – How many projects can we run in parallel?
Effective – Let’s fully staff the most important projects.
Would you rather get halfway through four projects or complete two?
Efficient – How do we make progress on as many tasks as possible?
Effective – Let’s work on the critical path.
Would you rather work on things that don’t matter or nail the things that do?
Efficient – How can we complete the most tasks?
Effective – Let’s work on the hardest thing first.
Would you rather learn the whole thing won’t work before or after you waste time on the irrelevant?
If there’s a choice between efficiency and effectiveness, I choose effectiveness.
Image credit — Antarctica Bound