Manufacturing Excellence - Inspire, Lead, and Succeed with EFFECTIVENESS!

Efficiency is doing things right; Effectiveness is doing the right things."
~ Peter Drucker


When I first saw this cartoon, it made me laugh. However, giving it a little bit more thought, I believe that there are actually quite a number of people in the workplace who don't work effectively at all and yet they still earn big bucks. 


Do we know what it means to be effective in what we do on a daily basis?


Well, I haven't always considered this but since becoming a small business owner I consciously work on becoming more effective, and now I do put a lot of thought into that.


The way I do this is by asking myself the same questions every day: 
What have I done today to make a difference?
What have I done today to improve my skills?
What have I done today to serve the people around me?
What actions did I take to bring me closer to my goal?
How much progress have I made today?


When I have a positive answer for all of these 5 questions, I feel good about myself and I have proof that I worked effectively. This is a great way for me to measure my goals and my actual achievements. 


Webster Dictionary defines effectiveness as "producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect".
The interesting part, which I believe is often overlooked, is that the second definition in the dictionary states "ready for service and action". To be quite honest with you, I think neither one of them is too common in today's business world. 


Unfortunately I see too many managers who lack decision making skills and with that comes a lack of action. I always say, too much talk and not enough action. 


To gauge how effective you are, please take the time to answer the following questions:


How are you, as a manager, of service to your employees? 
How are you, as a co-worker, of service to the people around you?
How do you contribute to serve your organization on a daily basis?
How many meetings do you attend that are followed by in-action?
What can you do to make these meetings more effective? 
How able and willing are you to stand up for your actions?
How do your actions affect the people around you? 
What positive difference do you make every day?


If people measure effectiveness only by numbers, then they clearly don't understand the true meaning of effectiveness.


Be of of service, take action, and see what difference you can make!