Maximizing Productivity: Striking the Balance Between Efficiency and Effectiveness

How fast is too fast?

It’s a great question to ask as a startup when we’re constantly trying to push the limit of what’s possible.

The obvious answer is the one we’ve talked about before:

Clearly when all four wheels are off the ground and the car has flipped over, then you’ve been going too fast.

Duh. Thanks for the pearls of wisdom, Matt.

So more importantly, what’s the line right before that?

What’s the level of fast that is really fast, but not SO fast that it flips the car?

One way to think about it is by asking the question: “am I trading effectiveness for efficiency.”

In other words: sometimes in the pursuit of trying to be fast, we actually end up being less effective.

One small but practical example that I used to get wrong all the time was “little” typos or mistakes in emails to prospects and customers.

As you know, I’m a big fan of inbox zero. #efficiency

But in the race to be as efficient as possible, it’s easy to kill quality with quantity.

I remember one time, a fellow AE bcc’d me in an email to one of his prospects overcoming an objection about customer onboarding and support. He thought it would be a helpful template for me to use in similar situations in the future. Shout-out.

And in the spirit of inbox zero and trying to be as efficient as possible I replied ALL with: “Great email bro!!!”

Definitely not effective… and needless to say… I gave him the commission on my next deal 😭

So what is too fast?

We’re going too fast when we choose the fastest way, but not the best way.

We’re going too fast when we move quickly for our benefit, but not the benefit of the team or our customers.

We are going too fast when we trade effectiveness for efficiency.

Practically speaking, how can we get better at this?

Well I like thinking about the ‘law of second order effects.’

What is the unintended consequence of me moving fast in this situation? How could getting this wrong have a downstream impact that doesn’t justify the need for speed?

For the visual folks out there, think about a 4-box for risk assessment.

If the outcome of you moving fast sits in the top left, then focus on effectiveness.

But on the flip side, if the impact lives in the bottom right, then perhaps you can focus more on efficiency.

Sometimes for me it’s as simple as

Internal impact (Leadr) = be efficient.

External impact (customers) = be effective.

This week I’m going to work on being as effective as possible. And in fact, I’m going to purposefully choose things that are inefficient because the juice is worth the squeeze.

Let's strike the right balance between efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring we're moving fast in a way that truly benefits our team, our customers, and ourselves. Together, we can achieve greatness without flipping the car.

Are you with me?

MT