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Many business leaders I work with think of productivity and efficiency as the same thing (or certainly very similar). These concepts are, however, quite different, especially as they relate to strategy. One definition of productivity is “A measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc. in converting inputs into useful outputs.” Efficiency is about “Doing the same with less.”
Most of your employees want to be productive, but often organizational hierarchies, processes and other structures get in the way of them getting stuff done and being innovative. In the last 30 years or so, we have focused heavily on efficiency – putting things like Six Sigma in place and conducting process reengineering. These are all very good things.
However, it is time to focus more on giving your people the freedom (within reason) to be innovative – which is productive in other ways. Your team’s freedom to innovate is critical in terms of your top line growth. Markets are shrinking (and some disappearing altogether), quality talent is hard to find, and keep, and time is of the essence. Technology is evolving faster than we can keep track of and this alone can significantly impact the productivity and efficiency of your business.
It is time to inspire and motivate your people to be productive in new and innovative ways. Give them the time to be creative and to try new things. And be okay if they don’t hit a home run at the first swing of the bat. Remove the obstacles that get in the way of your teams’ productivity. You will find that your people are happier, morale gets a boost and creativity improves, all which will positively impact your productivity and your top line growth.
What have you done to shift focus from efficiency to productivity in your business? Let us know.
By Blair Koch
