We want to be effective and efficient. But, aren’t they really the same? No. There is a difference between effectiveness and efficiency, and it won’t take long to explain!
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Effectiveness and Efficiency
Start with Drucker
Let’s start with management thinker, Peter Drucker, who distinguished between:
- efficient, which is the ability to do things well, and
- effective, which is doing the right things well.
In the context of efficiency, doing things well means with a minimum of effort and waste. This means we need to be organized, structured, and competent.
Effectiveness
I’d define effective as ‘Causing the desired result, successful, able to deliver what matters’.
So, effective work does something that makes a difference that matters. In project management, we can link it to important ideas like:
- Delivering worthwhile capabilities
- Meeting the needs of customers or users
- Creating value for the sponsoring organization
Efficiency
Efficient work, on the other hand, gets things done smoothly, economically, and in the minimum time. In project management, we can link it to important ideas like:
- Delivering within the budget
- Meeting your deadlines
- Not wasting effort or materials, in either rework or over-delivery
The Time – Cost – Quality Triangle…
Put another way, in good old-fashioned project-speak: Time, Cost, and Quality.
I am sure you’re wondering if it can be this simple…
Yes, it can. And to continue any longer would make it no more effective, and far less efficient!
Recommended Videos to Help with Effectiveness and Efficiency
Carefully curated video recommendations for you:
- Personal Effectiveness: 5 Tips for Project Managers | Video
- Project Management Lessons from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | Video
- The Single Best Team Effectiveness Tool | Video
- What is 5S? The Japanese Approach to Organized Efficiency | Video
- What is Productivity? | Video
- Cracking Personal Productivity: 3 Things that Really Work | Video
- Get More Done: Amplify Your Abilities, Productivity, and Power | Video
- Personal Time Management – How to Apply the OATS Principle | Video
Recommended Articles to Help with Effectiveness and Efficiency
- The Best Personal Effectiveness Books for Project Managers [My Top 16]
- Personal Time Management for Project Managers
What Kit does a Project Manager Need?
I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own.
Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs
Note that the links are affiliated.
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For more of our videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management.