17 October, 2024

What’s the Difference between Effectiveness and Efficiency?


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!

Carefully curated video recommendations for you:


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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Mike Clayton

About the Author...

Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management. He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project, the journal of the Association for Project Management. Between 1990 and 2002, Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. In 2016, Mike launched OnlinePMCourses.
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