Does Efficiency Mean Grief or Relief?
If someone were to tell you that you need to, "be more efficient," what comes up? My reaction is that I need to work quicker and take less breaks. But will us working "harder" yield the results we seek? The language that we use is important. Words have power, and "efficiency" is one that triggers a variety of reactions for business owners. Sometimes it has a positive connotation and sometimes negative, depending on the relationship we have with it. As a consultant that promotes efficiency in small business, it's important for me to address the negative aspects of the concept and shed light on what efficiency is at its best and its worst. Too often, when we think of "getting stuff done," we think of the ominous list of things we haven't done and our ability to get through it. Depending on how we frame it, a task list can turn into a list of validation of what we are not doing, a bummer list, especially if we're pushing ourselves too ha