There are a great many people who think that the words "effective" and "efficient" are interchangeable -- that they mean the same thing. But this is not the case.
I have on occasion explained to a person or group that being effective means doing the right thing, while being efficient means doing the thing right (i.e. in the correct manner). Often, the person to whom I offered this explanation will look at me like I've grown another head!
Anyway, I've just started reading "Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi (with Tahl Raz). On page 44, Ferrazzi observes that "Too often, we get caught up efficiently doing ineffective things..." Many of us spend hours painstakingly following a complicated process, getting every step right, without ever considering that we might have chosen the wrong process to follow or the wrong outcome to pursue.
Obviously, we should want to make sure we are doing the right thing before worrying about how to do it right.
And here's a somewhat philosophical question to ponder: if you chose the wrong thing to do, does it really matter how well you did it?
Of course, growing a second head might enable me to be both more effective AND more efficient, that that's another post altogether!
It is, however, always nice to have one's thoughts validated by others.
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