In the tenacity of life and living, there is a constant interplay between efficiency and effectiveness.  These traits are demonstrated by the metaphors of a clock and a compass.  Efficiency is the art of conducting current activities more quickly.  The pursuit of efficiency inevitably results in ‘working against the clock.’  On the other hand, the pursuit of effectiveness is more concerned with ensuring that the endeavor is moving in the direction of its goal.

The next level of this interplay is determining when to pursue efficiency, when to pursue effectiveness, and in what order to prioritize these initiatives.  When engaging in this thought experiment it is very important to avoid the natural human tendency to believe that one answer is ‘right’ and the other answer is ‘wrong.’  Creative understanding requires that seemingly opposing principles be considered in parallel to one another so that the virtues and shortcomings of each can be rationally examined.

The pursuit of efficiency while ignoring effectiveness will inevitably result in doing stupid things at a very high rate of speed.  Unfortunately, this situation frequently plays out in many political arenas as the ‘pet projects’ of a so-called leader are pushed on the organization.  Another extreme to avoid is the pursuit of effectiveness, in absence of efficiency.  This situation lends itself to endless discussion and hashing over ‘mission statements’ and ‘company values’ without driving any real action.  Many of us are ruefully aware of the self-important bloviating of business leaders and politicians about strategy and vision, with no real impetus for action within the imagined leader or the reluctant followers.

On balance, the clock and compass are both necessary components of success.  The direction provided by the compass must necessarily come first to establish the vision and strategy.  At this point, the efficiency of the clock must be brought to bear so that action is taken to turn the strategy into reality.  As time goes on, efforts must necessarily oscillate between the compass and the clock so that strategy never becomes stale and action never becomes absent.