Efficiency and Effectiveness: The Yin and the Yang of Productivity

When defining productivity, two words come to mind: efficiency and effectiveness. They seem synonymous or perhaps sequential — that the former might lead to the latter — when in reality, they’re two sides of the same coin. Efficiency relates to the speed with which a task is accomplished and effectiveness describes the success of that end product. In order to be truly productive, you need a balance.

In the modern business paradigm, efficiency reigns. In fact, we’re so caught up in the efficiency side of productivity that we often lose sight of effectiveness. Focusing mostly on being efficient rules out the opportunity to be creative. When you set a goal to accomplish a project, for example, the emphasis is usually on the time constraint. From the deadline standpoint, it would be considered inefficient to ruminate for several days or weeks before starting. But from the end product standpoint, the time you spent mulling over the idea might very well lead to a better result. Allowing our brains time to have divergent thinking may not be efficient but it’s quite effective.

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As President & CEO of LegacyShield, an easy-to-use and very secure cloud-based legacy planning system, Michael strives to help families stay organized, track crucial financial records, and store information for future generations as well as preserve their family history. An established innovator in the field of legacy planning, he combined tech solutions, social media, and an understanding of the complexities of legacy planning to help co-found and pioneer the easy to use, cloud based system that LegacyShield is today.