Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.
Peter Drucker
You have heard the expression, “time is money.” We live in a society where we believe that to get more, we need to do more. We take the notion of not wasting time to a new level. I surmise that until we take the time to consider what is the right thing to do, we may find we are creating more problems for ourselves, especially if you are a business owner wearing multiple hats. Time wasted can mean more than money lost. Time wasted can lead to low morale, the potential for burnout, and poor quality. Time wasted leads to more work, and more work leads to more problems.
Many tend to believe that multitasking is the way to compensate for saving time and thus saving money. Herein lies the challenge. Just because you are doing many things at one time does not necessarily mean you are saving time. Let’s return to the multitasking business owner. The owner feels they are the only one who knows how to make something right or is concerned with turning over responsibilities to others. If this sounds like you, answer one question: what if something happens to you?
Wearing multiple hats may be the only option small business owners have to compensate for lack of resources. These entrepreneurs need to make sure their hats are the right hats. To alleviate the challenge of wasting time which leads to wasting money, the small business owner wearing multiple hats should ensure that the hats they are wearing benefit from efficient and effective responsibilities. To find out if you are not only doing things right, but you are doing the right things, consider an operational audit. One of the most valuable benefits of an operational audit includes finding out the business performance’s efficacy. The basic audit process is the same. However, the objectives and procedures should be unique to the business owner’s challenge. IMS approaches operational audits using a hybrid operational efficiency audit that uses a mix of management tools to generate sustainable solutions. The operational efficiency audit’s objective is to establish a healthier, more efficient, and cost-effective business. Let us help you determine if you are doing things right (efficiency) and doing the right things (effective).
Posted by Dr. Drena Valentine to LinkedIn on May 19, 2021.
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