Even a finely tuned and designed Ferrari will fail if headed into a brick wall.
I recently participated in a facilitated strategy session and one concept introduced by the facilitator Ben Rasberry from MAP was particularly compelling.
It is an analysis between Effectiveness and Efficiency.
What if you were doing the WRONG things RIGHT?
Take a look at the graph below.
I have seen two wildly different types of businesses in my many reviews:
A. Unsophisticated managers, accounting is done by hand, transactions are entered manually, the owner doesn’t even use email, not automated, paper driven operations, but they are very successful and make a tremendous profit.
B. An incredible stable of talent, bleeding edge technology, operationally efficient, flawless and relentless execution and the business fails miserably.
What’s the difference?
Even while companies in Category A might operate sloppily and execute inefficiently, they are doing the right things in their business. That could be their UVP (Unique Value Proposition), business model/positioning, focus on sales and revenue, world-class customer service or attention, etc.
It is more important to be sure you are doing the right things than the wrong things well.
Focus on Effectiveness, your business strategy, the core drivers of your business than getting lost in trying to optimize the minutia of your day-to-day operations.
Remember to work ON your business rather than only IN your business.
In Japan executives are required to DO less and THINK more. Step away from the busyness of your business from time to time to evaluate if you are driving your Ferrari in the right direction.
Direction is more important than speed.
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