Here is a quote – Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.
—Paul J Meyer
Those who wait for miracles actually dream of doing bigger things than what they think they are capable of. After all, while naming anything as a miracle, aren’t they defining it already as something unreachable? Lest their dreams come to naught they must do whatever it takes to up the ante and find the right balance between efficiency and effectiveness.
Efficiency and effectiveness are the two foundation stones of any productive endeavor. For example, you are efficient enough to meet any deadline and give the numbers anytime your employer asks for; however, you find it difficult to deliver the kind of results that your employer expects you to deliver. On the other hand, your colleague is half as efficient as you are in respecting deadlines. Even though he invariably fails in meeting his targets, the job done by him still pleases your employer since it is high on quality and, hence, effective. In both scenarios, the element of overall productivity is missing and thus calls for serious deliberation.
Always try to become efficiently effective
A joint research47 conducted by Ilona Bartuševičienė and Evelina Šakalytė at Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania, draws an interesting conclusion to prove that individuals who are inefficiently ineffective or efficiently ineffective will cut a sorry figure. The study, Organizational Assessment – Effectiveness vs. Efficiency, states that efficiently effective individuals and organizations succeed at a minimum cost. Inefficiently effective individuals and organizations do succeed eventually but they waste too many resources in the process. The efficiently ineffective lot manages to keep its resources and costs under check but fails to succeed. Similarly, inefficiently ineffective individuals and organizations prove to be expensive failures.
Step out of your productivity bubble
At times, your tight schedule prevents you from being objective. Chances are that while you are making excellent progress, you were too rigid in the beginning and now you find it hard to come back to the track. Adapt yourself and your project according to the ever-dynamic marketplace rather than insisting on using outdated paradigms. It is better to embrace change instead of fighting it, and the results may surprise you.
Conscious awareness of goals is vital for success
Sticking to your original plan is fine, but in doing so you run the risk of missing on a bevy of opportunities that can take you places. Most of us have the tendency of being slavishly committed to accomplishing our goals and don’t realize that we are restricting our chances of succeeding.
Do not make the mistake, which most of us usually do, of thinking that even a minor change in our circumstances is a signal to change course. The reality is that the change simply urges us to introspect and re-evaluate our action plan. Oftentimes, following the original plan and avoiding distractions is required to get to your goals. It is your understanding of the situation that will mold your decision. Your plans should have ample space for changes and alterations because you never know when you will feel the need to completely or partially modify the existing plan of action.
Set priorities
Deciding what is important enables you to do away with unnecessary elements inherent to your goal. Too many restrictions automatically apply when you are not sure of what is important to you. When you focus on irrelevant and insignificant things, you dilute your focus.
Go with the best option
Let the perfectionist in you lay dormant for some time. You are more likely to waste considerable time and energy in finding the perfect solution. Hence, make the decision now. If you fail to find a perfect solution, a near-perfect solution would do. Delaying a decision leads to procrastination, which hampers your progress. If you make a mistake, then try to correct it quickly. When in doubt, rely on your instincts. Accepting growing pains as a natural process of personal development will allow you to cast off goals that no longer represent your feelings.
Stand out from the crowd
The goal seeker who is satisfied with the good cannot even imagine achieving greatness. Push yourself beyond and above the obvious to accomplish greatness. The difference between a good and great product is the last 10 percent. Everyone has the same 90 percent, identical core features, identical goals, and an identical story. It is the last 10 percent that places one higher than others. In nutshell, it is the blood, sweat, tears of detail and the extra effort to make things just perfect. Do not panic if the last 10 percent takes 50 percent of your time, as pursuing greatness is something that not all individuals do.
Having worked with many leaders over the years in businesses, entertainment, and other spheres, I can authoritatively say that greatness lies in achieving what is impossible at times. For me, leadership is nothing but a reassigning of belief from one individual to the other. Good leaders imbibe virtues like self-belief, vision, purpose, and passion while the great ones share them with others and in the process, they inspire others to believe, act and influence. Great leaders are positively contagious, and they instill confidence and belief in others.
Achieving greatness is hard but not impossible
If you wish to acquire greatness, start with a clear vision of what you want and think what is possible while maintaining high standards. Have the audacity to choose to be different, even if it means to go beyond the established norms. If you think out of the box, then only you can expect exceptional outcomes, while doing what others do will result in more of the same. Transform your approach completely, if need be. Ask ‘why not?’ and see obstacles as challenges, not deterrents, as you creatively work to overcome them.
Develop a strong belief in your own self and the ability to rise above the convention. Remember, there is no substitute for hard work. All great men and women who epitomized greatness did it by the sheer dint of their hard work. Similarly, you, too, can channelize and focus your energy on what you can control, not on what is beyond it.
