I remember it as if it were yesterday. In fact, I probably will never forget it. It was January 2007 and I was sitting in a business school class titled, “Management 480: Behavioral Organization Management.”
It was the usual academic, qualitative jargon that students just ate up. I did, too, at the time. And my grade showed it. The typical lessons included organization chart structures, conflict management and a-type conflict (affective, emotional conflict) vs. c-type conflict (cognitive, logic-based conflict).
We were in the middle of a lesson that focused on the theoretical findings and statistical analysis of effeciency vs. effectiveness. After a 17-slide powerpoint of graphs I’ll never remember, the professor asked a question:
“What’s the difference between effectiveness and efficiency?”
Me, being hopped up on zig ziglar, immediately raised my hand and shot back:
“Efficiency is doing things right, and effectiveness is doing the right things”
My buddies next to me busted up laughing, of course. One shouted, “He’s like an inspiration book!”
It was hilarious, but it’s true! It’s the only thing I remember from the class, and probably the only lesson that will stick with me from that class for the rest of my life:
“Efficiency is doing things right, and effectiveness is doing the right things”