THE REALITY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS RATIO
AND THE EFFICIENCY RATIO
(Draft)
We, by living and by investing our efforts, produce "effects" in our lives.
The value of those effects IS the value of our lives.
Value is measured in terms of "units of value".
Accumulating (from producing them) the greatest total value is what life is about.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? WHAT ARE THESE?
In productivity, we differentiate between "effectiveness" and "efficiency".
Efficiency in general, describes the extent to which time, effort or cost is well used for the intended task or purpose. It is the specific application of effort to produce a specific outcome effectively with a minimum amount or quantity of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort. (Wikipedia, Efficiency) It is generating a high ratio of output to input.
Efficiency is of often about "doing things right".
Effectiveness is "doing the right things".
THE GOAL IS TO PRODUCE THE GREATEST VALUE UNITS
Ultimately what we are trying to do is produce highest number of units of value given what is input into the process. Inputs are energy, time, money.
Time spent in anticipation of a benefit but which does not attain that benefit is time blown, wasted, flushed down the drain - and with an added cost of having used up the time that one could have used to produce something of value to yourself.
Killing time (and/or seeking relief inefficiently or with damage) is "doing the wrong thing", so it is a total waste of life.
Producing 15 units per hour is more efficient than, all other things being equal, producing 5 units per hour.
Producing 15 units of a product with $10 profit per unit is more effective than producing, all other things being equal, 15 units of a product at $3 profit per unit.
Ultimately, what we want is to produce the greatest "profit", measured, most often, in money in economics or, in life, in number of units of value to us. Life "profit" is measured in the currency of "value units" - we decide what we value, and then we produce those.
If we don't decide what we value, then it is hard to know what to do in life - and, for sure, we will produce alot less of total value in our lives - alot less!
So, you must do the process for determining what things to do to produce the greatest of value to you, so that you are always doing that which is best for you. This is part of what it takes to Live The 80/20 Way, where you choose to do what has the highest impact at any one time.
EFFICIENCY
If you use your time less efficiently, one could argue that you are "doing the wrong thing". This is where efficiency and effectiveness overlap.
It is hugely effective to learn the basic skills to use your time efficiently.
Efficiency is an "energy" concept in a way. For instance, a combustion engine uses the energy units in gas as a much lower efficiency than does an electric engine (but the cost of gas and of a combustion engine is currently much less, so the combustion engine is more "money efficient").
If I focus well on learning something I will learn alot more than if I doddle along and get sucked up in lots of distractions. In the latter case, I am engaging in inefficient learning.
If I am building one car at a time, I will be far less efficient than if I use a production line to produce alot of cars at the same time. Because the latter is more efficient, the people will be more efficient with their time, producing alot more of a car in less time PLUS the car will be alot cheaper so that more will be sold, increasing the number of jobs for car making people and the profit to the investors - so everybody can be better off.
Basically the idea of efficiency is to "provide a given output at a lower cost", with the costs being money and/or time and effort.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT BOTH ARE NECESSARY
Both of these are necessary and work together.
The most vital has to be effectiveness, which is working on something that will produce a value (which is the desired effect or "output"). If we don't do the right thing to produce something of value, it doesn't matter how fast and efficiently we do it.
50 units of no value per hour = 10 units of no value per hour = zero value.
ALL OF THESE ARE TIED TOGETHER INTO THE "POWER FORMULA"
(From that page, link into the overall Power page and follow the links of interest and the recommended programs and learning sequences. Refer also to the ebooks in Books/Booklets/Summaries page, as those tie it all together and provide lots of opportunity for more effective learning and implementation. )
